When to add acid blend?

I have a couple of people that have told me to add the acid blend when you transfer to the secondary, and NOT when you first mix it up in the primary. Others have told me that they add their acid blend in the primary. What is right? I added it when I transfered to my secondary (not to self - add it when it's still in the bucket and NOT in a carboy)

If it's a recipe I've made before and I know how much to use, I'll add it in primary. If it's a new recipe, I add it later to taste. Acid blend has three acids in it- malic acid, tartaric acid, and citric acid. Some recipes use lemon juice for acid, so it's not always used.

After the wine is finished, if it's a little "blah" or "flabby", some acid blend can give it a little zip. If you're unsure, don't add it in the primary.

Cool, thanks. Now I just wish that they had warned me that it would foam like a geyser if you toss it into a gallon jug that's almost topped off Ok, so it was kind of cool. Glad it was in the sink though.

Islandboy85 said:

Cool, thanks. Now I just wish that they had warned me that it would foam like a geyser if you toss it into a gallon jug that's almost topped off Ok, so it was kind of cool. Glad it was in the sink though.

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Whoops! I guess you now remember your high school chemistry, and "nucleation points"! No matter what you add to a liquid, adding a powder will cause some foaming.

Just like the paper cachet volcano ya make in the sixth grade... So if I mix it with a bit of water before adding it it should cut down on foaming?

Islandboy85 said:

Just like the paper cachet volcano ya make in the sixth grade... So if I mix it with a bit of water before adding it it should cut down on foaming?

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Yes. The easiest way is to pull out some of the wine in a wine thief or turkey baster that's been sanitized, and dissolve the powder into it, then gently add it back in. Or, if you know how much you're adding, add it (again, dissolved in some of the wine, or water) to the carboy, and rack the wine into it.

Aha! Guess I'll do this next time.

YooperBrew said:

If it's a recipe I've made before and I know how much to use, I'll add it in primary. If it's a new recipe, I add it later to taste. Acid blend has three acids in it- malic acid, tartaric acid, and citric acid. Some recipes use lemon juice for acid, so it's not always used.

After the wine is finished, if it's a little "blah" or "flabby", some acid blend can give it a little zip. If you're unsure, don't add it in the primary.

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It is different with fruit wines than grape wines, but get ahold of some pH test strips for wine. Test the wine - it should be about 3.2-3.8. Anything more acidic than 3.2 will sort of taste bad, and anything higher than 3.8 will be what YooperBrew described above, with the added bonus of easier to grow other things in it (bacteria). It is when it is higher than 3.8 that you add the acid blend or lemon juice to get it below 3.8. I therefore do it before adding yeast.

Ok, i didn't test it. I just added what the recipe said to (2 tsp). I'll probably test it later this week.

Islandboy85 said:

Ok, i didn't test it. I just added what the recipe said to (2 tsp). I'll probably test it later this week.

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ah, if you were following a recipe, then I wouldn't worry about it. Just keep this info if you decide to try to come up with your own fruit wine recipe.

Well, I got a "starter" book at the local brew store, you know the ten page basic ones. It said that once I get a bit better at brewing that the ph test and so2 would be the most important. Guess I should start checking now to get used to it.