What are you making and what have you made ???

[Jovimaple]

Just bottled my 3 gallon peach-from-peaches that I fermented in Sept 2022. It aged in the carboy for over a year until January when I backsweetened with simple syrup made of peach nectar and sugar. Hubby and I did some bench testing to determine how much of the syrup to add.

Since I didn't use sorbate, I let it sit for a month after backsweetening to make sure it didn't start fermenting again. It ended up clearing again after I backsweetened - I had expected that it would remain cloudy so the clearing was a pleasant surprise, especially since I never added any clearing agents, either. In fact, the only thing I added after fermentation was kmeta!

When we sampled it after bottling, both Hubby and I thought this would make a great mulled wine with a bit of cinnamon - basically a peach pie wine! Delicious!

 

[DansWinemaking]

Hi Big Dave, thanks for the feedback. I don't have a PH meter at present, one of the few instruments I don't have as I build up my kit. I'm going to add a pound of blueberries this morning as both of you have suggested.

Thanks to all

Big Dave, I have the PH strips coming today, meanwhile the must is foaming up like crazy so it appears to be "happy". I'm planning to let this go for 14 days to get as close to dry as possible. Stay tuned! Thanks to all for your feedback.

 

[BigDaveK]

Big Dave, I have the PH strips coming today, meanwhile the must is foaming up like crazy so it appears to be "happy". I'm planning to let this go for 14 days to get as close to dry as possible. Stay tuned! Thanks to all for your feedback.

For the first month after getting my meter I used both the strips and meter for comparison. I was surprised how well the strips worked!

I suggest you monitor SG daily and not commit to a specified time. Some ferments are fast, some slow.

 

[DansWinemaking]

I used kombucha test strips before I got my meter, a good approximation.

https://www.amazon.com/Kombucha-Instant-Read-Strips-Dispenser/dp/B07G2N6BNW/ref=sr_1_3_pp?crid=3IZLIUKAXAPM3&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.jfPkiuZR_pycbstr2N38BwwdDShRuAgt-TcjMG2m9wIlAqQ2nXGNIdC0R7mrzDgqA9hxeGntPFqxqPr71cIqUU-3sxKS1bRa_-UhHKbnQ7UQaF1neqmk-L8-EquZAiH0LKbZibPc_uiO5mC9kaQ3TF9LbKu3iBSWZoTD_1LQmpPgNx0uL73kk5I3ZVJeFjYfJOXXfL_BrX2VD2psPwZwg_Z9Ko1dn1aAulOQ1ltC95c.cLQ0u4I1_VH4hdOOBd6kXCnbTj1chJV6bjMJ8QaVU78&dib_tag=se&keywords=kombucha+test+strips+ph&qid=1708433186&sprefix=kombucha+test,aps,201&sr=8-3

 

[DansWinemaking]

Big Dave, I have the PH strips coming today, meanwhile the must is foaming up like crazy so it appears to be "happy". I'm planning to let this go for 14 days to get as close to dry as possible. Stay tuned! Thanks to all for your feedback.

Hi Big Dave - quick update, I did add the extra lb of Blueberries in the nylon mesh early last Wednesday, on Thursday PH was 3.0-3.5 best I could discern with the test strips. Fermentation was strong until this morning, almost none. I popped open the fermenter and it was pretty quiet, so I did an SG which was .992. That put ABV at about 10.4% if my calculations were right. I moved the must to glass and the airlocks are pretty quiet so this batch must be done in 6.5 days. Do Blueberries ferment that quickly?
If I don't see any activity by Tuesday, probably time to start clearing and degassing. It's very cloudy but that was to be expected.
Thanks for your help !

 

[winemaker81]

Note on Amazon URLs -- only the first part is required:

https://www.amazon.com/Kombucha-Instant-Read-Strips-Dispenser/dp/B07G2N6BNW/

everything from "ref=sr_1_3_pp?" to the end is a variety of things including search information. Some of it may be personally identifiable, although I can't be positive of that.

When re-posting a link, I chop off everything unnecessary. Note that this applies to other URLs, such as those from news sites.

 

[BigDaveK]

Hi Big Dave - quick update, I did add the extra lb of Blueberries in the nylon mesh early last Wednesday, on Thursday PH was 3.0-3.5 best I could discern with the test strips. Fermentation was strong until this morning, almost none. I popped open the fermenter and it was pretty quiet, so I did an SG which was .992. That put ABV at about 10.4% if my calculations were right. I moved the must to glass and the airlocks are pretty quiet so this batch must be done in 6.5 days. Do Blueberries ferment that quickly?
If I don't see any activity by Tuesday, probably time to start clearing and degassing. It's very cloudy but that was to be expected.
Thanks for your help !

