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I tested the SG of the same bottle again. This is 36h since the last test and it's 97h in total: 1.088 SG (6.7% ABV) Sugar level is 277g/L (it started at 434g/L). This is a vast improvement, it's gained 3.6% in the last 36 hours. At this rate it would get to 14.4% in 6 days. That probably won't...

That's the thing, it's at 2.9 pH but since the last cranberry stalled and it was at 3.4 pH, I don't think this yeast (the same stuff) is struggling due to the pH. There's just no foaming and it's gaining ABV slowly (1% per day in the initial stages when orange juice gains 3% or 4% per day). This...

When looking for info about yeast starters, I always end up on beer making forums. For all my orange batches of wine, I never made a starter and it fermented well, almost every time. The only exception was when the temps stayed above 30°C, it half-stalled. With some fruits it seems a starter...

The bottles are just 5L spring water bottles. I have used them about 3 or 4 times now and everything's been fine... when it's orange, or orange and cranberry.

I don't know the exact name of the yeast apart from it's brand name "Youngs" for high alcohol. The last batch of orange from this same tub of yeast came out to nearly 18% ABV. It's 2.5 days in now and the ABV is at 3.1%. It's normally above 14% at this stage with orange and all the same powders...

Today is only the 2nd day after starting it. There's a lot of tiny bubbles but then, there was last time with the stalled Ocean Spray. I should know by tomorrow, if there isn't the usual plumes of yeast shooting up with foaming happening, it's probably going to do what the Ocean Spray cranberry...

The first 100% cranberry juice I tried, stalled. I think I left it a month and it got to 10% ABV and just stopped managing to gain any more ABV (when the aim was for it to end up maxed out at around 18%). That was "Ocean Spray" nearing it's best before date from a warehouse that sells that sort...

Thanks folks. I think I just need to keep getting better at syphoning. It seems that is one of the hardest things about winemaking!

I typically use 1.25 tsp yeast, 1 tsp nutrient, 1 tsp pectolase and 1 tsp bentonite per 5L. While that clears the wine, at the same time it is an additional cost and everywhere I look says drinking cloudy wine won't have any bad effects, health-wise. So what would happen if I just didn't put...

In addition to the SG not shifting according to the sugar added, this batch has also ended up not going fully dry, but I did start a new tub of yeast so I think it's probably that, although it's the same brand. Instead of it coming out at the usual 17.5% ABV it's more like 14% ABV. It's...

The OJ was straight out of the carton, it's just called "from concentrate" on the carton, but it's ready to drink. I blended the sugar with a Vita-Mix for at least a few minutes each time, but even if that didn't dissolve it, it's the same thing I did last time around. 1 KG sugar was thrown...

Last batch: In my last batch of wine, I used Aldi 2L orange juice from concentrate. That juice measured 1.048 SG. To that, I added 1080g sugar per 3.75L of juice and that created 4.56L of juice ready for the yeast. This ended up starting at 1.131 SG which is high but I have done it before and...

It's only about 10L altogether. I fermented it for 10 days and today it's 14 days old from starting. It already has a slight Band-Aid smell (brettanomyces) as it is, maybe it's related to this. Everything was bleached before doing anything so I'm sure it's the chalk that's done it, either from...

Are these tartrate crystals? This is orange wine that's down to about 0.996 SG and just finished.

I bet it is the chalk because it's near the end of it's shelf life, although it came from a sealed container. Jim, I have only been making wine for a few months so haven't aged any for a considerable time. The longest was the cranberry one I made because it stalled and took a month to get to...

I have been making orange wine and found that it tasted a bit acidic (3.4 pH) so I added 2 tsp of precipitated chalk to my 10L buckets at the outset on this latest batch, but I am finding the finished product just doesn't taste right, it's like something is missing because that acidity is no...

I chanced it and added it. Threw 2 tsp (12g) of precipitated chalk into a 10L bucket. That's 20% more than the usual figure of 1g/L. That raised the pH of the orange juice from 4.0 to 4.4. It's at 1.129 SG, I daren't make it any more sugary, but I know this yeast/juice combo ferments well...

My orange wine, while fermenting fast and having an acceptable pH level, comes out tasting too acidic. Is there any disadvantage to adding precipitated chalk at the start? Most info I am reading says only add this when fermenting has completed, but why is that? If I add a half teaspoon to a...

I started off some cranberry juice (Ocean Spray Classic) and straight away (within 3 or 4 days) I could see there was hardly any bubbling or foaming going on. It stalled almost right from the start. Assuming it's a low pH level, I tested that and it was actually fine at around 3.4 pH. I have no...

I never realised there's a sub-forum here where calculators can be posted. I had another account here called "HomeBrew" and straight away someone told me, making wine is fermenting, not brewing - brewing is for beer. I felt embarrassed, while at the same time, discovered the joke name "Grape...