bja

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I made a pear wine last weekend and mistakenly used a tablespoon instead of a teaspoon to measure the acid blend. How bad did I screw up?

Yooper

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Well, it might be a bit more acidic. The only issues then would be a too-low pH, or a flavor issue. If it's fermenting fine, the first issue isn't a problem. If it's done and it tastes sour, then you could add some non-fermentable sweetner, or add some raisins and allow it to ferment some more.

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heefage

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@ Yooper_Brew

Could you use an antacid like Rolades or Tums to bring acid down?

Yooper

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Well, I wouldn't. I mean you might compound a taste issue with a bit too much acid by adding a chalky flavor. Calcium carbonate can be used in some cases (like in rhubarb wine to remove excess oxalic acid) but without really knowing the pH and the TA and the taste of the wine, I wouldn't just throw things in there.

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bja

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The recipe reccommends back sweetening post fermentation. Hopefully this will cover up any issues. It's a 6 gallon batch and I've already added 30 lb of pears and 4 lb of raisins. Do you think more raisins would help?

It seems to be fermenting well, so I guess I just need to wait and taste it first.

sacrifice

Recipes 

Time and back sweetening solves many problems - especially the time part.

I made a blueberry wine 14 months ago that I put in way, way too much acid blend in. I thought that it was going to be a huge problem. Every time I racked the wine I tasted it, and though the tartness diminished, it was still there. At 13 months I figured it was time to back sweeten, and I tasted the wine. It was pretty good with just a slight hint of tartness. I back sweetened with honey, and it turned into one of my best wines yet - even better than my blueberry mead I made on the same day. It was like the residual tartness and the sweetness of the honey blended into something special.

So, give it time before you do anything, and when back sweetening, just go slow and taste with every addition. Should be fine.

bja

Recipes 

Thanks everyone. This is my first time making wine from real fruit instead of a kit where everything is pre measured. I guess I'll let you know how it turns out, in about a year.

bja

Recipes 

UPDATE.

I racked this wine for the second time yesterday and tasted the hydro sample. It's down to .997. It smells wonderful! Even tastes great though a little too tart. I think I'll rack again in a month, stabilize and back sweeten.

Any suggestions on how much sugar to start with when back sweetening? I think the recipe says 1/4 lb but that doesn't seem to be nearly enough.

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warispeace

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I would go easy on the sweetener - it's easy to add more later, but you will be very unhappy if you oversweeten.