I Made Rocket Fuel!!!

[gardengrl]

So I started with a strawberry wine from Jack Keller's site. Took my first SG tonight before adding the yeast.....1.120....yes, that's not a typo!! Even my hydrometer said "dessert wine" in the red zone.

WARNING WILL ROBINSON!

Mental note: Jack's wines start sweeeeeeeet. I added a little bit of water to bring it down, to around 1.095then added the yeast. Iknow I will probably dilute it a little more withtopping off in the future, so I'm o.k. with that startingSG.


It smells devine though.


Question: At what SG do I transfer to the secondary? 1.030-ish?

 

[Waldo]

I would say around 1.000 to 1.010 would be a good time to rack

 

[Wade E]

I typically rack at 1.020. What yeast did you use? Always add sugar to SG you want and not to recipe given as sugar levels vary from fruit to fruit. Does Jack specify what his finished sg should be as he might have done this with a weaker strain of yeast to finish sweet.

 

[gardengrl]

Wade, I used a champagne yeast as he specified in his recipe. He doesn't say what the finished SG should be. I guess I'll wait and see!


I've read somewhere else (after the fact) that his recipes start out sweet and that people making his wine should use caution. Oh well...live and learn.

 

[Joanie]

Gardengrl....BTDT with peach! I couldn't even get the hydrometer to register is was floating so high!! It turned out to be so good friends are wanting me to screw up another batch!

I'm not sure I can repeat the feat!

 

[gardengrl]

O.k., so I have other questions too!


So I added enough water to bring the SG down to 1.090-ish, then added the yeast. Was that alright? Will it dilute the wine? Should I add more fruit now?


Is there a difference between, say, adding enough sugar to 5 pints of water/fruit to make an SG of 1.090 or having 5 pints of sugar water/fruit with a high SG, then diluting with water to make it1.090? I'm confused about this.

Another question, since this is such a small batch (1 gallon), how to I keep checking the SG without wasting wine? It takes about 1/2 cup or more to fill up that beaker for the hydrometer, and I know you're supposed to toss the wine left in the beaker afterwards. Will this cause problems when it's in the 2ndary and I'll have to top off? Should I top off with water & then will it dilute it more?


Thanks for helping this nervous newbie out!Edited by: gardengrl

 

[gardengrl]

Joan, what does BTDT mean???

 

[grapeman]

You can get a winethief for getting samples for the hydrometer. When done with the test, just release it back into the wine. Just be sure the winethief and hydrometer are sanitized with k-meta before use.

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[Joanie]

Been there done that!

It's okay tho...it came out fine. Strong but fine!

 

[Wade E]

What I do when making a fruit wine with fresh fruit is put in a crushed campden tablet or k0meta, add my nutrient and energizer pour in a little hot water and mix well. Then I put the fruit in a strainer bag and put in(if fruit is prone to browning like apples I also add ascorbic acid as an anti-oxidant) and then pour haot water over the fruit. After 12 hours I add the pectic enzyme and wait another 12 hours and adjust sugar and add yeast. After 5-7 days i remove fruit and squeeze out all the goodness and adjust acid. If you are working off a recipe that is trusted then you can use recommended amount of acid blend but they make typo's and I prefer do adjust accordingly myself with a test kit. You can even do it by taste as acid blend will make it more tart.