WineXpert Chocolate Raspberry Port!

[RickC]

IT CAN BE DONE.....


Happy to report that we just bottled a double batch of CRP this weekend. Following the info in this long thread I used all ingredients in the kits as instructed, very carefully kept the temperature between 73-77 deg with a brewbelt, agressively stirred with either a spoon or Fiz-X twice daily for the first week (business trip made me leave it alone). It finished at 1.01 sg within the upper end of the days listed in the instructions. I can only describe this puppy as extremely lazy fermenting. Only on the first day of active fermentation did I note any foam at all. After that, it was minor fizzing, very similar to a carbonated soft drink poured into a glass. It was continuous but slow.
Fortified with brandy up to 20% (by tasting along the way). I can't wait for a month or so in the bottle. It already tastes wonderful.....This one is a friend magnet.

 

[rrs26ja]

I started this port a 2 weeks ago. Everything was fine until I added the sugar. The specific gravity jumped up to 1.32, I let it sit for 7 days with a heat belt on. The temp was about 73 degrees. Ichecked the specific gravity again and it was 1.30. I stirred the crap out of using my drill and wip. I checked it again right after stirring it and it dropped down to 1.24. I am hoping this thing will get below the 1.10 so I can do the next step.


Do I need to use any additional yeast to get this baby started again?

 

[grapeman]

I am assuming you have forgotten one decimal point in all those numbers- should be 1.032, 1.030, 1.024 and 1.010. You are moving steadily downward. I don't think you need to add anything, just keep it warm and give it time.

 

[Swede]

Mine made it down to 1.010 before it was finished and I'm real happy with it. It's surprisingly good for as young as it is, and I actually think I prefer it to the OCP. I had added a little DAP to mine half way through to help it along and make sure it didn't stop short, and stirred it often in the final stages.

 

[Wade E]

I too prefer this to the OCP.

 

[RickC]

I agree with Appleman. As long as the sg continues to dropit is slowly doing its thing. Others have noted it taking longer than the instructions say. After Itransferred to secondary it was easier to see the small bubbles working up the glass. It was less evident in the primary.

 

[rrs26ja]

Yes I did make a mistake with the readings I met 1.028. I just checked it today after I stirred the crap out of it yesterdayand its back up to 1.028.






Here were my readings:


02/26/101.13 initial reading
03/05/101.012 before adding the sugar
03/12/101.030 before stirring it up
03/12/101.024 after stirring it
03/13/101.028 after letting it sit


I stirred it up again today. I have a heat belt on and its been a consistent 73 degrees.


I am not sure where to go from here.

 

[Wade E]

You must have gotten a wrong reading the other day or the sugar wasnt dissolved all the way cause s's dont go up unless you add more sugar. Keepit at that temp or even a little warmer and keep stirring it. A little nutrient wouldnt hurt either.

 

[rrs26ja]

Wade,


Its still at 1.028 today after stirring again yesterday, what do you mean add a little nutrient?

 

[RickC]

I believe he means yeast nutrient. George carries it. I added some to my kit 12 hours before capitalization.

 

[Wade E]

Yep, and if its going very slow at this point I would cause this kit needs all it can to finish sometimes, its notorious for stalling early.

 

[rrs26ja]

Okay so now I am confused. I started the kit on 02/26/2010. When do I take the specific gravity readings? I made the kit on 02/26/2010 and took a specific gravity reading which was 1.13. I added the oak and yeast as the instructions said. I let it sit for 7 days covered. Prior to adding the sugar the reading was 1.013 so I added the sugar on 03/05/10 . I waited 7 days and the reading on 03/12/10 was 1.028 so I stirred it every couple of days I waited another 7 days and now the reading is 1.024. Am I taking these readings at the right point. Should I transfer this to the secondary?

 

[Wade E]

Do you have the temp in the mid to upper 70's cause it really needs to be on this kit! You are probably reading it right, in case you havent noticed by these posts this kit is a problem child trying to get it to ferment to its proper sg after adding the corn sugar. keep the temp up and keep stirring to get it down further.

 

[rrs26ja]

I have had the heat belt on since I started the kit. I transferred to glass today and will continue to stir and check. Is the next step to read below 1.020?

 

[Wade E]

Yes, to get it down to its recommended sg before adding the f-pac.

 

[uavwmn]

Stir the snot out of this because it is sometimes a stubborn wine to get the SG down to where it is suppose to be. But, it will come around.

 

[rrs26ja]

okay, still no progress with this port. Today a took a trip to our local wine/beer shop where I purchased the kit. The first thing they told me was that the heat belt does not work, I was very surprised, seem like the wine was a consistent 73 degrees. They did write a note to Tim at wine expert, and got a response right away from Linda who I guess works with Tim.

