very new to this.

[saramc]

Someone confirm....if using 2# sugar per gallon, and there is 2.36 cups granulated sugar per #( per my chart), so OP is adding 4.72 cups sugar per gallon, one cup sugar increases SG of one gallon by 0.020, so gravity just from sugar alone is 1.094. Am I wrong?

 

[ronnie33]

Dont know if u can see but not resting on bottom. Maybe I just dont know how to read it or should get a better one?

 

[dralarms]

Yep, you got plenty of sugar. Hydro looks good. Hope you wanted some rs, it probably won't make it to dry. If it does you will have about 15.5 abv.

 

[ronnie33]

Not sure what rs is? But did I add too much sugar then? And probably need your help when it gets farther along. Thanks again. Very helpful people.

 

[dralarms]

A little too much, but it will be OK.

 

[Stressbaby]

Ronnie,
RS is residual sugar. He is saying that your yeast might poop out due to alcohol toxicity before they ferment all of the sugar. Whether or not this happens depends in part on what yeast you use. Can you tell us what yeast you have?

 

[ronnie33]

It is a red star wine yeast. I believe. Dont have package in front of me. Home brew shop said it'd be the best for blackberry wine

 

[dralarms]

I'd figure that your ferment might finish out around 1.010 or so instead of dropping to 1.000 or lower. That's what I meant by Residual sugar. Do you know what your acid is?

 

[ronnie33]

No I dont. I did add acid blend to it as the recipe said to.

 

[Stressbaby]

Ronnie,
Check your yeast. I believe that there are a couple of Red Star yeasts with alcohol tolerance >= 16% in which case your fermentation may complete and leave you with no RS...but you will have pretty strong wine.
On a couple of occasions I have diluted the must to a greater volume and lowered the SG and estimated ABV that way. This is also done sometimes when the acid is too high. The danger here of course is that the wine will be too thin or that you won't have the carboy space.

 

[dralarms]

I'd never add acid to blackberry wine without testing the ph. Blackberries are naturally acidic.

 

[ronnie33]

Yeast just says premier cuvee. Since I have two packets, would it be best to add more yeast since my sugar is high? And I will try to get ph tester today and check acid level. Where should acid be?

 

[dralarms]

No need to add the second pack of yeast. The tolerance is where the limits are. Your yeast will multiply and do the job.

Here is a web site that sort of explains the ph and its relation to acid.

http://www.grapestompers.com/articles/measure_acidity.htm#meter


No. That's not the right site. Let me see if I can find it.

 

[dralarms]

Here is a better explanation


http://winemaking.jackkeller.net/acid.asp

 

[ronnie33]

Thanks dr. Acid level is more important than I realized. I'll try to test today and post results.

 

[dralarms]

Just trying to help.

Last year I was in the same place, my brother had me doing everything wrong.

I'm still learning.

 

[ronnie33]

Shop is closed till tuesday. Should I still add yeast today or wait till I get acid tester?

 

[Stressbaby]

That yeast has an alcohol tolerance of 18% so it just might ferment to dry for you.

As to whether or not to pitch the yeast, I would ask myself whether getting the acid test passes the Pick Your Nose test* If the acid test fails the Pick Your Nose test and I don't have a corrective action plan ready to go, I would rehydrate the yeast, make a yeast starter and go for it.

* Don't start to pick your nose unless you already know what you are going to do with the result.

 

[Stressbaby]

Ronnie,

Two other thoughts...as doc said, generally it is a good idea to always check two things, acidity and SG, before adding either acid or sugar to your must. I always dial back sugar by ~25% to be safe, because sometimes you get a surprise with an OG of 1.095, even with 25% less sugar than the recipe calls for!

If still concerned about the high OG, I have heard of adding preservative free grape juice to dilute the must a little bit. I haven't done that before but wonder what others think about that approach. It is not supposed to change the flavor much at all.

 

[ronnie33]

Found another store that has acid tester. Just a longer drive. So, I will test acid when I get back. Guess I should have asked questions before making must. Just thought I could go by the recipe. Only way to learn-screw it up.