WE Green Apple Starting Sg to low

[mxsteve625]

I just started a WE Green Apple Reisling which has a SG of 1.040 as opposed to the instruction of 1.048 - 1.052. Added 1/2 cup of sugar but no change. In a previous post Doug said he had the same kit starting at 1.080. What should I do? I would like to bump the ABV alittle mor than the kit.

Steve

 

[WhineMaker]

What is the current temp of the must? Are you sure you mixed it up real good?

Best way to add sugar is in the form of simple syrup. Granulated sugar will take time to disolve and give you an accurate SG reading. I usually add 7 cups sugar to the primary on this and end up around the 1.080 mark

 

[cpfan]

Doug probably was boosting the alcohol of the kit. It's the most common tweak of a mist kit.

How well did you stir the must before measuring the sg? The must may be layered, ie light at the top, and high at the bottom.

Steve

 

[mxsteve625]

I stirred it pretty dang gome good. The temp is probably still to high as it is not registering on the stick on themometer. Should I wait and get another reading tomorrow when temp drops?

 

[WhineMaker]

You want to make sure you pitch the yeast at the proper temp. If it's too high, you risk a delayed start of fermentation. Its important that it starts quickly to build the protective layer in the primary which prevents oxidation.. Maybe try to cool it down with some wet towels? You will only get an accurate SG reading before fermentation starts...

 

[mxsteve625]

I have found some other threads that deal with this particular kit which give alot of goood suggestions. I think I'll be fine.

Thanks
Steve

 

[Wade E]

Sorry, never saw this, Did you adjust then sg for the temp you had with your hydro chart. Hydros are calibrated for either 60* or 68* and if the temp was that high you were probably right on if you didn t adjust for that temp differential. When i make mist kits I always add around 3 1/2 lbs of sugar to get an sg around 1.085. Ive made many of these for my wife and friends and I enjoy one occasionally. Never had a problem at all with veering from the directions like this

 

[mxsteve625]

I added 1/2 the f-pack and about 4 cups of sugar syrup to the must (all the sugar I hand on hand) . Pulled out the wort chiller, sanitized and got the temp to 72. Sg at this point is 1.070. Pitched the yeast.

What do you guys think?

Steve

 

[ffemt128]

I added additional sugar upfront, I beleive it was about 3 1/2 lbs and I also added about 1/4 of the f-pac upfront. Surprisingly this fermented to .988. It's in a clearing stage now and I'll transfer to another carboy this weekend.

 

[Green Mountains]

I'm guessing it was the high temp. Amazing at what a difference in a reading you get when it's at 85* vs 70*.

I think my Hydro paperwork states that at 85* I have to add .035 or something like that to get an accurate gravity.

If the thermometer was 'pinned out' then it was surely the case.

 

[bruno]

We started this same wine yesterday. We had to add 4.11 pounds of sugar to get it up to 1.080. I use the wine calculator to come up with the amounts of sugar to add.

 

[mxsteve625]

What is the wine Calculator you talk about?

Steve

 

[bruno]

Here's the link for the free winecalc download. It's a neat little program that figures out how much sugar to add to a batch to come up with a specific abv, plus other handy tools.

http://winecalc.software.informer.com/2.3/

I use it all the time.