Losing hope

[tradowsk]

EC-1118 is usually a clean fermenter, and your temp is fine. I would try degassing with with a spoon or a drill whip. Splash racking at this stage might not be the best idea, I would start with something more gentle first to see if it does the trick.

 

[sour_grapes]

Do you have any thoughts on copper to get rid of off smells? Mixed opinions about it being poisonous etc. I see there is a very mild copper sulfite solution you can add? Don’t want to add unnecessary chemicals.

First, can you clarify what you mean by "sulfur smell" above? Do you mean like rotten eggs/dog farts? That is H2S, hydrogen sulfide. Do you mean like burnt match? That is something like SO2, sulfite.

Copper will help with rotten egg. The best way to dose it controllably in sub-toxic doses is a product called Reduless.

If you let H2S (rotten egg) sit too long, you can get more complex thiols, which require more invasive measures to fix.

 

[purpletongue]

Thank you ever so much mate. Since lockdown here in the UK, I was put on a 12 week isolation. So I took up home brewing. I’ve made 30 bottles of red (CC Merlot) which is just about drinkable but will I probably end up cooking with. I then made 6 bottles of Pinot Grigio for my wife and she LOVED it. I’ve got 30 bottles of that bubbling away. I then spent a bit more getting the Kenridge Trilogy which is the one im nearly bottling but a bit worried about. I’ve also done loads of beer, mostly gone well and bloody strong! Let’s hope this red turns out ok as I love the whole process. I will try and research a bit more and keep going. Thanks again for your help. I hope lockdown is going ok for you and look forward the that pub opening for a nice pint of IPA. Cheers

Sorry to hear about your isolation. Good of you to make lemonade with lemons and take up brewing!
That's great you nailed the Pinot. Ya I've imbibed with homemade beer from pals and ooo eee it can be strong indeed. If you love the process it sounds like you've made the right decision to push forward.
Thx, lockdown is tough. Good days and bad days. It's nice to interact on this forum and keep busy. Looking forward to a pint myself mate. Cheers.

 

[Steve Wargo]

Hello wine makers. I’m just about to give up on making wine as my last two red wines have been rubbish and pretty much taste the same. The first was a CC Merlot and the second is in the fastferment clearing (Kenridge trilogy). I’ve followed the instructions to a T and there is a slight sulphur smell and taste. I degassed and kept it at 21degC throughout the process. The CC Merlot finished at about 12% and the Kenridge about 13%. I’m sampling the Kenridge from the sampling port and it’s at day 21. Will it lose the sulphur taste? Why do both wines taste the same? I used filter water in the Kenridge but just campden treated tap water for the CC Merlot. I have done 6 bottles of CC Pinot Grigio which turned out great. I’ve got 30 bottles of that on the go now. I love red wine but I think this is the last one I will do. Any inspiration will be greatly received.

I've had that sulfur smell in my wine twice that you've described after fermentation. Guessing most likely you didn't take any readings, except SG.

The sulfur smell happened to me because of three reasons. 1.) Yeast not fed 2.) ferment reached too high a temperature 3.) wine still young. Luckily degassing and aging resolved one batch, the other I did the same but it was not good drinking wine and became deglazing cooking wine.

You might want to degas the wine again, it does rid the wine of volatile gasses that develop. I age wine that I make a minimum of 6 months before bottling, I don't use clearing agents. I do use Kmeta

 

[Rotorgoat]

Great tips, thanks. I think my first attempt is definitely going down the cooking wine route! Opened another bottle of it which has been in the bottle for over three months now. It just has a pong to it which you can also taste. I’m sure if I had had a bottle already then it may pass but I’m now tempted to tip it down the drain as I need the bottles. The second red is now about 3 days before bottling time and already tastes better than the first. Is it worth trying a quick degas was father red to ensure there is no residual gas? It still has a very faint smell to it so want to deal with it before any bottling takes place.

 

[winemaker81]

A 21 day old wine is NOT going to taste great. Wines take time -- they undergo chemical changes that don't happen quickly.

The time frames in wine kit instructions are approximate. Yeast is a living being and it WILL do what it wants, not what you want.

