Winexpert Eclipse Three Moons

[FunkedOut]

I have 3 of these kits going.
Unfortunately, I cannot give you any good feedback yet.
All 3 are on the same plan.
8 week extended maceration, with the oak cubes staying in for 3 months after clearing.
Each a different yeast, though.

The first kit will not be off the oak until the end of January.
March for the second kit and May for the third.

 

[pillswoj]

12 week EM on RC 212 yeast, lost all of my intial numbers on it in a phone switch. (Enofile did not back up as it was supposed to). It is currently on Fr. Medium in a Carboy and probably due for racking.

 

[jgmann67]

12 week EM on RC 212 yeast, lost all of my intial numbers on it in a phone switch. (Enofile did not back up as it was supposed to). It is currently on Fr. Medium in a Carboy and probably due for racking.

And a tasting... [emoji848]

 

[pillswoj]

And a tasting... [emoji848]

Will get on that this weekend

 

[jgmann67]

I mixed my bentonite, juice, skins and oak. My SG is just 1.072. I’m going to leave everything overnight and see if the SG goes up enough (or I need to drop some simple syrup before I kick off a fermentation).

Did anyone else experience a low initial gravity?

 

[FunkedOut]

I've only prepared 4 kits thus far.
They always take a day to two to reach maximum gravity.
Several times a day, I'm stirring well and squeezing the bag of skins against the side of the fermenter to get all the sugars out and mixed in.

The other thing I've done to help this out is to split that bag of skins into a pair of half gallon mason jars and add a quart of water to each.
I then put them in the fridge for a couple of days before starting the kit.

In the end, the yeast will find the sugar. It's really just a matter of being able to measure the SG.
My Three Moons kits had max SG's of 1.092, 1.094 and 1.098.
I bet you still have sugar that's not well mixed in.

 

[Mcjeff]

Mine was 1.075 when I started. I made a note that I added a little too much water. I went ahead and started fermentation, didn’t let it sit to see if it would rise with the skins.

 

[jgmann67]

I've only prepared 4 kits thus far.
They always take a day to two to reach maximum gravity.
Several times a day, I'm stirring well and squeezing the bag of skins against the side of the fermenter to get all the sugars out and mixed in.

The other thing I've done to help this out is to split that bag of skins into a pair of half gallon mason jars and add a quart of water to each.
I then put them in the fridge for a couple of days before starting the kit.

In the end, the yeast will find the sugar. It's really just a matter of being able to measure the SG.
My Three Moons kits had max SG's of 1.092, 1.094 and 1.098.
I bet you still have sugar that's not well mixed in.

I’d be happy with a 1.094. I do the same with my skin kits. At least a day or punching and stirring before kicking off the fermentation.

I was just surprised and a little disappointed with how low it was. But, it’ll go up and, from what I’m reading here, to a level that will make me happy.

Thanks!

 

[jgmann67]

Mine was 1.075 when I started. I made a note that I added a little too much water. I went ahead and started fermentation, didn’t let it sit to see if it would rise with the skins.

I’ll post up how much mine jumped. You can use that to factor your ABV. It won’t be perfect. But, it’s something.

 

[ras2018]

Mine was about the same. I added corn sugar to 1.09.

 

[FunkedOut]

For what it's worth, my 1.098 came from batch 58820.
My 1.092 and 1.094 came from batch 58821.

I wonder if the variance comes from the juice bags or the skin bags.

 

[jgmann67]

I checked this morning and the must is at about 1.082. That's a nice jump. I'll wait until I get home tonight to see where I am, then add some simple syrup as needed to get me above 1.094.

 

[jgmann67]

I checked this morning and the must is at about 1.082. That's a nice jump. I'll wait until I get home tonight to see where I am, then add some simple syrup as needed to get me above 1.094.

Well, i checked the juice after dinner and was pleasantly surprised. It got up to 1.090.

I boosted the juice with simple syrup to get it to 1.094. That’s a potential ABV of 13.8% and that’s good enough for me.

I dropped the yeast and put a brew belt on it to get things going. It’s a little cool down there and I don’t want to risk it.

After a couple days, I’ll remove the brew belt and let the wine generate its own heat.

 

[ras2018]

I like mine a little higher. My tilt hydrometer topped out at 1.107 if I remember correctly.

 

[FunkedOut]

One other thing I noticed on these kits is that they fermented out very dry.
0.991 FG.
Three different yeasts made that happen.

 

[ras2018]

One other thing I noticed on these kits is that they fermented out very dry.
0.991 FG.
Three different yeasts made that happen.

I temp control my ferments and never move from primary before it’s at .990. I rarely haven’t gotten to .990 using this method.

 

[jgmann67]

A quick update - the Three Moons is in active ferment. The foam after a good punch n' stir is surprisingly thick and dark.

Also, plus side, I was able to make a good seal in my fermonster, so extended maceration is back on the table. I didn't do it with the Merlot, but believe the Cab could benefit from a 4-5 week EM.

 

[jgmann67]

Sulfited the wine and tucked it in for a couple more weeks. I think a 4-5 week EM is probably good for this one.

 

[jgmann67]

This weekend will be 5 weeks for my EM. I’m planning to squeeze the skins bag and rack the wine and oak over to a carboy on Sunday.

It looks dark and clear. Should be interesting to see how it tastes coming out of the primary fermenter.

 

[FunkedOut]

I did get to taste my first kit (D254) last week, after an 8 week EM and 3 months on the oak cubes.
It was a really fine tasting wine.
I added a bit more tannin (complex) and set it aside for another 3 months.