Extra sugar? Fairly urgent

[Ajmassa]

Just for mixing purposes. But it was already dissolved before I added it, so it makes sense I wouldn't have to.

Again, thank you all for all the advice, really appreciate it! I think it'll turn out fine. The kit said 2-3 weeks, I'm thinking 4-5 weeks seeing as I added extra sugar. But we'll let the hydrometer decide that. I'm not gonna rush this batch.

Any time I add a simple syrup (2cps sugar:
1cp water) I still stir it in. If it's in a carboy then the back end of the stirring spoons or paddles are made to fit through. No need to shake anything.
Side tip: if I need to stir a topped up full carboy the spoon would displace wine and overflow so I use a racking cane to stir without overflow.
But What are you referring to for 4-5 weeks? A finished product? The timelines given are probably minimum time until bottling- but not drinking.
The longer you wait the better it gets. Try and put a few bottles aside and taste again in 6 months. I'm thinking you will be pleasantly surprised.

 

[Vinoish]

Any time I add a simple syrup (2cps sugar:
1cp water) I still stir it in. If it's in a carboy then the back end of the stirring spoons or paddles are made to fit through. No need to shake anything.
Side tip: if I need to stir a topped up full carboy the spoon would displace wine and overflow so I use a racking cane to stir without overflow.
But What are you referring to for 4-5 weeks? A finished product? The timelines given are probably minimum time until bottling- but not drinking.
The longer you wait the better it gets. Try and put a few bottles aside and taste again in 6 months. I'm thinking you will be pleasantly surprised.

Oh, I know. 4-5 weeks before bottling.

It's in a plastic container/jug (English is not my first language!), guessing it's not a "carboy" then. Would I be doing something wrong if I rocked it a little to mix things up?

So many different opinions, it seems. I dissolved the sugar and poured it in yesterday.

 

[Ajmassa]

Rocking is ok, just figured stirring is just easier.
I Just checked out the kit on the link you posted. I was able to translate much of the Swedish. The latest review of the kit is informative. According to that review, the amount of sugar the recipe calls for will give you about 10.5%-11%abv And they added extra sugar to 12.5% or higher and made the wine much better.
So without measuring before you added yeast, assuming 10.5% is the recipe abv, then whatever amount of sugar you add you would just make sure the raise in SG correlates to 1%-2% abv, which is about 0.015 sg.
If it was at 1.040 before adding sugar then you wouldn't want to go any higher than 1.055.
--pretty much exactly what @sour_grapes already said I now notice.

 

[Vinoish]

Rocking is ok, just figured stirring is just easier.
I Just checked out the kit on the link you posted. I was able to translate much of the Swedish. The latest review of the kit is informative. According to that review, the amount of sugar the recipe calls for will give you about 10.5%-11%abv And they added extra sugar to 12.5% or higher and made the wine much better.
So without measuring before you added yeast, assuming 10.5% is the recipe abv, then whatever amount of sugar you add you would just make sure the raise in SG correlates to 1%-2% abv, which is about 0.015 sg.
If it was at 1.040 before adding sugar then you wouldn't want to go any higher than 1.055.
--pretty much exactly what @sour_grapes already said I now notice.

I'll give it a bit of a rocking to make sure it mixes up properly, then.

 

[Ajmassa]

Can I ask why you wouldn't just stir the wine? If it is in active fermentation then stirring daily and introducing oxygen is actually beneficial to the process.

 

[Vinoish]

Can I ask why you wouldn't just stir the wine? If it is in active fermentation then stirring daily and introducing oxygen is actually beneficial to the process.

Good point. But I'd need something to stir it with. And that I don't have at the moment.

 

[Ajmassa]

Good point. But I'd need something to stir it with. And that I don't have at the moment.

Lol. Gotchya. Swiss Army knives don't have that attachment? Maybe a ski pole laying around?

 

[Vinoish]

You would think, but no

 

[Vinoish]

The instructions make it sound like the airlock needs to be on at all times, when I've learned here that using one during primary fermentation can actually be detrimental to the process!

Well, it's properly mixed now, bubbling along merrily, and hopefully it will turn out great. Thanks, everyone, for your advice.

