Search results

Whew 😅, ya never know! 😉

I like "FermCalc." Every wine calculation you can think of is included in the web site / javascript / app. Also, the reference material is very interesting reading. NOTE: 1 cup of blueberries does not equal 1 cup of blueberry juice. If you work strictly with weight, things are easier. Using...

Once no more CO2 is being produced, a drop in temperature can cause a negative pressure. Or a change in atmospheric pressure.

Or if there’s residual sugar. The OP says it finished at 1.000, so likely a little residual. I personally don’t think there’s any reason not to add sorbate, especially for a kit wine. I agree with everything else you said. Good point, often not stressed enough. Crystal clear wine is also...

Just a guess, but I think it was simply not degassed well enough. The extra time before bottling would help, not hurt. You added k-meta and sorbate, so highly unlikely it‘s refermenting. Bulk aging (in the carboy) helps degas CO2, like soda left in the can on the counter. Many here bulk age for...

Welcome. Good luck.

I did notice your air lock seems a little full. Once degassed, it’s possible for a drop in temperature to create a negative pressure in the carboy, causing bubbles to go backwards through the air lock. It’s rare, but I’ve seen it happen. Careful it’s not so full that it would suck solution into...

I guess we were typing at the same time, and you beat me to the post. I believe @Vaudun has not racked yet, but has done primary fermentation in the glass jug, and is getting ready to do the first racking. Either way, our advice still stands.

What I mean is, most of us do primary fermentation in an open bucket, with a loose lid or towel to cover. During primary, oxygen is good, but you have to keep critters out. An open bucket is also easier to take SG readings, to stir daily (for oxygen), to avoid a mess if the fermentation is very...

Much simpler, and safer, to start with an SG that gives you the ABV you want when fermented dry. Once dry, stabilize, clear, and then you can backsweeten with as much or as little sugar as your taste buds desire, doing bench trials to dial it in perfectly.

Ahhhh, but it is better than you suggest, I think, for 2 reasons. First, it decreases the time that oxygen is in contact with the wine because the vacuum transfer tends to be faster than syphon. Second, the transfer starts at very little vacuum, but the pump stays on, and the vacuum increases as...

Yes, welcome.

It's definitely not CO2. Most likely it's water vapour (like a normal cloud) condensing due to the drop in temperature caused by the expansion of the gas created by the vacuum. That's how a cloud chamber works. It requires the receiving vessel to contain air close enough to the dew point that...

I use a glass turkey baster. I find it easier to sanitize with my setup (dunk the glass into my bucket of Na-meta). Most people wait until 1.010 or 1.000 for secondary, but you're in a glass jug already, so I don't think it really matters.

Hahaha, I thought you said "to humanely put dogs to sleep before..." 🤣 🤣🤣 I mean, I figured it was just tongue-in-cheek, but without the obligatory "LOL" or winky face, I was starting to wonder... Glad I read that again!

@Rice_Guy has a lot of excellent points in his post. Personally, I believe the biggest issue is temperature control. As he says, as long as there is solid CO2, it will be "trying" to bring everything around it down to its temperature, which will be something less than -109°F. If you don't have...

Well, I finally got something I think approaches what I had in mind for my latest Dragon Bloods. There is LOTS of room for improvement as I learn what software to use to do what. No, I did not do the artwork (I wish!), but to the best of my knowledge, images and fonts are public domain or open...

So many questions, but assuming you are using the term "acetic" correctly, none of them really matter. "Acetic" means "like vinegar" or "like acetic acid". "Acidic" means low pH, or sour. Lemon juice is acidic, but not acetic. You heated a sample of your must and you say it smelled "acedic." If...

Also, note that your hose can even run along the floor of your basement and into the receiving vessel, but when the source is empty, any hose below the level of wine in your receiving vessel will be full of wine, so you need to progressively raise the hose above the level of the receiver as you...

If the bottom of the source vessel is 18" above the top of the receiving vessel, you only need enough vacuum to lift the wine out of the source vessel (a few inches?) for a moment, then gravity will take it as far as you want horizontally. A syphon relies on the difference in altitude to...