Help my son in law

[sampvt]

I gave my son in law a few bits and bobs to get going, namely a 30l fermenting vessel. He has screwed up and I don't know how to help him. He bought a Harris red wine kit and thought he needed to fill the container up to the shoulder. he has effectively put 29l into his mix instead of 23l and started it.

Obviously his sg is way down and his yeast might not cope along with flavour issues but all I could think of was more sugar, a grape concentrate and maybe aother half a sachet of yeast. Can anyone advise.

 

[vacuumpumpman]

I would start with -

what is his actual hydrometer readings ?
type of wine kit ?
any information will help

most likely you will have to bring up the SG and add some concentrate and even then it may be still watered down per say ?

 

[dralarms]

Tell him to buy another kit, mix both together and make sure he stays @ 46l.

 

[JohnT]

You could also measure and adjust the acid, then measure and adjust the sugar, ferment, hope for the best, and check if off as another lesson learned.

 

[richmke]

Too much water for an inexpensive kit. However, better to make mistakes on a cheap kit than an expensive one. I threw away my first kit because it was horrible, but I learned alot. I suggest keep following the instructions so he experiences all the steps. He may make a few more before he is finished with the kit.

Once he gets past fermentation and clearing, then he may want to try to concentrate what he has left (remove 6 liters of water). One possible way is to freeze a gallon at a time (or whatever size container he has), and keep track of how much ice is removed. Sample the first batch, and see if the rest of the kit is worth saving.

 

[Arne]

Taste it. Add enough juiceof some kind to make it taste good. Add sugar to 1.080. Check your acid level. Let it ferment away. Should probably come out ok. Maybe not great, but drinkable. Another try, maybe add a bottle of lemon juice (real lemon 48 oz.) sugar up to 1.070 or so, ferment down, when s.g. down to 1.050 or so add another bottle of lemon. Will give you kind of a skeeter pee, maybe not as strong with lemon but should make it drinkable. Arne.