WineXpert Eclipse Stag's Merlot degassing question/issue?

[Stickymatch]

I performed Step 3 - Stablizing and Clearing on my Eclipse Stag's Leap Merlot last night. SG prior to racking from secondary to carboy was 0.992 and temp of wine was 73-74F. Once racked into carboy, I added k-meta and sorbate....degassed with a whip attachment on my drill for 2 minutes (on high, continuous, one direction, vortex formed). I then added the 2 packs of Chitosan and degassed again for 2 minutes as outlined above. After this, the wine looked like this:



This morning, I looked at the wine and I see this jelly type stuff floating at the top along with my oak cubes:




Is this normal? Is it the Chitosan binding with sediment? If I gently move the carboy, my airlock will burp. Also,after some more research, I realize that during degassing I should have pulsed the drill and changed direction to avoid adding O2.

Any help is appreciated...just want to know if this is normal and I'll be ok. If not, what I can do, if anything.


Thanks.

 

[GaDawg]

The " jelly type stuff" floating at the top is sediment being held up by CO2. Take your sanitized brew spoon, handle first and give it a good stir. The sediment should settle to the bottom.

 

[Stickymatch]

Thanks for the reply. I just did what you said and a lot of it seemed to have settled while some floated back up to the top. Is this a sign of not being fully degassed or just a normal part of the process? This is my first kit so I'm just trying to distinguish what is normal vs having an issue.

Thanks.

 

[Boatboy24]

I think it's just a sign of not being fully degassed. I've had floaters like that before and they fall within a souple days. As you said, the drill should be used in short bursts, in opposing directions. I wouldn't be afraid to keep temps where they are, and hit the wine with the drill a couple times over the next few days. Yes, you will stir up the sediment. But once you're completely degassed, it'll settle quickly.

 

[DoctorCAD]

In about 90 days, all of that will settle out.

 

[GaDawg]

Stickymatch, I think it's just a sign of not being fully degassed.

 

[Stickymatch]

Thanks for the help.

Per the kit instructions, in 8 days I should proceed to the next step which indicates the wine should be pretty clear and I should rack again and let sit for 28 days. As mentioned above, I'll degas over the next few days in the hopes that it clears by day 8. If not, I'll let it sit for a couple more days as I can't really see that it would hurt anything. Once clear, I proceed to the next step. If this seems out of whack, let me know.

Thanks.

 

[bkisel]

Are you certain your instructions don't have you degassing for a longer period of time? 2 minutes for stirring in stabilizing agents and another 2 for clearing agents sounds fine but I feel 4 minutes is wholly inadequate for degassing.

 

[Stickymatch]

Are you certain your instructions don't have you degassing for a longer period of time? 2 minutes for stirring in stabilizing agents and another 2 for clearing agents sounds fine but I feel 4 minutes is wholly inadequate for degassing.

That's what it says and after reading more than I cared to about degassing over the last 36 hours, I agree that it may not be enough....especially considering that the common theme seems to be anywhere from 30 to 60 minutes +