Kit Primary Fermentation SG of .992 after 7 days

[hbskunk]

I am a newbie to kit wine making and that being said here goes...
I started a VR Shiraz kit 7 days and some hours ago with a SG of 1.094 at that time and instead of watching the gravity during the 5-7 days of primary i thought i could use the "rule of thumb" of one bubble per minute or so. Well after it got down to about 2 BPM and since it was 7 days I thought I should go ahead and rack it to secondary and take a hydrometer reading. I might add that it was a very vigorous fermentation. The reading came out at .992 which is waaay lower then what the instructions wanted of 1.010 for stage two to rack to secondary and actually lower then stage three of the instructions for stabilizing which is suppose to be .996 after 10 days in secondary. Ambient temp was around 69 to 72 degrees.

Now my questions are what is going on?
Did I wait too long in the primary?
How long should I leave it in secondary before stabilizing now that it is below even the secondary SG level in the instructions?
Will it just even out now in the secondary and stop fermenting?

I really appreciate any help you can provide! I'm totally lost with the instructions now. And if I forgot to add a detail just let me know. Thank you.

 

[cpfan]

hbskunk:

.992 in 7 days days has happened regularly for me. Yes, you could have racked at 1.010 (I won't rack above 1.005). The instructions say "below .996", not at .996.

Fermentation is probably finished, but CO2 gas will continue to escape. Personally I would wait at least another week (if not two weeks) before continuing to the next step.

Steve

 

[JerryF]

Kit Primary Fermentation SG of 0.992 after 7 days

I am a newbie to kit wine making and that being said here goes...
I started a VR Shirz kit 7 days and some hours ago with a SG of 1.094 at that time and instead of watching the gravity during the 5-7 days of primary i thought i could use the "rule of thumb" of one bubble per minute or so. Well after it got down to about 2 BPM and since it was 7 days I thought I should go ahead and rack it to secondary and take a hydrometer reading. I might add that it was a very vigorous fermentation. The reading came out at .992 which is waaay lower then what the instructions wanted of 1.010 for stage two to rack to secondary and actually lower then stage three of the instructions for stabilizing which is suppose to be .996 after 10 days in secondary. Ambient temp was around 69 to 72 degrees.

Now my questions are what is going on?
Did I wait too long in the primary?
How long should I leave it in secondary before stabilizing now that it is below even the secondary SG level in the instructions?
Will it just even out now in the secondary and stop fermenting?

I really appreciate any help you can provide! I'm totally lost with the instructions now. And if I forgot to add a detail just let me know. Thank you.

Like Steve, I have had numerous kit ferments go like that. At the time, it was unexpected to go that fast but after having been through it a few times now, I've learned to pay closer attention to the SG readings during the primary fermentation stage. While the fermentation may indeed be at or near the end, I agree that you're probably full of CO2 and would just leave it alone for a while. Then get your minimum 3 successive SG readings and proceed from there (i.e. stabilizing and degassing). You should be fine. I suspect that if all the conditions were just right (i.e. temperature, sugar level, strong yeast, etc.), that is probable reason for such a fast and vigorous ferment in your primary. Jerry

 

[DoctorCAD]

Number one...DO NOT USE BUBBLES TO JUDGE FERMENTATION.

Number two...slow down and enjoy the process, no rushing. A few days one way or the other won't hurt anything.

 

[bkisel]

I've not had any of my kits ferment that fast but a few have come close. 7 of my kits have been RJS and one was a MM, don't know it that makes a difference.

I would not be concerned about having racked when you did. Most of my kits have been RJS VdV kits and the have me fermenting to dry in the primary bucket - no secondary. I would stay in secondary until the day that your instructions have you moving on to the next steps which I'm guessing is stabilization, degassing and clearing.

 

[hbskunk]

Thank you for your insight everyone!

I will go ahead and follow the instructions as suggested and keep up on the gravity readings from now on. Being a first timer on this I was just really concerned and there isn't anyone locally that I know yet at least to ask questions to so I really appreciate knowing this has happened before to others and I didn't totally bugger things up. DocterCAD I believe i have totally learned the lesson about the difference between bubbles and the hydrometer and it's good to know that the process can be a little forgiving. It just seems like such a test of patience and faith in the beginning (I've never tried anyone's kit wine before either) I've become a little obsessed about doing it right...I will ease up...Thank you again and hopefully I can pass on the help once I'm more knowledgeable.

 

[cpfan]

hbskunk:

You might want to add something to the Location field in the Control Panel. Who knows, there might be a forum member in the neighbourhood.

Steve

 

[tonyt]

Welcome. That was a great post with good detail. Your experience is typical of how many of my fermentations go. Many on here ferment to dry in primary on purpose. And yes knowing your 20 is sometimes a help.

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