Home Kit at 7 Days

rebusify · Jun 6, 2020

Hey guys, back again. It's been 7 days and I was out of town and wasn't able to monitor the fermentation. I started at 1.095 last Friday and today when I got back I have a reading of 1.010. Since I need to get to .998 I would I assume I need about 6 to 7 more days. I'm at 73 degrees with this kit. Would you say that I'm on track?

The kit said that if it didn't show bubbles in the airlock that I should give it a good stir after 48 hours which I did but today when I got back I noticed no bubbles again. I assume i have a leak somewhere in my bucket. Took the lid off and it's got thousands of little bubbles come up so it's looking good and the specific gravity shows that it's fermenting. The instructions say take a reading each day but I'm concerned that I'm oxidizing it every time I take the lid off to get a reading. Should I be concerned about that?

Thanks!

Arne · Jun 6, 2020

Well, way back when I joined here there was a fellow by the name of Tom. He always told people follow the 3 p's of winemaking. Patience, patience, patience. Looks like you are on the right track. Hope it is great when you are done. With it still fermenting, you don't have much to worry about oxidation. Good luck with it, Arne.

rebusify · Jun 6, 2020

Thanks Arne. I did pull a little out while checking the SG and got a slight buzz once I was done testing. LOL. That does tell me there's alcohol and so does the SG reading. You're right. I do need more patience. The kit says at .998 to shut it down and start to stabilize and then clear. The kit says to check the SG every day so that was why I was asking. Taking the lid off the bucket every day for the next 7 days scares me a bit in terms of oxygen.

tradowsk · Jun 6, 2020

CO2 is heavier than air, so even taking off the lid doesn't really expose the must to oxygen unless you stir it and get rid of that CO2 blanket. You're not going to oxidize a wine (especially one that's fermenting) with a little bit of oxygen, so don't worry too much.

Also, you don't need to check the SG every day. Kits do that so you feel like you're doing something and being involved. I usually do a weekly SG check just to make sure things haven't stalled and give the yeast a little stir.

rebusify · Jun 7, 2020

Thank you for your reply. Right now I'm in a white fermentation bucket. Would it be a bad idea to transfer it to a carboy? The reason is that I would like to see it in action but if it's going to do more harm then I'll just wait out the next 6 days in the bucket.

tradowsk · Jun 7, 2020

I think you would be fine either way. Lately I've been racking out of the buckets when the SG is at or below 1.000, but that's just preference. I would not rack if the SG is above 1.020. Racking leaves yeast behind and you want to make sure there are enough to keep fermentation going to completion.