Potatoe Wine

[Frjen]

My potatoe wine has finished brewing but it’s very sour.


My best guess is that it’s below 2,5. I want to add doublesalt to lower the acitity. But I am havi trouble figuering out how many grams of double salt I need to add.

i have 20 liters of wine.

 

[sour_grapes]

Can you give us the chemical formula for the substance you are calling "double salt." I think there may be something lost in translation from Danish to English.

 

[Rice_Guy]

* the grams of alkali needed to raise the pH is a function of how much acidic material is in the system. The potato should have a minimal contribution (will run a potato sample today) and most if the pH will be the result of acid which was added. , , Question how much acid did you add?, what was in the starting recipe? potato weight? water volume? other ingredients?
* pH paper is relatively hard to read, in the original post your color is more in the orange red tones. I would have read this as a pH in the 3.8 +/- range, ,,,,, not 2.5. You note that it is very sour.
..It is normal for wine to taste more sour after the sugar is fermented off. Does adding sugar to a glass correct the sour flavor?
..It is also normal for the pH to decrease due to yeast producing CO2 which turns into carbonic acid. Does warming 100 ml of the wine for 45 to 60 seconds in a microwave followed by stirring till bubbles stop remove most of the sour flavor?
..yeast do not grow well below pH 3.0, at pH 2.5 I would expect poor growth and a stuck fermentation. Lactic acid bacteria could grow if the starting pH was high (like sour kraut fermentation) but would not produce alcohol. What was the starting pH?
..taste reference point, here in the states a citrus soda as MountainDew is about pH 2.5,

more after a potato pH test

 

[Rice_Guy]

This is probably not a useful answer since my guess is that your pH is a function of acid you added NOT minerals from potato. pH changes are complex due to multiple minerals acting in concert. The only way to know what will happen is to do a titration of your potato wine. This goes back to the questions above about what was in the recipe.
The potato I looked at has a pH of 5.4 (Titratable acidity 0.39% as tartaric acid) therefore to get a lower pH you had to add acid, ,,,,, again how much? To be a long shelf life wine the pH should be between 3.2 and 3.5. Low pH makes the metabisulphite (anti oxidant) chemistry work better. Too low on pH and the fermentation will not happen.

However if pH is due to potato the graphic shows the rate of change per kilogram of potato with the addition of an alkali. Potassium bicarbonate is used to shift pH in wines therefore I am showing the pH shift as KHCO3 is added to potato solids. The pH scale is logarithmic therefore the change will not be a straight line.


, , , , , , , , , , With more details we might give a better answer , , , , , , , , , , ,

I don't know what the purpose of the lemon is, the recipe doesn't say.

4 lb potato, sliced
1 lemon, sliced,
1/4 oz hops
1 gallon water
3 1/2 lb sugar

 

[Frjen]

Can you give us the chemical formula for the substance you are calling "double salt." I think there may be something lost in translation from Danish to English.

This is what the supplier also calls it, Acidex, Neoanticid and Calciumcarbonat, E170.

 

[Rice_Guy]

This is what the supplier also calls it, Acidex, Neoanticid and Calciumcarbonat, E170.

Calcium carbonate is ground up limestone (chalk). It is fairly slow acting, as week(s) to dissolve.
E170 is the registration used in Europe for this chemical CaCO3

 

[Frjen]

The recipy is simple, just boiled potatoes with addet sugar.
I did not measure ph before fermentation.
Will the sour taste reduce in ageing in bottles ?

 

[Frjen]

Calcium carbonate is ground up limestone. It is fairly slow acting, as week(s) to dissolve.
chemical CaCO3

I haven’t added it yet, not sure if I should.

 

[Rice_Guy]

I did not measure pH . . .Will the sour taste reduce in ageing in bottles ?

low pH will give better shelf life, a wine at pH 5.4 is ok about as long as a beer,,, a few months

note edit above with your old recipe, lemon contains citric acid and is used in 2016. Hops also acts as a preservative.
Shelf life; Oxidation of alcohol produces a flavor that is a burn note as one swallows (acetaldehyde). Low levels of acetaldehyde are similar to apricot sharp flavor but pleasing.

 

[Rice_Guy]

If you can fix the flavor with sugar and potassium sorbate (prevents fermentation from restarting) this is preferred.

I haven’t added it yet, not sure if I should.

 

[Frjen]

This is probably not a useful answer since my guess is that your pH is a function of acid you added NOT minerals from potato. pH changes are complex due to multiple minerals acting in concert. The only way to know what will happen is to do a titration of your potato wine. This goes back to the questions above about what was in the recipe.
The potato I looked at has a pH of 5.4 (Titratable acidity 0.39% as tartaric acid) therefore to get a lower pH you had to add acid, ,,,,, again how much? To be a long shelf life wine the pH should be between 3.2 and 3.5. Low pH makes the metabisulphite (anti oxidant) chemistry work better. Too low on pH and the fermentation will not happen.

However if pH is due to potato the graphic shows the rate of change per kilogram of potato with the addition of an alkali. Potassium bicarbonate is used to shift pH in wines therefore I am showing the pH shift as K2CO3 is added to potato solids. The pH scale is logarithmic therefore the change will not be a straight line.
View attachment 70373

, , , , , , , , , , With more details we might give a better answer , , , , , , , , , , ,

I did’nt use that recipe this time