lewisericeric
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- Oct 1, 2010
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Hi All
Hope someone might be able to offer some advice as this one is puzzling me a bit.
I started an Island Mist kit (Strawberry White Merlot) and out of all my kits I bought this was the one I was most excited about as it just sounded delicious.
However, as it was only 6.5% I wanted to create an experiment. So I added enough sugar to take the SG up to about 1065. (Original SG was 1040!)
Anyway, the instructions stated that after 5-7 days you should check the SG and it should be around 1010-1018 and if it is , you should rack off for secondary fermentation. It advised that if the SG wasnt yet 1010-1018 wait until it is.
Well, I decided to leave it until day 7 to check for the SG as I (wrongly!) assumed at the time that because I added more sugar, it would take longer to get down to that level.
On day 7, the reading was 0996! I racked off immediately.
The instructions state that for secondary fermentation should be around 10 days and that fermentation is complete when wine is between 0994-0996.
3 consecutive days, revealed the SG at 0996 and therefore fermentation is complete already despite another 10 days due!?!
I tasted the wine at this point and it was acrid to say the least. Really strong tasting (got the back of the throat)
At this point in the instructions, it advised to add the F-Pack which was a strawberry flavoured thick syrup.
It advised that the SG would return to around 1010-1018 once this was added. The SG did return to around 1014 but still doesn't taste like something I'd drink.
I knew the risk of adding sugar may well drown out those strawberry tones, but I didn't expect for the original SG to be taken from 1040 to 1065 to create rocket fuel as it's not that much of an increase. And it doesn't explain why the fermentation completed 10 days early!
However, all the SG readings are as per the instructions so what's happened?
Do I just need to wait for it to clear and then maybe add glycerine/Sinatin 17 to hopefully round it off into something that's very drinkable and refreshing (like in my dreams?!!)
Any help/opinions much appreciatedd!!
Lewis
Hope someone might be able to offer some advice as this one is puzzling me a bit.
I started an Island Mist kit (Strawberry White Merlot) and out of all my kits I bought this was the one I was most excited about as it just sounded delicious.
However, as it was only 6.5% I wanted to create an experiment. So I added enough sugar to take the SG up to about 1065. (Original SG was 1040!)
Anyway, the instructions stated that after 5-7 days you should check the SG and it should be around 1010-1018 and if it is , you should rack off for secondary fermentation. It advised that if the SG wasnt yet 1010-1018 wait until it is.
Well, I decided to leave it until day 7 to check for the SG as I (wrongly!) assumed at the time that because I added more sugar, it would take longer to get down to that level.
On day 7, the reading was 0996! I racked off immediately.
The instructions state that for secondary fermentation should be around 10 days and that fermentation is complete when wine is between 0994-0996.
3 consecutive days, revealed the SG at 0996 and therefore fermentation is complete already despite another 10 days due!?!
I tasted the wine at this point and it was acrid to say the least. Really strong tasting (got the back of the throat)
At this point in the instructions, it advised to add the F-Pack which was a strawberry flavoured thick syrup.
It advised that the SG would return to around 1010-1018 once this was added. The SG did return to around 1014 but still doesn't taste like something I'd drink.
I knew the risk of adding sugar may well drown out those strawberry tones, but I didn't expect for the original SG to be taken from 1040 to 1065 to create rocket fuel as it's not that much of an increase. And it doesn't explain why the fermentation completed 10 days early!
However, all the SG readings are as per the instructions so what's happened?
Do I just need to wait for it to clear and then maybe add glycerine/Sinatin 17 to hopefully round it off into something that's very drinkable and refreshing (like in my dreams?!!)
Any help/opinions much appreciatedd!!
Lewis