Water in airlock turned brown!

[davew]

All,

I've got a Winexpert's Island Mist kit that is awaiting bottling. I set the carboy away in a closet and for the last couple of weeks and have been waiting patiently for this time to come. I just checked on it for the first time since I put it away and noticed that the water in the airlock turned brown. There is also what looks like some 'crud' around the top of the carboy between the wine and the stopper.

I didn't have any issues with 'crud' or discoloration until I added the f-pack. I'm pretty certain I added sulphite solution to the airlock.

What happened here? I'm I safe or did I contaminate my batch?

 

[Tom]

You should be fine if you followed all the kit directions. I'm guessing that the carboy is full to the top and you got some back pressure.
How many times did you rack?

 

[davew]

I racked from the primary to secondary per the instructions. Looking at the crud closer I believe it to be sediment. I thought the airlock had equalized but I just checked it again and it appears that it is still moving a bit.

Could fermentation have started back up after i added the f-pac? I added the f-pac and sorbate that came with the kit so I'd expect it to be complete.

 

[Wade E]

It is possible that you had it very full and a barometric pressure change has expanded your wine into the airlock and then changed again back down. I have had this happen quite a few times to me when Ive had my carboy very full and is why i never recommend and solid bungs as that would have popped it out leaving your wine exposed. Its probably fine but I would clean everything up with some k-meta solution really good being careful not to introduce whats on the outside of the carboy to the wine as fruit flies most likely were having fun theer. Maybe even hit the wine with another dose of k-meta to be sure. It is possible that it started back up but I dought it and your wine is probably still gassy.

 

[Tom]

If you have a 375ml bottle transfer that much to the bottle and degas.

 

[davew]

OK, I'm going to degas again and add a bit of k-meta tonight. How much k-meta should I add? How long should I wait until bottling after this?

 

[davew]

I degassed tonight. I used a drill mounted whip the first time but my drill was running low on juice... so maybe I didn't hit it hard enough. It foamed up pretty good the first time i degassed, but this time around it seemed like i got quite a bit more foam coming up.

I took a sample in a glass and it looked pretty clear before i degassed, but now it's pretty cloudy so I'm guessing I'll need to wait a few weeks before it clears again? I feel like I should have racked prior to degassing (thought of it as i hit high power on the drill )

On the bright side it didn't taste too bad. A nice somewhat sweet, low alcohol summer sipping wine.

 

[Wade E]

As far as how much k-meta I forgot what size batch this is. If its 5-6 gallons use 1/4 tsp total.

 

[Tom]

You can degas every time you rack if this was not enough. Continue to follow the kit directions.