As @joeswine said, follow the instructions, keeping in mind that time frames are approximate. Your hydrometer tells you when to do the first racking.

Following is my process for kits, which should illustrate the differences in time frames. I follow the kit instructions generally, e.g., I do things in the order indicated.

I typically first rack at ~1.010. This has been as short as 4 days and as long as several weeks, but is generally 5 to 7 days.

From there it goes into a carboy to finish fermentation. For red wines, the SG should finish between 0.990 and 0.996. I typically wait a week before checking. IME the wine will normally be done fermenting by this time. If it's not, give it another 3 to 7 days and check again.

Rack again to get the wine off the gross lees and add the fining agents (typically kieselsol/chitosan in kits). I typically rack again in a week or two. This depends more on my time than the wine, but in general I want the wine off the lees sooner than later. During days 2 to 4, give the carboy a sharp twist to dislodge sediment from the sides -- this reduces fine sediment in later rackings.

In theory, a 28 day kit can be bottled 2 weeks later. You DO NOT have to bottle, and I can't recall the last time I bottled a kit "on time". Some folks age kit wines for 12+ months. While I don't see any value in that unless you're adding oak products, it's definitely not wrong to age the wine a lot longer than indicated.

After bottling, don't touch the wine for at least 3 months. In general, reds are drinkable at the 6 month mark but will be better a year out. This is personal taste -- if you like the wine at 3 months, enjoy! But put aside a couple of bottles to age a year, so you can taste the difference.

 

[DizzyIzzy]

Thank you ever so much mate. Since lockdown here in the UK, I was put on a 12 week isolation. So I took up home brewing. I’ve made 30 bottles of red (CC Merlot) which is just about drinkable but will I probably end up cooking with. I then made 6 bottles of Pinot Grigio for my wife and she LOVED it. I’ve got 30 bottles of that bubbling away. I then spent a bit more getting the Kenridge Trilogy which is the one im nearly bottling but a bit worried about. I’ve also done loads of beer, mostly gone well and bloody strong! Let’s hope this red turns out ok as I love the whole process. I will try and research a bit more and keep going. Thanks again for your help. I hope lockdown is going ok for you and look forward the that pub opening for a nice pint of IPA. Cheers

DON'T GIVE UP.................HANG IN THERE, AND LEARN ALL YOU CAN FROM THIS FORUM AS WELL AS BOOKS!

 

[DizzyIzzy]

Great tips, thanks. I think my first attempt is definitely going down the cooking wine route! Opened another bottle of it which has been in the bottle for over three months now. It just has a pong to it which you can also taste. I’m sure if I had had a bottle already then it may pass but I’m now tempted to tip it down the drain as I need the bottles. The second red is now about 3 days before bottling time and already tastes better than the first. Is it worth trying a quick degas was father red to ensure there is no residual gas? It still has a very faint smell to it so want to deal with it before any bottling takes place.

Do you and your wife like fruit wines? If so, there are two such wines with receipes on this forum that almost everyone here seems to make and enjoy. The two I am thinking of are called "Skeeter Pee" (made simply from bottled lemon or lime juice) and "Danger Dave's Dragon Blood" made from frozen berries. Both of these can be drank young. I am awaiting the arrival of racking canes so I can bottle my Skeeter Pee, and it tastes delicious. (I used lime juice).......Just a thought for you to help with your current frustration!

 

[Rotorgoat]

Just racked the Pinot after 7 days as it started at 1082 and only after 7 days it’s at 993. Kept at a constant 20degC. It’s now in a Carboy with about half an inch of fine sediment after a couple of hours. It looked very carbonated but now just has a small layer of fizz at the top. Airlock still bubbling. I will rack again in a few days off that sediment and stabilise/degas/clear. The Red is still sat in the ‘Fastferment’ having lightly stirred it with some sanitised copper wire (something I read on another forum) I’m guessing as both reds have a similar smell (the first cooking wine a lot worse) it may be my water. I’ve kept it at a constant 20deg throughout. Anybody used ‘Reduless’? Can’t find a UK supplier. Starting another IPA tomorrow to kept my supplies stocked! Cheers for all your responses, much better than other forums.