Did I make a big mistake?

[klutz]

Hello,
I am glad to find this forum, thanks! I just made some must,for the first time in my life, of some green grapes.
The problem is, I forgot to dissolve the sugar in boiling water, so I added it straight into the must, which then sat for 6 days and was strained and transferred to a demi john. THEN, I checked the instructions!!! Is there anything I can still do about this, or is it useless to go on?

 

[buffalofrenchy]

I think it's fair to assume that it dissolved especially if you stirred it in. I have made wine with granular sugar added to the juice, stirred, measured SG...

 

[vacuumpumpman]

I have never boiled water to dissolve my sugar prior to adding it to the must - I will boil it to add prior to bottling though.

 

[sour_grapes]

I agree with Frenchy -- you are probably fine.

However, this points out that, if you wish to proceed with this hobby, you MUST acquire and use a hydrometer. It will set you back all of $6 or so at your local home brew store (LHBS) or mail order. It is your single most important diagnostic tool.

 

[garymc]

I always heat water and dissolve the sugar. It's not necessary unless you dump the sugar in the must and stir and stir and it doesn't all dissolve. Some people add part of the sugar and more later. Not getting it all dissolved would do the same, since eventually the yeast would consume sugar and make it easier for the rest to dissolve when it's needed. But you can't take an accurate beginning specific gravity reading if some of the sugar is undissolved on the bottom of the bucket.

 

[wineforfun]

I never boil, etc. my sugar in water. I just add it straight to the must and stir it until it dissolves. Never any problems yet.

 

[klutz]

I have never boiled water to dissolve my sugar prior to adding it to the must - I will boil it to add prior to bottling though.

Oh, that's a relief. I didn't know you could add the sugar just before bottling it too.

 

[klutz]

Yes, I did buy one (that's twice the price in Canada, btw. ) and used it. What is the usual amount of juice from about 2 to 3 gallons of must? I had only about a gallon, and thought that was because there was no water added with dissolved sugar.

 

[sour_grapes]

Oh, that's a relief. I didn't know you could add the sugar just before bottling it too.

Wait! Those sugar additions have two very different purposes.

When you add sugar before fermentation, it is to increase the alcohol that you will get at the end of the fermentation. (See here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chaptalization.)

When you add sugar after fermentation but before bottling, it is to sweeten the wine. You have to take steps to make sure this sugar does not referment.

 

[seth8530]

Wait! Those sugar additions have two very different purposes.

When you add sugar before fermentation, it is to increase the alcohol that you will get at the end of the fermentation. (See here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chaptalization.)

When you add sugar after fermentation but before bottling, it is to sweeten the wine. You have to take steps to make sure this sugar does not referment.

Yes! Be very careful that we are all on the same page here.

 

[buffalofrenchy]

Yes, I did buy one (that's twice the price in Canada, btw. ) and used it. What is the usual amount of juice from about 2 to 3 gallons of must? I had only about a gallon, and thought that was because there was no water added with dissolved sugar.

So if you used the hydrometer, what was the SG after adding the sugar?

 

[klutz]

It was 0.08. Sorry I got back so late.

 

[klutz]

It has been fermenting for about a month, but now it seems to have stopped. Should I put it in bottles now already?

 

[mikewatkins727]

You're getting close @klutz. Patience is the game now. Rack wine off the lees into clean carboy and wait. About 30 days latter check for sediment. In the mean time keep reading and asking questions. When 30 days have lapsed, check back in.

Mike

 

[sour_grapes]

And what is your SG now?

 

[klutz]

sour grapes, it is now 1.010 down from 1.08(I read it wrong to Mike above). What am I doing wrong? According to the meter, that will give me only 1.3 % alcohol. Not that it really matters this time, but is it normal to drop like that?
Also, how far is it safe to keep it from the top of the carboy opening?

 

[sour_grapes]

No, you are thinking about this wrong. This just means that you can get about 1.3% MORE alcohol than what you have now.

If you start with water, that has a SG of 1.000. As you add sugar, the SG goes up, in your case, to 1.080. As the yeast eat the sugar (and pee alcohol), the SG drops. When they have eaten ALL of the sugar, you will be left with a mixture of water and alcohol. The SG of this mixture will be about 0.99x, where x could be 0 to, say, 7 (0.990 to 0.997).

To find the ABV, you take your initial SG (1.080 in your case) and subtract your SG at the moment (1.010 in your case), then multiply this difference by 131. You find that, right now, your ABV is approximately (1.080 - 1.010)*131 = 0.07*131 = 9.17%.

If your final SG falls to, say, 0.995 (a typical value), your ABV will be (1.080 - 0.995)*131 = 0.085*131 = 11.1%.