 

[Scooter68]

For the future remember that violent actions like shaking, can produce violent results like spewing wine must and foam. ALSO when you are going to add something like K-Meta to a batch, you can just put it into the new container before you start racking and let that transfer process do the stirring for you. You still have to crush Campden tablets but if you are using a powder or well crushed tablets you don't even have to dissolve them before putting into the new container.

 

[Vinoish]

For the future remember that violent actions like shaking, can produce violent results like spewing wine must and foam. ALSO when you are going to add something like K-Meta to a batch, you can just put it into the new container before you start racking and let that transfer process do the stirring for you. You still have to crush Campden tablets but if you are using a powder or well crushed tablets you don't even have to dissolve them before putting into the new container.

Good advice, thanks.

I didn't shake it violently, so as not to shock the yeast. Think it's okay - it's bubbling just like it should. Hopefully it'll turn out good!

 

[Vinoish]

Good advice, thanks.

I didn't shake it violently, so as not to shock the yeast. Think it's okay - it's bubbling just like it should. Hopefully it'll turn out good!

Would you say it's still in primary fermentation if the airlock bubbles every five seconds or so, even though it's been fermenting for five days? I'm assuming yes?

 

[Ajmassa]

That's what's great about the hydrometer. No need to guess. Drop in and check the level and you'll have your answer.
That's also pretty much accepted way to know when to move it from primary fermentation. Bubbling in the airlock can be deceiving and counting days is risky. Hydromter is your friend

 

[Vinoish]

That's what's great about the hydrometer. No need to guess. Drop in and check the level and you'll have your answer.
That's also pretty much accepted way to know when to move it from primary fermentation. Bubbling in the airlock can be deceiving and counting days is risky. Hydromter is your friend

Of course. Stupid question. I blame lack of sleep.

 

[Ajmassa]

Of course. Stupid question. I blame lack of sleep.

It can be tough until youve done a lot and it becomes routine. it's damn easy to overlook something.
As my high school teacher always said, the only stupid question is the one not asked.
That's what great about this forum too. People genuinely enjoy helping out.

 

[Vinoish]

It can be tough until youve done a lot and it becomes routine. it's damn easy to overlook something.
As my high school teacher always said, the only stupid question is the one not asked.
That's what great about this forum too. People genuinely enjoy helping out.

Actually, there's a little more to my situation. The hydrometers over here measure around 85 as a good starting point (according to the kit and the hydrometer), and typically finishes at -1 to -5. I wouldn't know what to do with the numbers you guys use (1-point-something and so on).

I'm sure there's a conversion table somewhere if I looked.

The good news is, after a week, and after having had the lid off for a while for three of the days, it's still bubbling every 5-8 seconds, so I believe the added 0.5 kg of sugar was a good idea.

 

[sour_grapes]

Actually, there's a little more to my situation. The hydrometers over here measure around 85 as a good starting point (according to the kit and the hydrometer), and typically finishes at -1 to -5. I wouldn't know what to do with the numbers you guys use (1-point-something and so on).

I'm sure there's a conversion table somewhere if I looked.

The good news is, after a week, and after having had the lid off for a while for three of the days, it's still bubbling every 5-8 seconds, so I believe the added 0.5 kg of sugar was a good idea.

Sounds like they are using the Oeschle scale: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oechsle_scale. If I am right, you just divide the number you read by 1000 and add 1 to it to get SG, so your 85 becomes SG = 1.085. Does the scale on your hydrometer go up over 100? How high does it go?

 

[Vinoish]

Sounds like they are using the Oeschle scale: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oechsle_scale. If I am right, you just divide the number you read by 1000 and add 1 to it to get SG, so your 85 becomes SG = 1.085. Does the scale on your hydrometer go up over 100? How high does it go?

Sorry for the late reply. It is indeed the Oechsle scale, and thank you for the info! I'll have to have a look, but I think it goes to 100.

 

[Vinoish]

Hm. The airlock has bubbled once or twice an hour for the past couple days. It's been fermenting for 17 days. I'll check the SG. If it's stuck, could I just add some more yeast?

 

[Stressbaby]

If it is stuck, you will want to follow a "restart stuck fermentation" protocol rather than just pitching more yeast.