sg reading- Prickly Pear-need help

[JR Smith]

ok sorry I did not get back with you work is getting in the way. I got in late. Had sister in law check the temp and she got it to 77.9 good girl. I did not take a sg reading. I am called out earley the morning and will not get a reading till tonight when I get back. Have a good day and thanks for the help. the scale is right I was ststing it backwards.
jr

 

[JR Smith]

Ok back at 2315 hr took a reading and it was .060 a change of .05. there was no foam on top. everone seen happy to help. keeping the heating pad on and at the right temp.Is there anything I need to do to this or keep on as planed. due out at 1200 hr tomorrow, will check in the morning.
Thanks
jr

 

[grapeman]

Just keep the temps about where they are now- not much warmer and let it go like that for about a week and check SG again. It should come some more , hopefully it will ferment out most of the way and you will be good.

 

[JR Smith]

Ok checked at 1200 hr, and got the same reading as of 2 days ago of .050. Seems to me all has stopped or al least stalled. temp had been between 75 an 78. Do I need to try to re start this. and use wine yeast this time? I will half to order some wine yeast if I do. I have some bread yeast. so what am I up to now
jr

 

[Wade E]

Was this yeast for making bread? If so get some wine yeast and make a starter yeast with it. Let that get nice and active and introduce the wine into it slowly. We need to get this SG down to 1.ooo or lower.

 

[grapeman]

Try to get some Lalvin Wine Yeast- EC-1118. It ferments to high alcohol tolerances and is good for restarting stuck fermentations. I have restarted several very sluggish fermentations over the years. It will also ferment at pretty low temperatures so you won't need to heat it up.

 

[JR Smith]

0500 hr and I am back I will go to my sight and order some now, I will take another reading a little later, got to get a nap. I have fasted for 13 days and I am going to stop and get redy to eat again. I lost my resolve last night after a bad trip. about 3 hr into the 14th day.
later
jr

 

[JR Smith]

I came down with the flu from hell... recooping now...got the wine yest in prepared a bach. put it in 4 days ago and we are at .010 and slowley moving toward the 1 We have keep it between 74 and 78 deg. It has a deep red color and looks good to me. I am getting ready to go to work around 2130 hr and our first snow flakes. Happy Thanksgiven to all
jr

 

[JR Smith]

ok it is a small mark off of the big 1 tada. I will rack to the big bottle in the morning. Anything I should know before i do this? everone is ready to get along with this. should I get me person to try it before I rack to secondary? . did everone have a good Thanksgiven, we went to the Crtacker Barrell, one family had a fight and was told to leave the cops showed up and all. some people can't get along even during the Hollidays.
jr

 

[Wade E]

At this point since you are almost done fermenting, the only thing I can add is to keep it topped up and in decent temps to let it finish. Good job. Sometimes having family around can drive you nuts. My mother-in law is not invited to any family gatherings and nobody in her family really speaks to her anymore more as she is not a nice person and anyone who knows her would agree. Its a shame and my daughter really misses her and my son really never new her as he was very young when she was a nice person but once my wifes father died everything went downhill and thats as far as I will go with this story. Just know that there are a lot of people that feel the same way about her.

 

[JR Smith]

The jug looks good.. The wine is thick or should i say it has good legs, and it looks good setting there. I did not taste it, and i should have. I had a lot left over and poured it down the drain. I read in the book that said I was suppost to go to secondary when it reached .040....So what is my abjective here, to let it clear or what. I have not put a light to it as yet to see how clear it is. There has to be some sediment that was not settled as yet. account of me stirring it twice a day. How long dose it take to clear. and do I need to put anything in it to help it get clear. there is way to many questions here... just tell me what I need to do next..
jr

 

[Wade E]

You did what, you poured it down the drain?

You can do the clearing by either letting time do its thing which could take awhile but this is a fruit wine and will take quite awhile to come around anyway. You could add a fining agent like SuperKleer if you want and speed up the clearing.

 

[grapeman]

Shame on you for pouring any out at this point. Always keep the extra in a gallon jug or like for topping up later when doing more rackings to help it clear. ALSO- STOP STIRRING IT TWICE A DAY!!!!!!! That is absolutely unnecessary and will prevent the wine from clearing soon. That method is only used in very early stages. I think you should get a nice basic book on beginning wine making. I don't want to discourage you by any means, but there are a few basics you could pick up from a nice book.

 

[JR Smith]

I only have the book that came with the kit. It seems to skip a lot. It told me to stir twice a day on the primary fermanation. Live and learn. I doing this for the knowlage of how 2 do this and many other things.

 

[Wade E]

That should be done only when there is actual fruit in there. That is called pushing the cap down( getting the fruit under so as that it doesnt go bad and gets eaten by the pectin that helps break up the fruit) I also do this when I have oak or a grapeskin pack that floats.

 

[JR Smith]

I took a look at it tonight.. the gas is moving pertty fast through the airlock one bubble after another. There is a lot of sediment about 1/4 to 5/16 of one inch on the bottom so far. I had 2 batches of yeast going on here and I do not know how much one puts out mush less to of them. I had a lot more in the bottom of the bucket I poured out. I will not discard the left over wine next time. sorry ....I did not taste it but I have a few people who are in line for the tasting. Will I need to rack this to another big bottle to get rid of some of the sediment. I have another big glass bottle I was going to make some pumpkin wine in but the wife talked me out of it. saying wait and see what happens with this one. so I did.
ok untill later and the bubbles stop and it clears up
thanks
jr

 

[grapeman]

Wait until the bubbles have pretty much stopped. Then rack it to clean glass at that point leaving the sediment behind. Top up the carboy then(that is where you would have used the left over wine). Use some similar wine(not sure what for this batch) or put in some marbles(sanitized) to fill it up or use a slightly smaller carboy(jug). As a last resort you could use water but that diluteds it so it isn't recommended.

 

[Wade E]

If you have a 3 liter jug or can get one at the recycling center they are good to have around with a 5 gallon carboy for these reasons.

 

[JR Smith]

About how long for the bubbles to slow down, a week or are we talking months. I think I have a 6 gal carboy... I have another 5 gal I can rack to and the I have a 1 gal gug I can use for the access and use it, for my tasters and to top it off with. I can get a airlock for the 1 gal also.

thanks
jr

 

[Wade E]

There is no telling when it will be done, Ive had some ferment dry in as little as 1 1/2 weeks and some that took 1 month plus in good temos with nutrient and energizer and thats what makes wine makin a patience thing.