Used WAY too much sugar - how do I salvage this?

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HappyFermentations

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So... pretty much brand new at all of this. I started a JAOM and Cider last week, spent countless hours on the forum and then all of a sudden decided I was a master brewer and wanted to experiment..... (You can see where this is going).

I had an empty 5 gallon fermenter and felt like I really needed to fill it up with something, so I decided to try a grape/apple juice wine.

I found a recipe on here for a 1 gallon batch and started. Except... instead of multiplying the sugar in the recipe by 5 (like a normal person would do) I multiplied it by 10... (don't ask why, I have absolutely no idea where that came from).

So - now I had 5 gallons of grape/apple with 10lbs of sugar. Pitched some ec-1118 and called it a day.

Started to think about it some more and realized that was most likely way too much sugar. I pulled out the hydrometer and I'm sitting at 1.120. Fortunately it is fermenting away and everything seems fine - but I'm assuming I'm going to end up with 18% rocket fuel that's still too sweet to drink.

So.... what do I do? Should I split it up into two batches and top off with more juice and NO sugar? If that's the case, do I do it now while it's still fermenting or should I wait? It's been going about 1.5 days right now.

Thanks so much for any help. If nothing else it's been a fun couple of days, and if it's ruined it's only like a $20 mistake!
 
Ok, that sounds like a reasonable plan. That also means I'm justified to go out and buy a new fermenter while this one goes... so I guess it's a win win.

The yeast seems super happy and is foaming like crazy - so it's definitely fermenting... (or I accidentally used powdered dish soap instead of sugar...)
 
looks like it will end up about 16% to 17% depending on how the yeast holds up.
What yeast did you use?
I would see how it turns out, maybe back sweeten and call it a desert wine.
I am making a chocolate Raspberry right now that will hit 17% easy but it will finish sweeter than I think yours will.
Edit: I see you used EC-1118 , that should take it right down near dry.
 
I used 10 lbs of sugar in 5 gallons of apple/pineapple for my last bath (see Pappy's Pub Cider recipe).
The 1118 brought it down to around 1.005 and quit. It is around 19% ABV. It actually turned out pretty nice but it will definitely need to age for a while.
 
Crash21 said:
I used 10 lbs of sugar in 5 gallons of apple/pineapple for my last bath (see Pappy's Pub Cider recipe).
The 1118 brought it down to around 1.005 and quit. It is around 19% ABV. It actually turned out pretty nice but it will definitely need to age for a while.
Click to expand...

Awesome, thanks!

Are you planning on bulk aging it or aging it in the bottle? Or does that even make a difference?
 
lol, just realized my typo. No I did not put 10 lbs of sugar in my last "bath"..

I racked it into 1 gallon carboys just because its what I have. I also added cinnamon sticks so I am going to bulk age it until the Cinnamon sticks have time to impart some flavor, then bottle and continue to age.

I didn't realize it at the time but if you read the "Pappys Pub Cider" recipe it is pretty much what I made. And it sounds like it is what you made also.

I started out at 1.15 and it ended at 1.005. I think the pineapple may have had inherently more sugar than the combo you used.

Just let it go and see what happens. That's one of the great things about this hobby. You just never know until you try. You make one batch and think it is the worst stuff you have ever tasted and then the next batch you yell "Eureka!!" and spend the next year trying to duplicate it.
 
HappyFermentations said:
So... pretty much brand new at all of this. I started a JAOM and Cider last week, spent countless hours on the forum and then all of a sudden decided I was a master brewer and wanted to experiment..... (You can see where this is going).

I had an empty 5 gallon fermenter and felt like I really needed to fill it up with something, so I decided to try a grape/apple juice wine.

I found a recipe on here for a 1 gallon batch and started. Except... instead of multiplying the sugar in the recipe by 5 (like a normal person would do) I multiplied it by 10... (don't ask why, I have absolutely no idea where that came from).

So - now I had 5 gallons of grape/apple with 10lbs of sugar. Pitched some ec-1118 and called it a day.

Started to think about it some more and realized that was most likely way too much sugar. I pulled out the hydrometer and I'm sitting at 1.120. Fortunately it is fermenting away and everything seems fine - but I'm assuming I'm going to end up with 18% rocket fuel that's still too sweet to drink.

