fruit must

[fridady]

How long should I leave the fruit in the must of my 6 1/2 gallon primary fermenter. I have done it several different times. Just wondering what a good rule of thumb would be.

 

[Norton]

I do about seven days.

 

[Wiz]

If you transfer to your secondary at about 1.020 it should be about 7 days and you will need to remove your fruit.

 

[Turock]

What kind of fruit? On red raspberry, you want to remove the seeds after 3 days. If there are no concerns of seed contact, the fruit can stay in thru the entire fermentation.

 

[fridady]

I'm making blueberry. Started with a specific gravity of 1.070. Yeast working well but gravity not falling very fast.

 

[Turock]

In regards to the slow ferment------low PH can make a ferment slow,also be sure the temp isn't too cool, and that you've used nutrient and maybe energizer---some yeast require energizer.

 

[fridady]

Can u add the nutrient while it is already fermenting ?

 

[Turock]

Yes, you usually split your dose of nutrient into 2 doses during fermentation. First dose goes in at the start and the other after 1/3 of the sugar is depleted.

 

[fridady]

I'm being told that I'm geting a bum reading on my specific gravity reading because I did not put my fruit in a bag. What type of bag should u use and where do u get them ?

 

[roadwarriorsvt]

They may be referring to a paint straining bag. Most any Lowes, Home Depot, etc. carry them. They are fairly inexpensive and can be tossed out when you remove your fruit.

 

[Turock]

Bagging fruit or not will make no difference in the SG. We bag all our musts because it make racking off the primary so easy, and then you have all the must contained in order to press. We use Leggs knee length hosiery for our bags--works really slick when used with a large plastic funnel from a Vitorio salsa making set up.

What kind of yeast are you using---did you pitch it dry or rehydrate it?

 

[fridady]

I'm using a Levin yeast. I pinched dry the first time. After three days of nothing I found out that the yeast was at it expiration date so I rehydrated a pack because it would b a week before my order came in. It worked real good in primary fermenter for three weeks then after I put it in the secondary fermenter it almost stopped. The specific gravity is still about 1.040. Tring to warm it up now to see if it will restart. I was told that the extra fruit sludge as I will call it is causing the bum reading. That why I was asking about bags.

 

[Turock]

OK----but which Lavin yeast are you using? Some of these cultures require the more complex nutrients----if you don't use them and just rely on standard nutrient, they can stall out.

If you are having a hard time floating your hydromter in the primary, withdraw some into a cylinder and take another reading. The debris from the ferment doesn't affect the reading. But you have to have enough fluid to float the hydrometer.

 

[fridady]

Correction I used red star cote des blancs . I also used my hydrometer in a whine thief to check specific gravity.