I'm new to this and need help

[Fentos1303]

Hi all, I recently brewed a home made 5 litre wine kit from wilkinsons and followed instructions and all went to plan, so now I have went for the 30 bottle 20 litre kit and tonight was the night to bottle (14 days later) I know seems short time but that is the instructions to follow, any the point is I opened my 23 litre fermenter and it's got little grey/black bits in and smallish looking mould clumps! This did not happen first time round when using demijohn! Is my wine up s#*t creek now or can this be normal and rescued? Plz comment back someone

 

[bkisel]

Welcome to Wine Making Talk.

Wish I could help you directly but I'm new to this stuff. Can you upload a picture? Might help folks if they can see what you're talking about.

 

[Deezil]

Welcome to WMT.

The instructions are nothing more than a guideline, really.
Hardly any batch of wine is ready to bottle in 14 days.
Think of some of it as Marketing. 14 days sounds great, but doesnt taste like it sounds.

It was clean juice prior to fermentation? Fermentation went fine? You racked to an airlocked vessel? (the 23 litre fermenter - bucket or carboy?) Alcohol fermentation has ceased, through Specific Gravity readings maintaing the same for 3 days or more, consecutively?

If those answers are 'yes' & 'carboy', then, did you add any K-Meta (Potassium Metabisulfite) when fermentation was finished?

It sounds like your wine has finished fermentation, been open to the elements and has gone without a K-meta addition, leaving it vulnerable to infection. A K-Meta dose, provided you havent made one yet, is what you're looking for. This will knock anything growing, out cold, for the time being. K-meta dissipates over time, although a lot slower in closed spaces (corked bottles more than carboys) but will leave in a hurry if left open to the elements.

If this is indeed a 5-6 gallon batch of wine, from a kit, I would add 1/4 tsp K-meta, provided everything else I've mentioned falls into line.

Have you used a hydrometer to ensure that your wine is fermented dry, and created enough alcohol to get above 10% ABV?

 

[Fentos1303]

Thanks for all that, I'm not sure of alcohol ceasing etc or the other technical stuff you mention, all I know i can add is Camden tablets as never heard of k- meta! Don't know what that is? I'm not sure it is just yeast and I aint figured out how to upload picture yet? All I know is this stuff/kit was just same as my successful 5 litre one I made just that was over 3 weeks to do yet this one only 14 days, will adding Camden tablets save this wine? How do I upload picture?

 

[Deezil]

Thanks for all that, I'm not sure of alcohol ceasing etc or the other technical stuff you mention, all I know i can add is Camden tablets as never heard of k- meta! Don't know what that is? I'm not sure it is just yeast and I aint figured out how to upload picture yet? All I know is this stuff/kit was just same as my successful 5 litre one I made just that was over 3 weeks to do yet this one only 14 days, will adding Camden tablets save this wine? How do I upload picture?

Check for alcohol fermentation finishing by measuring the SG (usually for 3 days in a row).. Since it could be infected, measure the SG and if its below 1.000, then get some Campden tablets in there.

Campden tablets and K-meta are the same thing, essentially. Campden tablets are just the tablet form of the K-meta powder.

1 Campden Tablet per gallon

Pictures can be uploaded in an area below where you type your Reply, in "Additional Options" there is a section called "Attach Files" with a button, "Manage Attachments". Click that button, a window pops up, add the file from your computer, click upload and wait for the window to refresh, showing the file name on the bottom of that window.. Then you can close that window, post your reply and the picture should appear. If in doubt, press "Preview Post" first, to make sure it shows.

 

[Fentos1303]

Thanks Manley, I tried that but using iPhone 4s so was not able to work it all out, I have a funny feeling it's the yeast but last time (first ever time also) it sat on bottom so not sure if possible to float around or rise to top is it? Im buying new hydrometer tomorrow as broke my last one, was just a shock to see it like that when I opened FV vessel up! I have siphoned 5 litres into a demijohn to see how it settles over night, everything was sterilised too! Would u suggest checking hydrometer tomorror then adding tablets to vessel and leave at that?

 

[Deezil]

Yeast will definitely rise to the top / fall to the bottom

When did you start this wine?

Campden tablets should only be added if fermentation is complete.

If fermentation is still active, it could be yeast? But you should see some foam, hear foaming like you just opened a soda and you should be able to smell it - reminiscent of beer and bread.. Yeast..

Get a SG measurement, post it here, and we'll help ya out

... Does anyone reading this know how to post pictures from a smartphone/ WMT app? I havent used it..

 

[Fentos1303]

Well thats very helpful, this will sound silly but only 14 days since I started it but instructions say ( which I followed religiously ) that it's ready after this time! Really happy I came on here now, so one last question is if it has stopped fermenting when I check hydrometer tomorrow, you maybe think just leave a little longer see if yeast drops to bottom then rack and bottle or should I add Camden tablets then leave then rack it? Also how long to leave after putting tablets in, 7 days? I'm going to find the mobile app for this forum which should be simple to load photos from! I am hoping to send the picture of the little guide by guide brewing instructions photo I took earlier, ps I have added all finings and stabilisers!

