Strawberry High Acidity

[winemaker_3352]

Making a 6 gallon batch of strawberry wine - i used 42 #'s, added all additives, and gallon of water - just enough to cover the strawberries.

The acid level was 1.25 - very high. Should i wait until i add the f-pac to adjust - or adjust it now - does it make a difference when i adjust it?

Should i just add more water to bring down the acid level?

 

[Tom]

Of course its high. It only has 1 gal of water in it. Add 4 more gallons of water and ck again. Did you add Pectic? you will need 3 tsp. Whats the gravity? start @ 1.080
Confusing...
Did U add yeast already?

 

[winemaker_3352]

Of course its high. It only has 1 gal of water in it. Add 4 more gallons of water and ck again. Did you add Pectic? you will need 3 tsp. Whats the gravity? start @ 1.080
Confusing...
Did U add yeast already?

Yes i added pectic, SG was 1.085, yes i added the yeast already.

i checked SG yesterday at 1.001.

Fermentation is almost complete in secondary.

 

[Tom]

I'm confused.
You only added one gallon of water to 42# of fruit and no sugar added?
That will not get you 6 gallons of wine

 

[winemaker_3352]

I'm confused.
You only added one gallon of water to 42# of fruit and no sugar added?
That will not get you 6 gallons of wine

I added 42 #'s of fruit, 6 pounds of sugar, and a gallon and half of water.

The wine level is at the shoulder of the carboy.

 

[winemaker_3352]

Meant to say gallon and a half of water - now wine .

I edited it already.

 

[Tom]

U take the fruit iout and you will have maybe 2 gallons
I ferment in 2 buckets each bucket will get 1/2 the fruit and 2 1/2 gal of water in EACH
You only added 1 1/2 gal... to 42#
See your mistake?

 

[winemaker_3352]

U take the fruit iout and you will have maybe 2 gallons
I ferment in 2 buckets each bucket will get 1/2 the fruit and 2 1/2 gal of water in EACH
You only added 1 1/2 gal... to 42#
See your mistake?

Yeah - i figured i was short on water - since the acidity was so high.

I also used 2 buckets - about 2/3 of the way full on each.

But i had more the 2 gallons of juice - i was pushing closer to 4 gallons.

Like i said - adding a gallon and a half of water - and i am at the shoulder of the carboy.

Is is alright to adjust after fermentation is done and after f-pac is added?

Although i may not need an f-pac since i already had alot of juice.

 

[Runningwolf]

This is very confusing, what is the amount of wine you are going to end up with? 5 or 6 gallon carboy? Have you rack off of all of the lees yet? Your wine is not done fermenting yet so you'll want to wait till it is completed. Then rack and stabilize. After that you can decide if you need an f-pack or not and want to sweeten.

 

[BobF]

Yeah - i figured i was short on water - since the acidity was so high.

I also used 2 buckets - about 2/3 of the way full on each.

But i had more the 2 gallons of juice - i was pushing closer to 4 gallons.

Like i said - adding a gallon and a half of water - and i am at the shoulder of the carboy.

Is is alright to adjust after fermentation is done and after f-pac is added?

Although i may not need an f-pac since i already had alot of juice.

I would make sugar water with an SG of 1085 and top up now. Once dry, check the acid.

You may end up needing to sweeten this to balance the high acid, but you should check the acid level after it's dry and degassed before you do anything else to it.

 

[Wade E]

What size buckets are these cause 42 lbs of fruit and 1 1/2 gallons will not fill both of thedse up.

 

[mmadmikes1]

with high acid you will have a hard time getting it to ferment or finish. It wont taste that great either. Add water. Why ? are you doing this this way. There are some good threads on strawberry wine here

 

[winemaker_3352]

What size buckets are these cause 42 lbs of fruit and 1 1/2 gallons will not fill both of thedse up.

The buckets are 5 gallon buckets.

 

[winemaker_3352]

with high acid you will have a hard time getting it to ferment or finish. It wont taste that great either. Add water. Why ? are you doing this this way. There are some good threads on strawberry wine here

It is almost completely done fermenting after a week and a half.

I have done this the same way with all my wines - it is just this time i had a lot of juice from the strawberries - there is no way i would have had room to add 3-4 gallons of water. Everything else is the same steps.

Crush fruit - add water - add k-meta, tannin - 12 hours later add pectic, another 12 hours add sugar to SG of 1.085, add yeast and yeast nutrient - no Acid Blend b/c it was so high.

3 days racked to secondary SG reading was 1.010.

Checked SG a week later and it was at 1.001.

I might have enough room for another gallon.

 

[winemaker_3352]

This is very confusing, what is the amount of wine you are going to end up with? 5 or 6 gallon carboy? Have you rack off of all of the lees yet? Your wine is not done fermenting yet so you'll want to wait till it is completed. Then rack and stabilize. After that you can decide if you need an f-pack or not and want to sweeten.

6 gallons

no i have not racked of the lees yet - fermentation is not quite complete yet.

I measured SG at 1.001 today.

 

[Wade E]

I would just cold stabilize if needed when done fermenting.

 

[winemaker_3352]

I would just cold stabilize if needed when done fermenting.

Good call - i never thought about doing that..