So.... what do I do? Should I split it up into two batches and top off with more juice and NO sugar? If that's the case, do I do it now while it's still fermenting or should I wait? It's been going about 1.5 days right now.

Thanks so much for any help. If nothing else it's been a fun couple of days, and if it's ruined it's only like a $20 mistake!
Click to expand...

If you ferment it to 1.000 it should be right about 16.3% this is within EC-1118's range & could even go lower. I'd make sure to add yeast nutrient/energizer if you haven't already & let it go. It'll take a bit longer to age, but you should be OK.
Regards, GF.
 
gratus fermentatio said:
If you ferment it to 1.000 it should be right about 16.3% this is within EC-1118's range & could even go lower. I'd make sure to add yeast nutrient/energizer if you haven't already & let it go. It'll take a bit longer to age, but you should be OK.
Regards, GF.
Click to expand...

Thanks! I don't have any nutrient/energizer on hand (because I apparently like to just dive headfirst into things). But, I've read about raisins as a nutrient and have plenty. Would that work instead, or should I head to Amazon and get some nutrient?

Thanks!
 
I agree with gratus fermentatio, you need to get a yeast nutrient asap, one of the best available is Fermaid K, it is a complete yeast nutrient, you can order it at MoreWinemaking.com, click here .
Stay away from raisins, it can make a good wine taste oxidized.
 
pumpkinman2012 said:
I agree with gratus fermentatio, you need to get a yeast nutrient asap, one of the best available is Fermaid K, it is a complete yeast nutrient, you can order it at MoreWinemaking.com, click here .
Stay away from raisins, it can make a good wine taste oxidized.
Click to expand...
H

So, after a few days of what seemed like a lot of activity (foam etc) nothing seemed to be changing on the hydrometer. So, before I saw your post I decided to add some raisins as nutrient. I went back to check it after an hour and when I lifted the lid all hell was breaking loose in the bucket. The foam is completely gone and the raisins are bobbing up and down all over the place. (I actually thought they were bugs at first and had a slight panic).

So, is this a good thing? In hindsight I would have just waited for the nutrient to arrive, but this being a test batch and not reading the post about raisins I figured it couldn't hurt. Any thoughts?

Thanks!
 
Another option if its too boozey and it doesn't age out (definitely let it age before you go for this option). Could make some applejack with it. Since itll have a lot of alcohol and potentially some left over sugars you'll get good yields when removing the ice. I realize that the rocket fuel part is a problem and it might seem like removing water and upping the ABV could make it worse, but atleast you arent storing 5 gallons of undrinkable fire-water, you'll only have 2 gallons of what is essentially apple whiskey and aging it will give you something to look forward to in a year or two.
 
The foam wasn't a bad thing, as long as the wine is fermenting now, I wouldn't worry about the raisins, in the future you know to add a yeast nutrient. at times, we need to think outside of the box and even be innovative, it was quick thinking on your part to try to find a solution for a potential stuck fermentation.
Have you checked the wine with your hydrometer since the raisins started to get things moving around?
On a side note, I've had wine that was fermented to dry but had a very high ABV %, I let it sit and actually forgot about it for 2-3 years, when I finally saw one of 3 cases of this wine I opened up a bottle not expecting very much but was very surprised with the end result, it tastes like a cross between a Chardonnay and a Pinot Grigio. Patience and time.
Keep us posted!
 
pumpkinman2012 said:
Have you checked the wine with your hydrometer since the raisins started to get things moving around?
Keep us posted!
Click to expand...

Just went and checked. In the 5 hours or so since I dropped the rasins it has dropped from 1.12 to 1.10. That's after basically no movement for the past two days. So, I think things are definitely moving in the right direction finally.

Thanks!
 
So - my yeast nutrient finally came and I added it Sunday night (pretty cool seeing the instant reaction when it hit the must). But, the yeast still didn't seem to be making much progress. I was down to 1.10, but stayed there for another day. Finally, yesterday afternoon I decided to repitch a new pack of 1118. All signs are that things are finally moving in the right direction - was down from 1.10 to 1.08 by this morning (from an OG of 1.2). So, I think I'm finally going to be able to get this stuff going.

So... then what? It's in a plastic bucket fermenting now - should I rack to a secondary under airlock for a while once it gets to dry? If so - how long should I leave it there before bottling?

Thanks!
 

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