 

[seth8530]

I would be interested in some pictures of this mold like stuff you describe.. It could be as simple as being lees. However, if it was my own wine and it turned out to be mold I would pitch it. Esp considering that this is only a 5 liter batch. Of course, some pics would be helpful.

BTW good advice by Deezil

 

[Deezil]

I'm not familiar with this type of kit, nor most kits for that matter, but the "stabilizers" might have contained enough k-meta/campden tablets for now. It's normally a mix of the k-meta (potassium metabisulfite) and potassium sorbate.

A picture would answer a lot of questions and help us guide you in the right direction.

Regardless of what the kit says, you're quite a ways (weeks, months) out from bottling.
It's still full of CO2, that much i can promise you.

Wine making takes patience, so the sooner you can quit remembering "14 days", this quicker this will get a lot easier & you'll make much better wine

Since you've added the stabilizers, take the time to check the SG with your hydrometer for 3 days in a row. If you get the same reading for 3 days in a row, its not moving anymore & its either finished fermenting if it ran out of sugar, or it stalled (if theres still sugar left)

As long as the alcohol level is over 10-11%, no human pathogens can survive in that environment - so if it is mold, it wont hurt you, and k-meta/campden should knock it out.. If the alcohol isnt over 10-11%, it could be something you wouldnt want to consume. We'll only know the alcohol level if you took a beginning SG measurement to compare with the readings tomorrow.

I'm not sure what it is at this point though - CO2, mold, yeast, lees, etc..
A picture would help immensely.

 

[derunner]

Having done 20 kits, they are never done when mentioned in the instructions. Clearing usually takes 2-3 months or longer with a couple rackings. And then you may choose to age more in a carboy or bottle and age in the bottle depending on the kit type. You do not want to bottle wine with CO2 in it or if it is not clear. Corks will pop, or you will have sediment in your bottles.

 

[Fentos1303]

Thanks guys, I'm thinking it's just yeast as this morning the demijohn I have siphoned 5 ltrs into is crystal clear and looking fine! Would use still advise Camden tablets or maybe just siphoning it all from vessel into secondary vessel and leave for a little longer before bottling? Just want to do the right thing with it been a 30 bottle kit! I'm en route now for tablets ( if needed ) and a hydrometer! Can use explain how I can add a photo using my mobile device??

 

[Deezil]

If by a little longer, you mean several weeks / months, before bottling.. Then yeah.

Might as well grab some Potassium Metabisulfite powder instead of campden tablets, if you're already going for the Hydrometer. Campden tablets are K-meta (Pot. Sulfite), but the tablets have fillers that dont always dissolve where the K-meta doesnt have fillers.

1/4 tsp per 5-6 gallons of K-meta is equal to 1 tablet/gallon of Campden tablet
Anything less than 5-6 gallons, gets 1/8 tsp.

From the sounds of it though, the stabilizer you added could very well have had K-meta/Campden tablets in it... So I'm still not sure if its yeast, mold, sediment/lees, or what...

I'm not sure about posting a photo from a mobile (dont have one fancy enough to do that) but hopefully someone comes along who is, so we can figure this out.

Do you have a picture from when it looked funky?

 

[cmason1957]

I will offer this about posting a picture using the smart phone app. When I am making a list, there are three buttons. Send, Attachments, And Cancel. When I click the Attachments button I get a new button Add Attachment. Selecting that and I can choose an existing picture or to take a new one. I am going to add a picture here just to test it.

 

[Fentos1303]

Here goes

 

[Fentos1303]

Thoughts??

 

[Fentos1303]

And this is my vessel

 

[Fentos1303]

My other half has just purchased me a hydrometer and Camden tablets today whilst im at work, so now you very helpful guys what do use think after seein pictures is the next step?? ps failure or success on this I'm very much addicted to this game now!

 

[derunner]

look up pictures of mycoderma aka flowers of wine. It might be the early stages of mycoderma. It is hard to say, some look like bubbles, but if it seems to be clumps of whitish strands it maybe mycoderma. See what others think.

If Mycoderma the extra dose of k-meta/Camden tablets should help, but you also need to get the wine into carboy or jug that reduces the surface area exposed to oxygen. When fermenting we want a lot of surface area because the yeast need oxygen, but after fermentation slows and completes, we want very little surface area. We want the vessels filled so the wine is up to the small neck area of a jug or carboy. that way you have a couple square inches of surface area versus a 100 square inches in a fermentation bucket.

If mycoderma, you can also suck out those clumps with a sterilized eye dropper or baster. With less surface area, and k-meta, you may be able to kill off what is left. I have had success with this.

 

[Fentos1303]

Thanks and it's only so far down the vessel as I took 5 litres out to see how it settled just last night, looking at it now it's clear and has no nasty bits floating at all in this 2nd demijohn, will another 23 litre plastic drum washed and sterilised be fine to transfer this into once I have used Camden tablets and let them work there magic? I ask a lot of questions I know haha just want it all to be right! Thanks again! Will check hydrometer reading in couple hours when home to see my readings then seek help from there on