Great!
With an eye for color and some practice you should be able to estimate the pH within .20.

Ferments can be fast and they can be slow. 6.5 days isn't unreasonably fast. 7ish is my average but I've had 3 day and 10 day. The 3 day scared me! At .992 your blueberry may crawl a bit lower.

If you just put it into glass I'd suggest waiting a couple weeks. You'll certainly have some lees settling.

Congrats!

 

[DansWinemaking]

Great!
With an eye for color and some practice you should be able to estimate the pH within .20.

Ferments can be fast and they can be slow. 6.5 days isn't unreasonably fast. 7ish is my average but I've had 3 day and 10 day. The 3 day scared me! At .992 your blueberry may crawl a bit lower.

If you just put it into glass I'd suggest waiting a couple weeks. You'll certainly have some lees settling.

Congrats!

Interestingly, the Blueberry must started fermenting again in the glass jug on Tuesday, so there is some secondary going on. I'll wait until the airlock quiets down and I can see the top foam has subsided and I'll recheck SG and perhaps rack off some of the sediment. Definitely more going on when making from scratch than kits.

 

[BigDaveK]

Interestingly, the Blueberry must started fermenting again in the glass jug on Tuesday, so there is some secondary going on. I'll wait until the airlock quiets down and I can see the top foam has subsided and I'll recheck SG and perhaps rack off some of the sediment. Definitely more going on when making from scratch than kits.

Might be fermenting, might be off gassing. You'll find out with your next SG.
Yeah, from scratch is fun!

 

[bstnh1]

I store my wine in 12 bottle cases, so I always have 3-6 bottles of each batch that I stash away in a separate rack and I try to use those first. Well, it seems that for years I've overlooked one stray, dusty bottle. Found this bottle of WE Green Apple Riesling that I made in May, 2014. I opened it tonight expecting anything but a decent tasting wine. To my surprise, the wine was perfectly good and just as good as I remember it being 10 years ago.

 

[DansWinemaking]

Here's an interesting adventure regarding my batch of tart cherry wine. I set up a 2 gallon batch in a 3.5 gallon fermenter, tart cherry concentrate from Coloma, a 2 lb bag of frozen tart cherries and 2 lbs of sugar. The SG was 1.085. I pitched E71B yeast and for 3 days the fermentation was pretty strong, then..... nothing. I did a SG check and it was 1.080 but I think the reading may have been high due to the CO2 in the must. I thought about it for awhile, then added about a quarter cup of sugar and the next day pitched a third of a pack of 1118 yeast. Fermentation kicked up again, pretty active. That was last Wednesday, as of today it's still bubbling away. I do a daily stir and yesterday added some bentonite to start the process of clearing. This must is heavy with sediment. So that's my tale of a stuck ferment, a little tweak and a refermentation that will be going on 14 days as of this morning. I'm going to transfer to glass on Wednesday and air lock til I see fermentation ebb and hopefully some level of clearing occur.
This and my blueberry were my first none kits, the blueberry is looking real good at 8 weeks, currently in cold storage under Campden.

 

[Terryfirma]

Here's an interesting adventure regarding my batch of tart cherry wine. I set up a 2 gallon batch in a 3.5 gallon fermenter, tart cherry concentrate from Coloma, a 2 lb bag of frozen tart cherries and 2 lbs of sugar. The SG was 1.085. I pitched E71B yeast and for 3 days the fermentation was pretty strong, then..... nothing. I did a SG check and it was 1.080 but I think the reading may have been high due to the CO2 in the must. I thought about it for awhile, then added about a quarter cup of sugar and the next day pitched a third of a pack of 1118 yeast. Fermentation kicked up again, pretty active. That was last Wednesday, as of today it's still bubbling away. I do a daily stir and yesterday added some bentonite to start the process of clearing. This must is heavy with sediment. So that's my tale of a stuck ferment, a little tweak and a refermentation that will be going on 14 days as of this morning. I'm going to transfer to glass on Wednesday and air lock til I see fermentation ebb and hopefully some level of clearing occur.
This and my blueberry were my first none kits, the blueberry is looking real good at 8 weeks, currently in cold storage under Campden.

I’ve used the Lalvin RC 212 with my Sour Cherry Wine- it seemed to retain good Cherry Essence . ( Also I used the KV 1116 was a little more aggressive- less Cherry flavor for me. )
I hope it turns out to your liking!! Keep us posted.

