Please analyze my process/recipe for my 1st batch.

[jsavage]

Yeah, the supermarket only had 12 cans of the ones without preservatives. I may add in a few more cans tomorrow, not sure yet. I'll be OK with a medium bodied wine for this first batch, so I may just let it ride.

 

[vvolf34]

Sounds good, but I can tell you from making Skeeter Pee, after fermentation starts, it is very hard to stop. I added 2 bottles of lemon juice, which had 2 types of preservatives in it, not to mention high acid from the lemon juice itself. My must didn't even hiccup. I think at this point you would be fine adding more cans with preservatives. My worry, it won't be medium bodied, but light. I have seen others even recommend up to 5 cans. But I have never made this type of wine, so I am just going off of what others have said.

 

[arcticsid]

I wish I could help you on the tablets, I have never used them. I too use the powdered potassium metabisulfite powder. The ratio is 1/4 tsp per 5 gallons of must. This is 50 ppm.

For sanitizing solution, most use 2 tablespoons per gallon, like for cleaning buckets, etc. Put some solution into a spray bottle. It works great for a quick sterilization, for instance if you just want to spray your hydrometer to take a reading, or hit your stirring spoon. Give it a quick spray and let it sit for a minute or so.

 

[jsavage]

Wine Log (Continued)

01/25/09
Fermentation looking about the same. Lots of foam when I stir. Must temperature had climbed to about 81F when I checked at 5:30 pm. I moved the heating blanket higher up on the bucket and also added another towel between the blanket and the bucket. Checked temperature again at midnight and it had climbed to 85F so I took the heating blanket off and placed it on top of the bucket, covering about half, and draped the other half up over the chair back.

01/26/09
Temperature this morning at 8:30 am was back to 80F, and dropped to 76F by 7:00 pm.

Question: Is there any benefit to stirring extra to degas the must? I notice quite a LOT of foaming when I stir. Or should I just stick to a quick stir to mix up the yeast and leave the degassing for later?

 

[vvolf34]

Degassing is for later after fermentation and after you have stabilized your wine. No since in trying to degass it now. I have never stirred a wine yet except for the Skeeter pee, because it was low nutrient and high acid must and the recipe said to stir it daily to add oxygen. Other than that all my other ferments have been left alone during primary.

 

[jsavage]

Stuck fermentation?

What should I be doing at this point?

Wine Log (Continued)

01/27/09
Temperature by night was back down to 65, repositioned heating pad.

01/28/09
Temperature still low. Took SG reading of around 1.020. Transferred to secondary and wrapped carboy in heating blanket.

01/29/09
No signs of fermentation. There are a few isolated clumps of bubbles on the surface but not much. Temp is up to 69F

01/30/09
Still no signs of fermentation. Temp back to around 73F. Am I done? Is the fermentation stuck? Still the few clumps of bubbles, maybe it's just fermenting very slow. I stirred the must to see if that would help. This is probably a fault of the temperature fluctuations. I really need to buy a brew-belt for next time. The must is about the same color as when I mixed it up. It was a grapefruit color during active fermentation.

 

[arcticsid]

You need to put it under an airlock with as little headspace as possible and leave it alone for a couple weeks. Noneed to stir or stare at it. It is done for now. Temperature isn't extremely critical as it was, but if you can keep it around 70 youll be just fine. No reason whatsoever to try and get warmer than that. I'd shoot for 65-70, but don't pull your hair out trying to maintain temperature, but you don't want constant large temp swings.