Elderberry Wine, Green Goo, and pH meter

[Raptor99]

The title says it all. I just started a batch of Elderberry wine, and I need to adjust the pH. Today it was at 4.0, so I need more acid. But there are already traces of green goo on my pH meter (Apera PH60). I tried filtering the sample with a paper coffee filter, but that was not enough to keep goo off the pH meter. I am reluctant to test it again, but I need to adjust the pH.

Those of you who have made Elderberry wine, how have you dealt with this problem? I know that I can clean green goo off my equipment by rubbing it with cooking oil and then washing it with soap. But I am concerned that doing that might damage my pH meter probe. Any solutions to this?

 

[cmason1957]

I could never come up with one and finally gave up on elderberry wine due to the green goo, wasn't worth the trouble for me.

 

[Bossbaby]

I have a dedicated racking hose for elderberry, it's the one with the greenish tint.. I dont use my good ph tester for elderberry and have made good wine without making adjustments to the ph.

 

[BarrelMonkey]

Is this pre-fermentation? I'm not sure if the green goo is related to fermentation or not. When I made my (first) elderberry last year, I did all my sugar and tartaric adjustments before pitching yeast. I did see a greenish ring on my primary fermenter after fermentation was complete, but not so bad that I considered it a problem.

I do agree that you should be careful washing your pH probe - in particular I would be careful not to touch the actual bulb itself. I don't know about Apera but my pH meter manufacturer (Milwaukee) has a cleaning solution available.

 

[Raptor99]

I can clean my other equipment. I have an old cheap pH meter. Maybe I'll see if I can get it to calibrate, and use that for the Elderberry wine. Either that, or adjust the pH purely by taste.

 

[Rice_Guy]

The pH probe works by having a slow leak of kalomel solution out of a small pore on one electrode, ,,, and an electrical potential on a very thin glass bulb for the other electrode.

The glass bulb is fragile but can be cleaned as gently brushing with a brush and solvent. For green goo I would try orange cleaner/ degreaser,,, latex paint solvent also would work. The small pore is a bigger problem, if you get goo in the pore your choice is limited as soaking in a solvent. (the food lab soaks probes in a protease enzyme to remove residue) Here a wax solvent as latex paint solvent or 100% chloroform.

I have not experimented with elderberry goo (waxes?). My first guess would be to chill a test tube with sample in an ice bath for half an hour, ,, hoping to crystallize the waxes out of solution. Then warm the sample back up to room temp. 20 C and run the pH reading.
Option two would be to take a test tub of sample > add two drops of chloroform (wax solvent) > stopper and vigorously shake the sample > let it sit half an hour > hope to see a wax layer dissolved into the chloroform.

and I need to adjust the pH. Today it was at 4.0, so I need more acid. But there are already traces of green goo on my pH meter (Apera PH60).

the cheap answer is guess the pH with pH paper, you don’t need 0.01 accuracy in a must.

 

[BarrelMonkey]

Here are some suggestions on cleaning pH probes from my 'local' (hour and a half drive away) LHBS. Alcohol is recomended for treatment of greasy/oily deposits. I like @Rice_Guy 's suggestion of using pH paper for dirty samples, though I imagine the deep purple color of elderberry must might be an impediment...

 

[Raptor99]

@Rice_Guy you are always a great source of knowledge. Thanks for your suggestions.

For cleanup of green goo, I found something like this:
https://www.homedepot.com/p/Goo-Gone-24-oz-Latex-Paint-Cleaner-2192/300152295or this: ZEP 24 oz. Heavy-Duty Citrus Degreaser ZUCIT24
Is that what you recommend?

@BarrelMonkey Thanks for sharing the link. I also wondered about alcohol. I wonder if vodka or everclear would work.

 

[user 35751]

The goo is why I “stick” to dried elderberries now

 

[Cap Puncher]

Apera pH60 new probe. Incase you break it, here is the Amazon link to the replacement, $33.

 

[Raptor99]

The fermentation is not quite finished yet, but today I removed the pulp bag and racked into a bucket. For those who have not done elderberry, here is what the green goo looks like:



Most of it was left behind in the bucket. As you can see, most of it is near the top. It floats on the wine, so my siphon didn't draw up very much:



It looks much better in the new bucket. I think that about 95% was left behind. Once I get rid of the goo I can rack it into a carboy for clearing and aging.



I was able to clean my auto siphon with cooking oil followed by dish soap. The bucket has a thick layer of goo, so I'll wait to clean that when I can pick up some orange cleaner.

I got some more KCL solution, so I will leave my old, cheap pH meter in that overnight and then see if I can calibrate it. Then I can use it to test the pH of the wine.

Elderberry wine is a bit of work, but it is so good that I think that it is worth it.

 

[user 35751]

My fave is an eldeberry raisin port style.
a pinch of dark cocoa powder. Lightly Oaked.
e&j brandy to fortify.
nice by the outdoor firepit

 

[ChuckD]

The goo is why I “stick” to dried elderberries now

So if I dry my elderberries then reconstitute and make wine the green goo will not be an issue?

 

[ChuckD]

For those who have not done elderberry, here is what the green goo looks like:

Oh I know! I’m going to try that dehydration trick next time.

 

[Rice_Guy]

my favorite on goo is Pam (cooking spray with soy lecithin/ ie natural solvent), ,,, I like suppliers that start with food grade ingredients.

I was able to clean my auto siphon with cooking oil followed by dish soap. The bucket has a thick layer of goo, so I'll wait to clean that when I can pick up some orange cleaner.

 

[user 35751]

Oh I know! I’m going to try that dehydration trick next time.

I buy mine from a local brew store or Frontier Co-op on line