Island Mist question

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MikeInCtown

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Started the kit last Wednesday and transferred into secondary this morning. Has been happily bubbling away since last Thursday morning and when I checked last night, I had a gravity at 1.002, so it was ready to rack.

As I racked, I found that the liquid was still extremely cloudy and there was only maybe a total of about a cup of yeast and sediment at the bottom of the primary. Is this normal? I only ask because the yeast cake on the bottom of my beer batches would easily fill 4 or 5 cups (about 1/2" thick or more across the whole bottom)

I'm supposed to let it sit for 10 more days now to clear some and finish fermenting. Within 5 minutes of racking to the secondary it was bubbling around in the airlock.

Last question - Do the clarifiers that they make you mix in really clear the "wine" so much that all the cloudyness completely disappears?

I just want to make sure nothing abnormal happened.

-Mike
 
Sounds perfectly normal! You don't usually get alot of lees with wine kits, so that sounds about right.

Those clarifyers are included because they DO work! Believe me, if you follow the kit directions, you will have a crystal clear wine when it's done. Make sure you fully degass according to the directions- getting rid of all the co2 is really the key to the clarifiers doing their job correctly.

It really sounds like your kit is doing what it's supposed to be doing at this point!
 
I've made similar kits before. When you add the clarifiers, it will really drop out a lot of suspended particulate, and you will have a very think sediment bed, and a very clear wine. It may look a little hazy in the carboy, but it will be crystal clear in the bottles. Just make sure you degas well. Everything sounds normal to me. If I was to do one again, I would have kegged and carbed it. They are a bit sweet for me straight up, even with extra sugar added to dry them out. A little carb bite would have been nice.
 
I just added the last ingredients to my kit on Sunday, and today i can read news print through a 6 gallon carboy...At least on the top 1/3. Ya, the directions don't fail you, and the products do what they say they will.
 
Sweet, thanks guys.

I had to call Winexpert yesterday because I wasn't sure I was supposed to rack with the primary still bubbling every 7 seconds. I was told as long as the stuff was below 1.010 I should rack. This is new to me, but at least nothing smells out of place. (It's amazing at how much it's still going even though it's gravity is low and it's already 6% ABV according to the tester)
 
Racking wine to the secondary while it is still carbonating is standard procedure. Things look on track. Which kit are you brewing? I've made mango, blueberry, raspberry, and wildberry kits.
 
I'm making the mango citrus.

I looked at the secondary this morning and was amazed at how much sediment dropped out in the last three days. I barely got a half cup of sediment out from the primary (finally washed it this morning...ewww) but the bottom 1" of the glass carboy is already laden with sediment and I can see clarifying going on. Can't wait until next weekend so I can add all the chemicals and finally see some clearing going on.

Beer fridge is almost set up and I'm wondering if I want to bottle straight up, or bottle half and carbonate half.
 
MikeInCtown said:
I
Beer fridge is almost set up and I'm wondering if I want to bottle straight up, or bottle half and carbonate half.
I Talked SWMBO into this thinking I would carb it for her...Then it struck me...NOT WITHOUT A KEG. I Assume you are talking about kegging and force carbing. Because you kill all of your yeast when you add the chemicals before the syrup from the F Pack.
 
Yea, force carb. I have my 20lb tank out right now getting tested and filled.

I plan on getting a filter setup so that I can filter all the wine and beer I do before kegging. What sucks is that I have a dozen ball lock kegs I need to sell off but don't want to list them until I can pressure test them, but need the CO2 setup back from testing and filling. (sigh)
 
Hay mike. We tasted our Kiwi Pear kit this afternoon. It kinda tasted like a flat, stale wine cooler.
Have you tried your kit yet?
SWMBO said "It smells terrible, and tastes like dirty socks."

I hope this mellows out quite a bit. It's clear...with large particle floaties still in it. I hope that is where the funk is coming from.
 
Nope, haven't tried a drop yet. On Saturday I get to add all the chemicals and F pack and then watch it sit there another week and a half.

I finally have a regulator in my hand to test the kegs so hopefully I can get a few ready for beer and the Island Mist. Also got the new thermostat in for my beer fridge and get to install that tomorrow as well.
 
Well, I added all the extra packets on Sunday morning and found that the stuff starts dropping out fast and allows almost immediate clearing. I also found out that stirring for 2 minutes as the directions say will not de-gas unless you might be using the electric drill type unit. I must have stirred with the back of the plastic brew spoon for 10 minutes at each stage. The back of the spoon is just small enough to get inside the 6 gallon carboy and has a smalll flat paddle ideal for some stirring tasks.

Anyway, if you hand stir and follow the directions, I doubt you'll get anywhere near all the air out and the stuff won't clear. The four cups I removed from the F pack addirion have been sitting in the fridge for a day and I can see through a nice clear semi wine now.
 
I got about the same results with clearing. It's pretty cool to have something clear that drastically.
Please post back after your initial tasting. Let me know if you detect any socks as SWMBO did.
 
I tried some on Sunday IIRC which was only about 4 days after I mixed in the F pack. I wasn't a huge fan, but my wife really liked it. No dirty socks for sure. I even refridgerated the 4 cups I removed for the F pack and everything dropped out of that and it's pretty much crystal clear and mostly drank.

