Need Help to reduce SG.

[Peter Butt]

I have brewed a number of kit wines so I decided to try a natural berry wine. I used Blueberry, Partridge Berry and Squash Berry combination. I had it fermenting for 33 days and thought fermenting was done until I checked the SG which was still 1.020. Most of my wine kits ferment at 14-21 days. I racked the wine but decided to return it back into the brewing bucket. What is my next move? Should I add more yeast? or just wait?

 

[pgentile]

Need more info. You are at 1.020 now, what did it start at? What yeast did you use?

 

[Peter Butt]

I am not quite sure of an accurate reading at the beginning. I can remember placing the hydrometer in the wine and thinking that it was really high ...like 1.10. Definitely higher than the wine kits that I have done. I used a typical wine yeast . Small pack... I think it was called Lalvin. The squashberry is also called High Bush Cranberry.

 

[pgentile]

If you started at 1.100 and are now 1.020 you are at 10.5% ABV. There are many threads here on dealing with a stuck fermentation. Most don't succeed but a few do.

Some get yeast going again with yeast energizer and yeast starter. Lavlin has a few yeast strains that can handle 12-16%ABV.

If you're starting SG was higher than 1.100 you could be at your yeast toleration already. If that's the case no matter what you do yeasts aren't going to finish it off.

I had a stuck 5 gl batch of blackberry wine a few years ago, couldn't get is restarted, I had added too much sugar to the recipe. I ended up blending a gallon of it into the next 5 batches I did of various kits. All fermented dry and were pretty good.

Good luck.

 

[Scooter68]

It would be helpful to know more about the steps you followed, what you added and the quantities of what you added. The pH and SG at starting are also very important especially when you are making a DIY wine instead of a kit.

The Yeast may have exceeded it's max Alcohol limits, run out of nutrients or the must may be too acidic or to alkaline. The latter condition can lead to bacteria infections so if you have a pH meter or TA test kit, now would be a good time to use them.

For future reference, even with kit wines, it pays to keep good records of what and when along with all readings AND readings before you start are far more important than readings at present. (You can always to take a reading to determine current conditions.) With wines, if you don't know where you started, you don't really know where you are going. You can always go take a new reading "In process" but without those starting point readings it becomes more guesswork to solve problems.

By the way Blueberry based wines are notorious for being highly acidic and pushing yeasts beyond their limits in terms of acid.

 

[mainshipfred]

As the others have said record keeping is important. It would be nice to know if or when the active fermentation stopped. If the wine has been sitting for to long with no activity you could have an oxygen spoilage issue.
Again not knowing everything I would recommend adding a nutrient and either EC-1118 or KV-1116 or anyother champagne yeast. The following link is from Scott Labs regarding stuck fermentation. Good luck and welcome to the forum.

http://www.scottlab.com/uploads/doc...thod to Restart a Stuck Fermentation 2017.pdf

 

[meadmaker1]

Taking a picture of starting sg helps. If you are not certain of the reading you can post it and others will help. lavin makes several yeasts. Know what you use so you can figure out what works best with what types and what you like.

 

[Peter Butt]

Thanks everyone. I realize now I needed to keep better records. As an excuse, after doing 20 plus kits, the procedure just comes automatic. It is totally different from a DIY wine. I have racked the wine into a secondary now hoping for the best. I will wait for 7-10 days and then clear. Hopefully my bottles will be strong enough to hold it. Thanks again.

 

[meadmaker1]

I've never done a kit.
I get the same thing routine. I tend to repeat a lot of things but took the time to write my methods down, then record any variations I might choose. Like differant yeast, and higher or lower starting sg.
Dont bottle any time soon, weeks at least.
Let it clear on its own and treat it with sorbate and k meta before bottling.
Or store the bottles in leak proof containers and not in your house.
Othervwise we'll all get a laugh when you learn the bottle bomb lesson and post about it.
Not that I will be funny at all, rather remebering our own disasters.