WineXpert Help with S.G.

[sjzalew]

I have a World Vineyard Chiean Malbec in the carboy now for 10 days, I was going to degas and add the remaining chemicals. But my S.G. hasn't gone down at all, 10 days ago when I transfered it to the carboy it was at 1.002, and it's the same today, the tempeture was 62 deg. I've raised the temp in the room, will this do any good? Should I wait a few more days? What do I do if it doesn't come down any more?
Thanks in advance
Steve

 

[Racer]

Yes the temp. of the wine is important at this stage in the fermentation so try to get it warmed up to the range the instructions call for. Give it a good stir so you can get all the yeast up off of the bottom too. It might get them to work on the last of the sugar for you.

 

[sjzalew]

I've already raised the temp, it will take a day or so for the wine temp to go up, but you think I can stir it up good at this point and let it settle again? It won't hurt it?

 

[Tom]

Yes it can help. BUT, degas and see if the gravity dropped. Could be just gas holding the gravity there. Raising the temp will help. Try moving it to a warmer room. Then U can move it after it finished

 

[phermenter]

Steve: Both the fermentation and the subsequent degassing will go better if you can get it up to around 75 degrees (at least that's what the kit experts say).

Jim

 

[sjzalew]

Thanks! I've gone ahead and mixed it well, lots of CO2 coming up, I've raised the temp in the room to 78 deg, I'll check it tomorrow and see if there's a change.

 

[Wade E]

It will take days, maybe even a week before 6 gallons will raise to the temp of the room, thats why bulk aging s better then bottle aging cause frequent temp changes doesnt effect 1 big volume as much as many smaller volumes.

 

[sjzalew]

Thanks Wade, I'm working on a room in my crawl space to use a a cellar, it's very insulated and will maintain tempeture better.

 

[Wade E]

Brew belts can help keep temps better also.

 

[rocket man]

Brew belts can help keep temps better also.

Wade, do you use a brew belt often on your glass carboys?

 

[sjzalew]

Where can you find the brew belts?

 

[sjzalew]

OHH, By the way.. After stirring the past two days and raising the temp. the S.G. has come down to 1.000, I'll stir a couple more times and hope the S.G. settles around .996

 

[Wade E]

http://www.finevinewines.com/ProdDetA.asp?PartNumber=5008

 

[phermenter]

OHH, By the way.. After stirring the past two days and raising the temp. the S.G. has come down to 1.000, I'll stir a couple more times and hope the S.G. settles around .996

OK, the stirring was good to get it started, but I don't think you want to keep doing that if you don't have to. Once the fermentation nears the end, you start risking more harm than good by introducing oxygen (and letting out the protective CO2 blanket you've built up), IMO. The temp is the key now anyway, and now that you've gotten the yeast interested in working again, you probably don't need to stir.

The Brew Belts are available lots of places, but if you don't have a local shop that has one, I got mine through the Northern Brewer website. Looks like I paid $23.99. There's shipping, naturally, but it's $7.99 no matter how much you order. In my case, I ordered three kits, the belt and a bunch of other stuff, so the shipping was a pretty good deal.

Jim

 

[sjzalew]

Thanks Jim, and Wade
I'll check the S.G. tomorrow again but wont stir, if it's down below 1.000 I'll move on to adding the metabisulphite and sorbate, finish degassing and top off.

 

[cpfan]

My advice would be...PATIENCE. You're rushing this wine. The temp was low, so it slowed down. You've brought it back to life, let the fermentation finish. Wait until you've had a stable sg for 3-4 days (at least). Personally I would wait longer, much longer, but I realize that newcomers are often in a hurry to bottle and drink their wine. Believe me, it will be better in 6 months, and even better if you invest some of that time right now.

Steve

 

[Wade E]

Agree with cp, let it finish beore adding any sulfite or sorbate. Check the wine for stabiluty by testing it 3 days in a row for the same sg, then add sulfites, sorbate, degas and fining agents and all that stuff.

 

[sjzalew]

Thanks guys, I'm not usually a patient man to begin with, but I will be with the wine. My perdiciment is this...I didn't anticipate the delay in stabilization and I'm going out of the country for 8 days, leaving on Thursday. I don't mind waiting until I return, but will it ruin the wine with all the top surface? Can I top it off with a similar wine, then when I get back, draw it out and finish? What's your best advise?
Thanks everyone, you've been a Great Help!
Steve

 

[Tom]

You should be fine waiting. Since you only rackes once I doubt you have to much headspace. How much head space do you have?

 

[sjzalew]

Here is a picture of the Carboy with the headspace, I also checked the S.G. and it's still @ 1.001