Peach wine - too much sediment - help

[samwisegamgeese]

Well I made wine when I was a teen from scratch but it has been 30 years

So I am now trying my hand again and I have just made a batch of peach wine. 5 gallons in 1 gallon demijohn's.

Unfortunately the amount of peach pulp that has got through my seiving (maybe need to use a cloth next time right?) has mean a 2cm cust has formed on the top of all 3 Demijohns.

The liquid seems to be a good colour and all 5 are bubbling away.

I have taken hydrometer reading and was thinking of racking after only a few days due to the crust ...what do you think?

Leave it or rack it and if so when?

 

[samwisegamgeese]

Here is what they look like, plus my boy making the must

 

[Deezil]

Whats the SG?
It's currently fermenting?

Do you have a bucket that will hold ALL 5 gallons until your SG is down close to 1.000? When the wine ferments closer to 'dry', the sediment will start falling to the bottom and you can rack the wine off the top.

Sounds like an active fermentation, meaning the reason that you have "sediment" - its most likely yeast - floating to the top is because the Co2 is trying to escape, pushing the sediment up.. If you watch it, the pieces should lose their co2 at the top and start sinking down again - its a rise & fall process.

Lemme know if im on the right track here..

 

[Deezil]

Lol, in that last picture, you can see the yeast falling - or rising? Depending, anyways.. Seems my hunch was right.

If you have a bucket, get all the wine transferred to the bucket and fasten a clean towel or shirt over the top. Give it a good stir, twice a day, making sure to mix in the sediment that rises - you dont want this to dry out - the process of working in the "cap" (sediment at top) is called "punching down" the cap.

In the beginning 2/3rd or so of the fermentation, the wine benefits from oxygen being stirred in. Once it gets below about 1.030 - 1.040, you want to be careful mixing in oxygen as you dont want to oxidize the wine.. Anywhere after that time, you can rack back to glass jugs & fill to the shoulder level - slightly above where they're filled to now - as the fermentation wont be so active and the cap wont be so busy making a mess.

Depending on the SG of the must & temp its sitting at, i bet you have 1-3 days left of fermenting which is plenty of time to call for transferring to a bucket.

 

[Deezil]

The reason your seiving didnt work, is because the yeast multiplied again
Thats what most of that sediment is.

Did you use fresh fruit?
Got more info on your process?

 

[samwisegamgeese]

Thanks. This is really helpful and informative.

It is fermenting well at the moment; all 5 of the demoijohns.

I used used tin peaches which sat in grape syrup which I put the syrup in as detiled by my recipe.

Some pectic enyme, nutirient, citric acid and tannin and lots of sugar!

The SG at start wss 1.07

Andy

 

[samwisegamgeese]

I do not have a fermenter that large ....

 

[Deezil]

What's your SG now?
Hows it looking?

Putting it all into a larger fermenter isnt exactly necessary but it helps with consistency from bottle-to-bottle and such.. It's probably fermented enough by this point that you'd want it under airlock

I know here in the US, we can have been pretty lucky asking at bakeries in our large-chain supermarkets and such for the buckets that they get their frosting in - these are food grade plastic and they just toss them out anyways.. Roughly enough for 3 US gallons or so.. You might have similiar luck there, they work good for primary fermentation

 

[samwisegamgeese]

I heard what you said about the level in the demi-john's being low and so I have created some more syrup.

Will test the SG and see what change has happened.

It is still fermenting but I am getting concerned as the peach bits are losing their colour and there is a lot of peach meat in the Demijohn's.

Would you rack; using a muslin cloth and get rid of any stuff leaving a new Demijohn with no sediment?

Or would this be a bad idea?

Should I add more sugar?

Andy

 

[Deezil]

I wouldnt add more sugar, that will just give you more alcohol. Your starting 1.070 was on the low side, so hopefully the syrup didnt throw you off too much - you can take +0.015, putting you at an adjusted 1.085, with no problems but if its more than 1.090 it might be a little hot, depending on the actual flavor in the peaches.

As to what to do about racking and such, we'd need to know the SG

 

[samwisegamgeese]

Thanks for replying.

I will get SG but I am not racking to go to bottle I am thinking of racking to get rid of the bits of peach in the demijohn. Is this neccesary or can they stay in the liquid?

I was thinking of adding syrup/water to extend the level in the demijohn as it was too low. Is it?

Andy

 

[samwisegamgeese]

I wouldnt add more sugar, that will just give you more alcohol. Your starting 1.070 was on the low side, so hopefully the syrup didnt throw you off too much - you can take +0.015, putting you at an adjusted 1.085, with no problems but if its more than 1.090 it might be a little hot, depending on the actual flavor in the peaches.

As to what to do about racking and such, we'd need to know the SG

OK I will take SG and come back to you. What do you mean by "hot"?

