when to add more sugar?

[huntva89]

I have achieved my sg point of 1080 and I currently have my blueberry wine in my primary fermentation vessel. I'm looking for an end result of about 11.5% alc. At what point of fermentation do I add the remaining sugar to achieve the desired alcohol content? After its been in primary a few day? When I put into secondary? I have read quite a bit on it but nothing I have come across was real specific.

 

[Pumpkinman]

As long as you ferment down to .996, your wine will have an abv of 11.14%. At that point you will have achieved your goal, no more sugar will be needed unless you want to back sweeten; if you want to back sweeten, first ferment untill dry, then stabilize with meta and sorbate, then add sugar until you reach your desired sweetness.
You can use sugar, a simple syrup, or even honey, depending on the type of wine.

 

[whackfol]

If you are going to add sugar, go ahead and do it now - definitely well before you finish primary. Do Blueberries benefit from a secondary fermentation? If you are only looking for an 11.5% alcohol, be careful wit your addition. The P.A. for 1.080 is close to 11% alcohol. This assumes you will ferment dry.

 

[huntva89]

I don't know whether or not it benefits from secondary fermentation...I'm very new this is essentially my first "real" try at wine. I've made some before but I just followed recipe, had no hydrometer or much knowledge of the science behind it all.

 

[Pumpkinman]

There's no reason to add sugar if your starting SG is 1.080, and your desired abv is 11.5%?
As long as you ferment to .996 as I stated in my last post, your abv will be 11.1%, ferment a bit more and it will be even higher.

 

[Julie]

like pumpkinman has stated, you already will have 11% ABV when finished. Do you know how to calculate your ABV?

Take SG (starting gravity) - FG (final gravity) x 131.

 

[Pumpkinman]

I guess I didn't ask the one question that I should have, why do you feel that you need to order more?

 

[huntva89]

I have read through the wine making for beginners book on this forum and under the calculating sugars and alcohol portion it stated that a good starting sg is 1080 which is fine. It stated to test sg of must before addition of sugar which I did in order to determine how much sugar was needed prior to fermentation to achieve the starting sg of 1080. Using the chart in the book,that shows sugar content as it relates to alcohol content, implied that I needed to add more sugar during fermentation to achieve my final desired sg. It stated that you have a final sg that relates to the alcohol content you're looking for which in turn relates to amount of sugar you needed for the entire fermentation process. So it states that you take the final sugar content in g/l of the alcohol content that you see on the chart and subtract it from the amount you already have in it that gave you the starting sg of 1080. Here's what I have done. I am making 1 gallon. My must was at 1020 sg before sugar was added which is about 166 grams of sugar content. I then had to add 621 grams of sugar to bring the sg to 1080. The target sg for 11.5% is 1085 which at that sg the wine would have about 852 grams of sugar. So 852-621=231 grams which is about another half pound of sugar to add during fermentation. Have I lost any of you? Book says to start it at 1080 and the add sugar during fermentation to achieve goal sg.

 

[jswordy]

Old hand at blueberry wine. My favorite. Don't add any more sugar if you started at 1.080. Blueberry ideally starts at 1.085, so you are very very close.

I suggest you let it ferment to 1.030 or so, and transfer to a clean carboy. It will still be pretty active then, so use a 3-piece airlock and allow enough headspace so you don't overflow. Save any leftovers in an appropriately sized jar or bottle in the fridge, where it will clarify and can be used for topping off or sipping.

The wine will undergo an anaerobic fermentation phase in secondary.

When it ferments dry, you should rack to a new carboy (there will be a lot of lees) and use k meta and potassium sorbate to stabilize and make any sugar amendments after at least 5 days have passed from the stabilization. It is good to amend blueberry on the back end with sugar; it really brings out the blueberry flavor.

How much? I filled a flask and then added sugar until I got the taste I wanted, then put a hydrometer in to read SG for future reference. Hit that SG by adding sugar to the remaining batch, then pour your test sample back in.

Do let the blueberry sit in the carboy and settle, and initially rack it about every month, or when an inch or more of lees accumulates. It will shed a lot of lees and debris over time. After at least 3 months - and up to 6 months - of settling and racking, you can rack one last time to a clean carboy, add k meta and bottle.

It is best after at least a year has passed from primary. You will be rewarded with a beautiful smooth wine for your patience.

 

[cpfan]

I have read through the wine making for beginners book on this forum and under the calculating sugars and alcohol portion it stated that a good starting sg is 1080 which is fine. It stated to test sg of must before addition of sugar which I did in order to determine how much sugar was needed prior to fermentation to achieve the starting sg of 1080. Using the chart in the book,that shows sugar content as it relates to alcohol content, implied that I needed to add more sugar during fermentation to achieve my final desired sg. It stated that you have a final sg that relates to the alcohol content you're looking for which in turn relates to amount of sugar you needed for the entire fermentation process. So it states that you take the final sugar content in g/l of the alcohol content that you see on the chart and subtract it from the amount you already have in it that gave you the starting sg of 1080. Here's what I have done. I am making 1 gallon. My must was at 1020 sg before sugar was added which is about 166 grams of sugar content. I then had to add 621 grams of sugar to bring the sg to 1080. The target sg for 11.5% is 1085 which at that sg the wine would have about 852 grams of sugar. So 852-621=231 grams which is about another half pound of sugar to add during fermentation. Have I lost any of you? Book says to start it at 1080 and the add sugar during fermentation to achieve goal sg.

I would add the sugar before pitching the yeast. I haven't read that book, and don't do it that way.

BTW 231 grams seems high. If 621 grams raised the sg .060, then 231 grams should raise the sg .022

To raise the sg .005, it seems to me that 52 grams is the right amount.

Steve

 

[huntva89]

I'll check it again I haven't added any additional sugar at this point so nothing gained nothing lost...I took a sample today after its been in primary for 2 days now and it's sitting at 1020. Seems like it's on the right track does it not?

 

[huntva89]

Y'all got me nervous that I screwed everything up this is basically my first real attempt at what I would consider "good" wine and I'm still learning the wine language. Everybody does stuff a little different I reckon lol.

 

[Julie]

There is no reason to be nervous, everyone has given you some good advice. And don't ever think you screwed something up to the point of no return. You are doing fine.

 

[jswordy]

Julie's right.

You started near the ideal on SSG, and it is going right along. I would transfer to secondary now at 1.020, but you can wait until it is dry if you wish. All is well.

 

[huntva89]

Thanks everyone I transferred to secondary last evening and it looks good and smells good so I'm thinking it's should be fine. I appreciate all the tips and suggestions.