 

[Jusatele]

I just penciled it out for this year

I plan on 2 batches from frozen must, Malbec, Zinfandel
2 from kit, merlot and a white I have not decided on
1 skeeter Pee
and probably about 6 fruit, I have 3 batches of strawberry from last year so blueberry looks good for this year. plus this year I will do all my fruits as hybrids using grape juice

 

[DansWinemaking]

I’ve used the Lalvin RC 212 with my Sour Cherry Wine- it seemed to retain good Cherry Essence . ( Also I used the KV 1116 was a little more aggressive- less Cherry flavor for me. )
I hope it turns out to your liking!! Keep us posted.

I bottled my inaugural batch of wild blueberry wine (frozen Wyman Blueberries)yesterday, it really came out nice! Right at 9 weeks, it's pretty drinkable right now, I tested a sample from the leftover dregs, light and dry, perfect for a hot summer day, 10.4% ABV. I did ferment this batch dry, did not back sweeten, very satisfied with the results. Hopefully the tart cherry wine will be as good in a few weeks!

 

[Hazelemere]

My son in law and daughter just ordered fresh juice in pails from Bosa Grapes Burnaby BC (order cutoff May 9, pickup May 29).

Chilean Viognier

Australian Orange Muscat

1'll get a pail of each which he will ferment with D47 yeast on an apple juice starter. i.e. I'll get ~20 bottles of Viognier and ~20 bottles of Orange Muscat, neither of which I've ever made. He'll blend the Orange Muscat into his Washington Sheridan Chardonnay to improve the smell. My son in law and daughter bought 2 pails of Viognier and 3 pails of Orange Muscat. My wife loves muscats and I know that she'll like Viognier. I've never had Chilean Viognier but my daughter has and likes it.

 

[DansWinemaking]

Hi All, I have a question regarding my most recent batch. It's a 2 gallon must in a 3 gallon pail. It's a Merlot from Coloma, 2 quarts of concentrate. I started this wine on 4/21 in the AM. Specs were SG 1.086, PH @3.5, room temp at 70 plus degrees. Added one cup of sugar, grape seeds and oak chips, yeast nutrient and pectic all before taking my readings. I stirred the must daily and it was sizzling pretty good but not enough to blow off the air lock. That was kind of mysterious as I've made many batches in this bucket and expected activity. This morning I opened the bucket and the must was very still, you could see the yeast still barely active if you looked at the must from the side, but it was virtually still. On a lark, I did an SG and the must is at .998. That's almost 12% in 3.5 days? Is it possible for a wine must to virtually complete that quickly? I never saw any heavy boiling, just a consistent activity like an alka seltzer tablet dissolving. Any thoughts? Thanks!

 

[DansWinemaking]

Hi All, I have a question regarding my most recent batch. It's a 2 gallon must in a 3 gallon pail. It's a Merlot from Coloma, 2 quarts of concentrate. I started this wine on 4/21 in the AM. Specs were SG 1.086, PH @3.5, room temp at 70 plus degrees. Added one cup of sugar, grape seeds and oak chips, yeast nutrient and pectic all before taking my readings. I stirred the must daily and it was sizzling pretty good but not enough to blow off the air lock. That was kind of mysterious as I've made many batches in this bucket and expected activity. This morning I opened the bucket and the must was very still, you could see the yeast still barely active if you looked at the must from the side, but it was virtually still. On a lark, I did an SG and the must is at .998. That's almost 12% in 3.5 days? Is it possible for a wine must to virtually complete that quickly? I never saw any heavy boiling, just a consistent activity like an alka seltzer tablet dissolving. Any thoughts? Thanks!

Oh, and I used EC118 yeast for this batch.

 

[Jovimaple]

Did you make a yeast starter or just sprinkle a packet of yeast on the must?

Either way, the answer is yes, it's very possible. One packet of yeast is recommended for 5 to 6 gallons of must. Using that much in 2 gallons means that the yeast had a head start (even if you didn't create a starter first) so that it jump starts the population expansion phase for the yeast. That means they got to the alcohol creation even faster.

Plus, EC-1118 is an overachiever anyway, and you had a really yummy environment for it to do its thing.

You should be fine!

 

[ChuckD]

Yes. I’ve had 15 gallon batches finish in three days… overachievers indeed.

 

[WilsonBTS]

Wow, that’s quite the impressive lineup you’ve got going! I’m currently experimenting with a homemade apple cider and just wrapped up a batch of raspberry ale. Love seeing all the unique creations everyone comes up with—really shows the creativity in this community. What’s been your favorite concoction so far?