Help, my SG isn't right?!?

[rakundig]

I am at day 21. I have tested, according to my kit instructions, the SG beginning on day 17. It is approximately .998-.999.

I waited until day 19, the same

It is now day 21, the same.

My kit says that is should be between .996 - .990.

It is perhaps, barely, below 1.000 and it says that I absolutely should not put in the clearing agents if it is not below 1.000. It is real close.

So, do I let it stay in the carboy longer? I don't believe that will hurt it any. Will that actually do anything? Will it ever get below .996? Or is it just hosed?

 

[Julie]

what is the temp, it it is too cool it might not get down any lower than what it is

 

[rakundig]

I just thought of that as well. I am in the basement and it is a little cool. Not sure of the exact temp. When I was in the fermenter I moved it wine a bit further away from my heater because it was around 78 degrees, or higher,not sure since my thermometer on the fermenter stopped around 78 degrees. So, it about 6' away now, and probably too cool. I will move it back to the shelf closer to the heater, see if I can kick-start that yeast; whatever is left of it.

It has also been really cold these last weeks, so that has probably made the basement even a bit cooler than it was during the first couple weeks.

I have moved it to the old spot which was warmer. See if that helps.

How long can it be left in the carboy before putting in the clearing agents? Does that absolutely have to be done now? Could it be days, weeks, months later?

 

[Julie]

also, if you are fermenting in the basement, don't let your carboys sit on the basement floor, have it sitting up a little higher or make sure you have carpet laying underneath. I ferment in the basement and the cement floor just sucks the heat out of the carboys.

 

[cpfan]

rakundig...

Which kit is this? Have you made any tweaks? Or have you followed the instructions closely?

Steve

 

[Runningwolf]

I would cal it done and move on.

 

[rakundig]

rakundig...

Which kit is this? Have you made any tweaks? Or have you followed the instructions closely?

Steve

Well, I don't have the box anymore so I can't remember the manufacturer; I kept the instructions and I followed them completely (except I added about 1oz of lightly toasted oak)

Oh, and I did do one degassing during fermentation in the carboy (which the instructions allow for as "optional")

 

[rakundig]

also, if you are fermenting in the basement, don't let your carboys sit on the basement floor, have it sitting up a little higher or make sure you have carpet laying underneath. I ferment in the basement and the cement floor just sucks the heat out of the carboys.

I have always had it on a wire shelf 3' off the ground. I did put it on the cement floor once in the primary fermenter when the temp was waaay high so that it would cool off, but once it was down around 72 I put it back on a shelf, but further away. It maintained about a 77 degree temp there, but that was before the "arctic blasts". So, the basement is probably a bit cooler now because of the nasty cold.

 

[rakundig]

I would cal it done and move on.

Unless someone lets me know that leaving it in the carboy and not adding the clearning agents for a while longer will ruin it i plan to leave it nearer to the heater so that it may ferment a little more and see if I can get the right SG.

 

[Julie]

Unless someone lets me know that leaving it in the carboy and not adding the clearning agents for a while longer will ruin it i plan to leave it nearer to the heater so that it may ferment a little more and see if I can get the right SG.

You can leave it a while longer, not adding the clearing agents right now will not ruin your wine. If there is no change after a week, then I say it is done.

 

[richmke]

How long can it be left in the carboy before putting in the clearing agents? Does that absolutely have to be done now? Could it be days, weeks, months later?

If you bulk age in the carboy (1 year), clearing agents are optional. You can actually wait until shortly before bottling, or never at all.

If you want to bottle quickly, then you have to use clearing agents.

 

[rakundig]

You can leave it a while longer, not adding the clearing agents right now will not ruin your wine. If there is no change after a week, then I say it is done.

sweet, thanks. I will do that. I am also closing the door to the room it is in to trap some of the heat. Hopefully it will hit the magic number in a day or so and I can move on to the next step. Looking forward to having my own wine !

 

[Duster]

You have been given good advice thus far.
A couple of other things that come to mind are, degassing your sample before taking your SG reading. Also check what temp your hydrometer is calibrated at and adjust your readings to your wine temp.
Both of these can make small differences in your readings.
If it was mine, I'd call it dry, add some k-meta and and let it set for a month or two.

 

[rakundig]

You have been given good advice thus far.
A couple of other things that come to mind are, degassing your sample before taking your SG reading. Also check what temp your hydrometer is calibrated at and adjust your readings to your wine temp.
Both of these can make small differences in your readings.
If it was mine, I'd call it dry, add some k-meta and and let it set for a month or two.

good advice, at my temp I need to adjust by .02, so it is actually darn near ready, better than I thought. THANKS!