If anything scares me it's that my place is almost at 75 and I worry that the higher temps will cause it to not turn out correctly. I may have to super chill with ice before bottling so I get all remaining sediment out.
 
Wines do quite well at the higher temps. In fact, some of my wines like 80 degrees. That's why I make more wine in the summer, more beer in the winter.

It'll still clear at 75 degrees if you followed package directions.
 
I have made 6 or 7 of the Island Mist kits, I usually wait a few extra days before I transfer to the secondary. I feel this helps more of the lees to drop out. I have never had a problem with the final product.
 
Well, I finally bottled, about 3 days later than I needed to. Everything cleared out and it tasted a lot better than the sample I took 2 weeks back when I added everything. No dirty socks here at all. Tastes just like wine with some flavoring. I'm really glad this doesn't need to be aged because a bottle or two will be gone tonight. Well, I did 2 cases plus a gallon jug and we drank the few wine glasses left over. Even put on the nice little Island Mist labels.

I'm thinking about buying one of the berry kits or perhaps a cheaper wine kit as soon as my next batch of beer is done in the fermenter. Just can't see buying another $20 bucket when I can wait a few weeks and keep the one in use. Who would have thought brewing beer and wine would be so easy and so much fun? (besides you guys)
 
TOO FUNNY!
We finished SWMBO's bottling about 10 minutes ago.
We did 15 wine bottles, and the rest is in the basement at 48 degrees and 30PSI. We'll be using a BMBF to bottle the remaining 3 gallons. I'll be shaking the hell out of it for the rest of the evening.
I want my keg clear for my steam ale that will be done in about 5 or 6 days. (No Worries)
As you said...this tastes MUCH better than the sample. In fact...Island Mist Rule #1: DO NOT TASTE UNTIL TIME TO BOTTLE!
 
Island Mists are decent wines if you like fruit wines. Dont buy a cheap red wine kit though as they are not decent. Spend the extra money and et a 15-18 liter kit with grape skins and you wont be disappointed. RJ Spagnols and Cellar Craft are the best kits for the money in my opinion. The 23 liter all juice kits dont compare ti the kits with the grape skins in my opinion. They lack body and tannin and have no legs!
 
Wade E said:
Island Mists are decent wines if you like fruit wines. Dont buy a cheap red wine kit though as they are not decent. Spend the extra money and et a 15-18 liter kit with grape skins and you wont be disappointed. RJ Spagnols and Cellar Craft are the best kits for the money in my opinion. The 23 liter all juice kits dont compare ti the kits with the grape skins in my opinion. They lack body and tannin and have no legs!

Well, true. But...........I have a friend who LOVES the Winexpert valpollicella kit just for those reasons. It's a lighter wine, with no legs and very little tannin. Which means you drink it earlier, and it tastes like the wines she usually likes. I made the same kit- and you know, it's not bad. Like a $5-7 bottle. The kit was around $50 or so, and made 30 bottles. Very easy drinking and fine with meals. The shiriz (same brand) is a bit better.

I'm not trying to convince anybody- just saying that there is a place for each type of wine kit (even those Island Mist kits that I personally think are icky!) and oftentimes with kits you get what you pay for. A $140 kit is three times better than the $50 kit, generally speaking.
 
BigKahuna said:
TOO FUNNY!
We finished SWMBO's bottling about 10 minutes ago.
We did 15 wine bottles, and the rest is in the basement at 48 degrees and 30PSI. We'll be using a BMBF to bottle the remaining 3 gallons. I'll be shaking the hell out of it for the rest of the evening.
I want my keg clear for my steam ale that will be done in about 5 or 6 days. (No Worries)
As you said...this tastes MUCH better than the sample. In fact...Island Mist Rule #1: DO NOT TASTE UNTIL TIME TO BOTTLE!

I didn't even bother with the CO setup and the kit. I figure I can always do that next time. What I noticed is that since I don't generally like wines unless I've already been drinking, This wasn't bad and after about a glass it is going down much faster. LOL. It's also pretty cool that the kit averages out to about two bucks a bottle. -and it's not nasty tasting like something storebought that cheap.
 
YooperBrew said:
I'm not trying to convince anybody- just saying that there is a place for each type of wine kit (even those Island Mist kits that I personally think are icky!)
This Island Mist kit is the first time SWMBO hasn't made an Ick Face...or said YEASTY!
She seems to like.
If she's happy, I'm happy.
 
BigKahuna said:
This Island Mist kit is the first time SWMBO hasn't made an Ick Face...or said YEASTY!
She seems to like.
If she's happy, I'm happy.

Oh, no, I wasn't criticizing your Island Mist kit, and I'm sorry if I came across that way. I have sampled a few, and they are fine- just not my thing at all. I'm more into big bold tannic red wines, and just don't care for sweet things. I don't sweeten my coffee or my beers either- and never would put fruit in beer.

I'm glad she likes it- I know my best friend would think it's the best wine in the world. I'm very sorry if it sounded like I was snobbish. I was just trying to point out that all of us like different things, and there is a kit for all of us.
 
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