Starting SG

[redderthebetter]

My first fruit wine. I also am starting a dried cranberry recipe for 1 gallon. I have all of the ingredients in,it tested out at 1.2 SG Is that to high?I haven't put the Red Star yeast in yet till I get a little feedback.

 

[masta]

You need to recheck your hydrometer and read it correctly...SG should be expressed in three digits to the right of the decimal point.


I am not being critical but it makes a huge difference if you are talking about 1.020 or 1.120!


I really doubt the SG is 1.200 and if it is the yeast most likely won't do anything.

 

[redderthebetter]

It was 1.12.

That still seemed high. The Potential alc was about 16%.

 

[masta]

It is a bit high for a fruit wine...what Red Star yeast are you using?

 

[redderthebetter]

Pasteur Red It is what my supplier set me up with. I wasn't sure what fruit I was going to start with when I was buying the normal thing to get started with fruit wines.

 

[masta]

I would dilute it a bit and target a SG of 1.090-1.095 and your yeast should work fine.

 

[redderthebetter]

I added about 1 quart of water an got it down to 1.1/ 1.108 I added about 1 1/2 cups of chopped fresh cranberries also. I'll take a reading in the morning and see how it looks. Is there a sugar to water formula I can shoot for to capture the target sg a little better next time? If you just measure sugar water before adding it, is there much of an expectation on how much the crushed fruits will raise the sg above the sugared water? Well' back to another joy in my life>> potty training my son. How long do you think I have till I can have a big old slug of this wine? Man I need something

 

[masta]

Red,


I have had very good success using the Mead Making Calculator show below. It can be used for mead and wine. The known items can be entered and the boxes checked as I did with the sample. It takes most of the guess work out of creating a new recipe or adjusting the SG of a batch you are making. This calculator can be found here:


http://www.gotmead.com/making-mead/mead-calculator.shtml

 

[jobe05]

Masta, great calculator but I don't know if I did it right.


Im getting ready to do a Green Apple Reisling, 5 gallons.


Kit - starting sg should be 1.04 - 1.045. I would like this wine to be at 11% ABV. Based on what I put into the calculator, I need to add 4.37 pounds sugar? Could you verify that for me to see if I did it right? Temp of the ferment room will be 73 deg., F.


Thanks

 

[masta]

The numbers are close and I just made one of these kits and added 5 lbs of sugar and my SG was 1.088 @ 75 (11.80 ABV) which is a bit higher than 11% ABV.


I would add 4.5 lbs and it should be fairly close to 11%.


BTW: This is a WE Green Apple Kit correct? Should be 6 gallons..not 5

 

[jobe05]

It says Brew King, But you are correct, 6 gallon...... 5 imperial gallons.............


Made that mistake more than once.......

 

[masta]

Brew Kit was the old company and it is now called Winexpert...not sure why these kits still say Brew King on them.


Keep us informed on the Green Apple. I just added the F-Pack and fining to mine a few mins ago. The wife loves this stuff and will be happy to have some in 3 weeks!

 

[earl]

Jobe


I just started a Green Apple Reisling and added 6 cups of sugar, put into solution, and at 68 degrees F. I had a SG at 1.070. This should be about 10% ABV. I am a total newbie to this but this is what I got.


earl