The new news besides stirring and getting the heat up is as follows:

Take a
gravity reading after warming/stirring, and another one three days later. This
should do the job, but if it doesn't you still have options. A starter won't
work, because the alcohol content is far too high--any starter you try will
simply die when you toss it in. Much better is to take another wine (a 6-gallon
kit, any kind, as long as it doesn't have oak or elderflowers in it, and it uses
the same kind of yeast that was in the port), get it going at 75F and lots of
stirring, and when you rack it on day 5-7 from the primary, leave the yeast
behind, and rack your port on top of the yeast bed. </font></span></font>
The yeast
will be fully conditioned to alcohol, and very hungry. That should knock it down
within a few days, as long as it's all warm and gets a good
stir.</span></font>
</span></font>I did buy some Yeast Nutrient and put it in the wine, we will see if that does anything.
</span></font>
</span></font>What are the forum readings opinions of:</span></font> The heat belt?</span></font> Yeast Nutrient?</span></font> The actions Linda recommended?
</span></font>
</span></font>

 

[Wade E]

The Brew belt works!!!!!!!!!!!!
Yeast nutrient at this point will likely not!
What Linda said will probably work!
I dont understand why that person would say the brew belt doesnt work, it may not et this port kit to work at this time if thats what he means but in general it works and works well.

 

[grapeman]

If you want Tims answer from him, here is a response to Joan's problem a few months ago.


http://forum.finevinewines.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=8067&amp;KW=&amp;PID=116911#116911

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<DIV style="OVERFLOW: auto" ="msg">Joan,


I just got a note from Linda telling me that they hadn't seen your email from October 12th,so I thought I'd hop over here and see if I could help.


Keys to getting a port kit to ferment down all the way are 1) Temperature and 2) stirring.


While the instructions say '65-75F', we have to put that big a spread in to cover off everyone's situation. If we make the spec tighter, we get an awful lot of calls about people who just can't keep their house or even their fermentation area at a more specific temperature.


But the fact of the matter is, if you ensure that the port kit is 75F or even slightly warmer (not as high as 80, though) before you pitch the yeast to it, it will have a much more vigorous start than a kit pitched any cooler, and the vigour of a fermentation at the start is a very good indicator of the thoroughness it will display at the end.


For some folks this means putting the kit on a heat register, wrapping a brew-belt around the box before use, or even immersing the bag in a sink of hot water. However you manage it, it makes a big difference.


Stirring is another key. Yeast has a multi-stage life cycle. The growth, or anabolic phase relies on each individual yeast cell making enough fatty acid esters to bud off daughter cells. They can do this through one of two paths. First, they can use YAN (yeast available nitrogen) to sythesize FAE's and we boost the nutrient levels of YAN as much as we can without altering the flavour profile of the kits (nitrogen tastes bitter-salty).


Second, they can uptake oxygen to make it through another chemical path. If you stir you kit very, very hard--hard enough to whip air into it and oxygenate it--the incorporated air will boost yeast anabolism and speed fermentation towards completion.


That's all well and good for the future, but if you're stuck now, you have bunch of options. First, get your temperature up to 75F. In your post you mention having the belt on, but double-check the actual temperature. Most heat belts will drive a 6-US gallon carboy to 72F, but some are not as hot as others . . .


Second, give the port a very hard stir with a drill-mounted whip. Bring all of the yeast up off of the bottom and stir hard enough to get some air into it. Don't be shy, punish it, and keep it coming for at least two minutes.


Take a gravity reading after warming/stirring, and another one three days later. This should do the job, but if it doesn't you still have options. A starter won't work, because the alcohol content is far too high--any starter you try will simply die when you toss it in. Much better is to take another wine (a 6-gallon kit, any kind, as long as it doesn't have oak or elderflowers in it, and it uses the same kind of yeast that was in the port), get it going at 75F and lots of stirring, and when you rack it on day 5-7 from the primary, leave the yeast behind, and rack your port on top of the yeast bed.


The yeast will be fully conditioned to alcohol, and very hungry. That should knock it down within a few days, as long as it's all warm and gets a good stir.


If you have any questions, go ahead and shoot them through to tim (at) winexpert (dot) com, and we'll be happy to sort them out. The Cocolate Raspberry Port is a fabulous kit, and it gets even better with age. I know you'll enjoy it.

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<DIV style="OVERFLOW: auto" ="msgSignature">Tim Vandergrift
Technical Services Manager
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[KSGuardsman]

The racking over the lees of a 6 gallon kit is what I did, and it that is what worked to get it down close to the target SG. It never got all the way down, but was close enough that I was advised to go ahead and clarify it.

I let it rest in carboy for another 2 months before bottling a few weeks ago. I gave a 750 and a 375 ml bottle to my wife and told her to put them in the cellar. I know the 375 is gone and I suspect the 750 will be missing from the cellar by the time I get home again next week (she has NO PATIENCE when it comes to bottle aging). That is why I kept the rest of the lot here and it will stay here until at least Labor Day).

Give this a try, but still stir the bejez out of it!