I am currently in the process of making 2 wines. The first batch is an Orange and Banana (very delicious!) and the other is a Grapefruit and Banana (I only made this last one because I felt like experimenting). As for sugar, I used a blend of table sugar, dark brown sugar, and maple syrup.
Here are my 2 issues/potential problems. The 1st is the most important and the 2nd I wouldn't mind throwing out, though I would be interested in how it tastes after it ages (3mths-6mths-1yr).
1# Both wines are 8 days old. The first one is the one that I'm worried about, though they both share the upcoming issue. ISSUE: there are tiny, presumably banana, particles suspended in the wine and on top of the yellow and white foam (cap). The only reason I can tell these particles apart from the rest of the deeply yellow colored mixture (body) is because there are several dark "dots" on the cap, which makes me assume that there might be a few inside, especially since during the primary fermentation I would mix, twice daily, the cap back in with the rest of the body. Anyway, the black specks seem to indicate spoilage, however, the bananas were a few days short of being ripe (still young), and furthermore, the alcohol percentage is set at about 7-8%. I have read somewhere that if the alcohol percentage is lower than 10% then the fruit is in danger of spoilage, but then, the wine is still quite sweet and this in itself acts as a preservative.
I don't have all the numbers. I made my own hydrometer and it indicates that my wine is in between 7-8% alcohol. I hope to get the alcohol level up to 11-15%.
2# The second wine (grapefruit and banana) was made at the last minute and in a large sanitized pickle jar. I don't really care what happens to it but I am interested in why it's not doing as well as the former. The fermentation process is very slow and it does not have a cap on top, only a thin white bubbly ring around the edges. It has a fizz to it which lets me know that the yeast is still active. It started out as strong as the first one, but for some reason it has slowed prematurely (it's still sweet) and it has been like this for several days now. Anyway, I made both at the same time and with the same techniques so I don't really understand why this is happening, although, it may be a problem with the level of acidity. Isn't a grapefruit more acidic than an orange? I suppose, though I an unable to check (the wine) because I don't have a pH measure - though, I could probably make one! Heh.
So, any possible solutions? For 1#, is filtration an option? Should I even worry about it? Thanks!
By the way, I don't have any Campden tablets.
Here are my 2 issues/potential problems. The 1st is the most important and the 2nd I wouldn't mind throwing out, though I would be interested in how it tastes after it ages (3mths-6mths-1yr).
1# Both wines are 8 days old. The first one is the one that I'm worried about, though they both share the upcoming issue. ISSUE: there are tiny, presumably banana, particles suspended in the wine and on top of the yellow and white foam (cap). The only reason I can tell these particles apart from the rest of the deeply yellow colored mixture (body) is because there are several dark "dots" on the cap, which makes me assume that there might be a few inside, especially since during the primary fermentation I would mix, twice daily, the cap back in with the rest of the body. Anyway, the black specks seem to indicate spoilage, however, the bananas were a few days short of being ripe (still young), and furthermore, the alcohol percentage is set at about 7-8%. I have read somewhere that if the alcohol percentage is lower than 10% then the fruit is in danger of spoilage, but then, the wine is still quite sweet and this in itself acts as a preservative.
I don't have all the numbers. I made my own hydrometer and it indicates that my wine is in between 7-8% alcohol. I hope to get the alcohol level up to 11-15%.
2# The second wine (grapefruit and banana) was made at the last minute and in a large sanitized pickle jar. I don't really care what happens to it but I am interested in why it's not doing as well as the former. The fermentation process is very slow and it does not have a cap on top, only a thin white bubbly ring around the edges. It has a fizz to it which lets me know that the yeast is still active. It started out as strong as the first one, but for some reason it has slowed prematurely (it's still sweet) and it has been like this for several days now. Anyway, I made both at the same time and with the same techniques so I don't really understand why this is happening, although, it may be a problem with the level of acidity. Isn't a grapefruit more acidic than an orange? I suppose, though I an unable to check (the wine) because I don't have a pH measure - though, I could probably make one! Heh.
So, any possible solutions? For 1#, is filtration an option? Should I even worry about it? Thanks!
By the way, I don't have any Campden tablets.