 

[Deezil]

"Hot" like... sipping vodka, if you go too far out of balance, but that burning sensation that you get when the alcohol is 'forward' / standing out from the rest of the facets of the wine - acidity, flavor, body/mouthfeel, sweetness..

 

[Midwest Vintner]

Don't worry about the sediment. It will fall out eventually and you can rack off the top. Peach is slow to clear, so be prepared to wait. Racking over and over will only introduce O2. Do you have any other containers? It would be beneficial to get it topped up, but also, you don't want to do that when it is fermenting. It will spew out the top. lol.

I would check the SG. Rack into bucket if about 1.010 and still bubbling. It may need 02 right now and you don't want to strain the yeast because it could create off flavors. If it is under 1.05, leave it till it stops bubbling. Rack, but try and get rid of head space by either using one smaller container and topping the rest up (after racking the sediment off) or by adding marbles or something glass/food safe into them to remove the head space. I always keep all kinds of sized containers and bungs for them, for that reason. With a small commercial winery, I still am using 5 gal carboys to top up tanks with. We start with 10% more than a tank will hold and then add a carboy to top it, when they get enough room. HTH

 

[samwisegamgeese]

Thanks I have other 1 gallons (presently they are in 1 gallon demijohns.

How much space should I leave at the top of a Demijohn when fermenting?

 

[Midwest Vintner]

Thanks I have other 1 gallons (presently they are in 1 gallon demijohns.

How much space should I leave at the top of a Demijohn when fermenting?

I usually wait to transfer to an airlock until it's sub 1.010, so then i actually take it closer to the top (say 2-3" from bung), but if I do transfer a little higher (might not be around to get it before it dries out), then I will take it up a half way where the top is coming to the neck (maybe 3-4" from the bung). Even then, I've had them push into the bung, but all it does it make a little mess. Never had it actually push the bung off of the top.

The trick is, to try and get it close, but not spilling out the bung. Less airspace the better. Just make sure you keep it stirred before you transfer, so it has enough 02 to finish fermenting.

 

[samwisegamgeese]

Thanks this helps me, I will leave till finished fermenting and may get back to you.

 

[samwisegamgeese]

I usually wait to transfer to an airlock until it's sub 1.010, so then i actually take it closer to the top (say 2-3" from bung), but if I do transfer a little higher (might not be around to get it before it dries out), then I will take it up a half way where the top is coming to the neck (maybe 3-4" from the bung). Even then, I've had them push into the bung, but all it does it make a little mess. Never had it actually push the bung off of the top.

The trick is, to try and get it close, but not spilling out the bung. Less airspace the better. Just make sure you keep it stirred before you transfer, so it has enough 02 to finish fermenting.

So SG was 990 (a drop from 1080) and I put 50g sugar in half litre addition after racking off all the lees and pulp and this left me only 1000! I thought it would be more! Grr now too much liquid and not sweet enough. Any advice?

 

[Deezil]

Watch out because theres a chance fermentation could start back up again.. Before sweetening, you should add potassium sulfite (1/4 tsp per 5 gallons if in powder form; 1 campden tablet per gallon if in tablet form) & potassium sorbate (1/2 tsp per gallon).. The potassium sulfite helps the potassium sorbate work more effectively - and the potassium sorbate is what binds itself to the yeast left in the wine, keeping them from multiplying farther and eating all the sugars.

So the sugar you added may increase the alcohol a little, unless you stabilized (steps mentioned above)

I'd advise to let it sit some, see if it referments & pick up the chemicals to stabilize it if you havent - then sweeten it to where you like it regardless of volume; just drink what doesnt fit in the carboy.. Or if its a substantial amount, put it in a 750ml bottle with a balloon on top (stretch the balloon out and pin-prick a small hole it in so when hte balloon expands, co2 can escape but when its empty the hole closes up)

 

[samwisegamgeese]

Watch out because theres a chance fermentation could start back up again.. Before sweetening, you should add potassium sulfite (1/4 tsp per 5 gallons if in powder form; 1 campden tablet per gallon if in tablet form) & potassium sorbate (1/2 tsp per gallon).. The potassium sulfite helps the potassium sorbate work more effectively - and the potassium sorbate is what binds itself to the yeast left in the wine, keeping them from multiplying farther and eating all the sugars.

So the sugar you added may increase the alcohol a little, unless you stabilized (steps mentioned above)

I'd advise to let it sit some, see if it referments & pick up the chemicals to stabilize it if you havent - then sweeten it to where you like it regardless of volume; just drink what doesnt fit in the carboy.. Or if its a substantial amount, put it in a 750ml bottle with a balloon on top (stretch the balloon out and pin-prick a small hole it in so when hte balloon expands, co2 can escape but when its empty the hole closes up)

Thank you so much this really helps.

Q. The term "backsweeten" means adding sugar when the wine has finished fermenting...is that right?