Can gas in the wine throw off your SQ Reading?

[ithink2020]

I started Concord wine (From Old Orchard frozen Juice Concentrate) on 4/21/2020.

Racked when SG was 1.024 on 4/30/2020

It has been fermenting very slowly, Bubbles have been rising pretty steadily, until two days ago. Yesterday I check the SG and it was at 1.014... Today the reading is at 1.018!!! I'm not sure why the SG would still be so high...

My basement is at 66-68 degrees, but I had brew belt on the primary and it is on the secondary.

I was thinking about racking to a bucket and degassing, then testing the SG.

Thoughts, suggestions?

 

[sour_grapes]

Well, yes, but you can avoid the problem. Sometimes your reading gets thrown off by bubbles from the CO2 sticking to the outside of your hydrometer. You don't need to degas it to avoid this. Just spin the hydrometer, which dislodges the bubbles. You can generally get a better (i.e., lower) reading before the bubbles renucleate on the glass.

 

[ithink2020]

I did spin the hydrometer...

 

[salcoco]

may be difference in temp of wine hydrometer can be affected.

 

[Ajmassa]

Well, I did spin the hydrometer...

1.018 could very well be accurate and the 1.014 had the error. any way ya slice it something was off since sugar cannot increase mid AF.
If the hydrometer was left alone often you’ll see it rise substantially after only a minute. Then ya start thinking back and second guessing previous tests logged. For me it often goes like this.
“Ok I added the sample & hydrometer to the tube. Then walked over to grab my notebook and pen. I noticed the desk was cluttered. Straightened it up real quick. Topped up ph meter cap with storage solution. Grabbed some paper towels. Took a sip of my coffee. Then went back to the hydrometer tube and read my measurement”.

But if ya wanna degas for a confident reading just degas the sample not the whole thing. I wouldn’t degas a wine in active fermentation ever.

 

[ithink2020]

I'll give it a few days and check the SG again and see where I'm at.

Anything I can do to help the fermentation at this point?

 

[Rice_Guy]

personal preference, ,,, I would never rack in a way which can incorporate oxygen when the gravity is below 1.010 or even 1.020, ,,, especially if I had a low skins grape or fruit wine.

Anything I can do to help the fermentation at this point?

patience will help the wine

 

[ithink2020]

SG has not moved, still at 1.018 and no signs of active fermentation...

Should I...

1. Rack to a primary and inoculated with more yeast and see if that can get it dry.

2. Rack, stabilize, and clear. And just call it a wine cooler?

I'm not sure what caused it to stall out...

Thoughts?

 

[sour_grapes]

You know, I don't think you ever told us what your starting SG was -- can you fill us in?

Also, how does it taste? Is it quite sweet?

 

[ithink2020]

Staring SG was 1.090.

Yep, it is quite sweet and tart. I almost wouldn't realize there was alcohol in it, if I didn't know it.

 

[cmason1957]

I bet when you racked it to your carboy, you were very, very careful to be certain you got no sediment from the bottom of your bucket. I always make certain to get just as much of the lees as I can on that first racking, particularly if I am racking at as high an sg as 1.020. I bet you didn't get much year brought over. You can always try hydrating some year and pitching it in.

 

[ithink2020]

I bet when you racked it to your carboy, you were very, very careful to be certain you got no sediment from the bottom of your bucket.

Yes, I was being careful to leave the Lee's behind...

 

[cmason1957]

Yes, I was being careful to leave the Lee's behind...

You may not have enough yeast left in your must to finish the fermentation. That first rack, I always try to get as much as I can. I know lots of folks try to avoid it all, but that's not me.

 

[ithink2020]

I currently have the wine in a 3 gallon carboy & a 1.5 liter jug, both topped up.

UPDATE:
I started researching Stuck Fermentation. Consulting a couple wine books I have and Google. I've decided to make a yeast starter using the must that was in the jug. I put that into a 1 gallon jug, along with 1/2 tsp yeast nutrient and 6 TBS of sugar. I mixed until that was dissolved, than added EC-1118 to that.

Once it gets going, I'm going to rack what is in the Carboy to a Primary. I've decided to do this to:

1. get the wine off the old yeast
2. drive off some of the CO2
3. incorporate a little Oxygen

I will add the starter to the primary, then check the SG and stir daily.

Once fermentation stops, I'll rack back into the Secondary(s) and proceed from there.

Thank you for your insight and help!

 

[ithink2020]

~24 hour update. No signs of fermentation. Hopefully there will be some tomorrow...

 

[ithink2020]

Starter #1 failed. Starter #2 in the making...

 

[winemaker81]

If the wine is topped up in glass containers, try ignoring it for a couple of weeks. Do not check SG -- relax and let the yeast do its thing.

Fermentation slows down when in the carboy (anaerobic fermentation) and will take time.

 

[ithink2020]

Well, Starter #2 two seems to be working well!

I created Starter #2 by re-hydrating the yeast per package. While waiting for that, I added 1 TBS of sugar and a pinch of Yeast Nutrient to a little over a 1/2 cup of water. Once the yeast was ready, I add to the sugar water.

After 4 hours, I added 1/2 cup of must and a pinch of Yeast Nutrient to the starter. Then 4 hours later, I added another 1/2 cup and a pinch of Yeast Nutrient. Then finally added 1 cup of must and a pinch of Yeast Nutrient before going to bed. The next morning, I put the starter into primary and racked the must/stuck wine to the primary.

After a few hours, I didn't see any activity on the top, but could start smelling the fermentation. Checking last night before bed, I could smell the fermentation more strongly and saw the SG had dropped to 1.016. This morning I can see active fermentation, so I added the rest of the stuck wine (from the reserve jug) to the primary.

Plan on keeping it in the primary until it is dry. Then, racking into Secondary, stabilizing, degassing and start clearing.

Note: Since I never added tannin to this (as someone recommended), I did end up adding 1 tbs of tannin as well.

Fingers crossed!