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andy

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Hi there

New to this, like a lot of people, bouth the JJ Berrry book and am now hooked :)

1st gallon was in the form of a Pino Kit, and tates superb.

Also have in demijohns

1 gal Sloe wine
1 gal Wheat wine
1 gal Rose hip wine

My question is:-

all three mixes fermented like a mad thing in the bucket ( around 7 days) , but as soon as they were transfered to demijohns the fement slowed to a near stop. I have used some re-start on the Sloe which is now fermenting nicely.

is this normal please ?

Andy:b
 
Need more info;
What was the starting gravity?
What is the gravity
What is the recipe?
Do you have a hydrometer?
 
Hi Tom


What was the starting gravity? No idea
What is the gravity no idea
What is the recipe? taken from JJ Berry's book

Do you have a hydrometer? no :d

Sorry not being very helpful am i :db
 
If you want to make wine you need some basic equipment. Hydrometer
Potassium Metabisulfite
Sorbate
TA kit
Acid Blend
Wine yeast
Just to name a few. Without the info I asked for no one can really answer those questions. The wine may have fermented dry and it may not have....
 
Despite the lack of hydrometer and the info that it would give....

...the BIG fermentation occurs in the primary....it usually starts to slow down around day 7....racking it to secondary you generally get minimal satisfaction from the airlock....but that's a good thing....that means that phase is almost done...and you're closer to the next step.
 
Hi andy and welcome to the forum.



Not all here make fruit wines or have the cjj berry book and he did write a couple of different volumes as I recall. If you need help with a specific wine.. It'll help us help you with more accuracy if you could quickly pop the recipe on your query.. followed by your method.

The most basic piece of equipment is a hydrometer, they are not very expensive and will help you initially to work out your finished alcohol by volume and also to pinpoint when fermentation is done. If you can get hold of one of course, I realise not everyone has a local home brew store nearby.

note from me... your fruit wines will finish at their own pace.. my rhubarb takes forever to ferment dry and then degassing it takes a couple more weeks on top. Each wine is different, relies on the sugar levels in the fruit used.. and they vary from season to season.


keep the questions coming , it's what we're here for!

Allie:bt
 
Andy, so you are going to buy a hydrometer right away right? Sounds like you got something going on, but a hydrometer can answer questions for you that you cant see visually. After transfering from your primary, provided you have a good yeast, you may not see much action, but I guarantee you, it is still doing it's thing, and the only way to be sure is with that hydrometer. Therer pretty cheap 10 skins or so.

And yes, sanitation and sterilization are beyond important. it doesn't take much to mess up a nice batch of wine. Make sure you get some sodium metabisulfite, or some potassium metabisulfite. Then pop back in and we will have you so hooked you will never stop, most of us never will, and the rest are heading down the same road!

Good brewing to you buddy. keep in touch!.
Troy
 
1 gallon batches will ferment out much faster then bigger batches and sometimes racking off the sediment will slow down then fermentation due to leaving viable yeast behind. I dont like to leave this stuff behind when its fermenting cause stalls can occur this way. I either ferment out fully in primary or mix it up to rack to vessel with less space. Dont do it too early though cause you dont want a violent fermentation in a vessel with little headspace. Without a hydrometer it is nearly impossible for us to help you!
 
A gallon batch will also ferment faster due to the higher cell count per volume if a whole packet of yeast is used. The cell counts will reach an equal count but it will take longer in the 5 gallon batch hence how a smaller batch will ferment faster at times. Not always though. Other factors can play into the equation such as pH, Acidity, temperature, sulfites, etc.
 
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