Blue/Blackberry wine needs more acid??

**Brewkowski** · 02-03-2010, 04:30 AM

So I bought an acid test and according to the instructions, it only took 1cc of sodium hydroxide to make a color change, which puts my total acid around .1% which is wayyy low I guess. It does taste like it needs some acid, but according to most directions (3 gal batch) 1tsp per gal to raise .1%, so to increase up to .6 or so that means I'm adding like 15 Tablespoons??? Does this sound remotely possible. It's my first batch of wine and I heard Blueberries were a low acid fruit but not for sure.

Emerald · 02-03-2010, 02:02 PM

I am not an expert by any means but have seen this repeated many times on the wine and mead threads-- ferment first and then add acid back in if it needs it..
I didn't heed this advice with an apple mead and when I tasted it a bit ago it has a very tart taste-- lemon tart tho and not vinegar tart. I might have added too much and will have to let it age forever to mellow out. So for my last few wines I have just been fermenting them and will add acid/acid blend only if they feel flat or need a bit.
Hope that this helps.
ETA:

I just checked on a search and while blueberries are not too acidic when ripe, blackberries have quite a bit-I have also read that pure raspberry puree would end up being really tart due to the higher acid levels, and blackberries are a related to them.
**excerpt from site on blackberries**
The citric and malic acid are the predominate acids found in blackberries. The citric acid levels were highly variable from 0.43 to 2.72 with a mean of 1.32 g/100g. The malic acid ranged from 0.26 to 0.78 with a mean of 0.44 g/100g. ** End quote**

**Brewkowski** · 02-04-2010, 02:46 AM

well, it's 10 lbs of Blueberries, 2 lbs. of Blackberries, 32 oz of Blueberry juice, 8 lbs sugar and some water, so I guess it should have ended up with a low acid level. It's about 2 months old and finished fermentation completely.

Emerald · 02-04-2010, 12:28 PM

How does it taste?

**Brewkowski** · 02-05-2010, 03:36 AM

I know, that's what it really boils down to right? Overall I think it's good but it definitely needs a little acid to balance out some of the sweetness. It's also a little shy of the carboy top so I was going to top with some pure blueberry juice and then I guess I'll start adding a little acid bit by bit.

Emerald · 02-05-2010, 12:37 PM

I know that some folks back sweeten by using one cup and then measuring how much sugar/sweetening they put in till it tastes right and then multiplying it for the rest of the batch-- I wonder if you could do that with acid too? Just take a cup full and then start adding in increments until it tasted right and then multiply it for the whole batch amount(minus the cup

) and then add the acid.

I always like to add lemon to my blueberry pies or jam for the flavor really goes well together, does anyone add lemon juice for the acid? It really is only citric acid. I have used citric acid in my some of my wines so far as it was what I had on hand from my cheese making ingredients, but I just went and picked up the acid blend from the LBS and will try that the next time I have to add a bit of acid.
I'm thinking that a digital scale might help here.. LOL-- I wonder what weight a pinch is?

And can ya multiply it!