drhusker18
Well-Known Member
Ok folks. Been brewing beer for 2-years now. Decided to get a wine kit for my wife and give it a run to see if I could make a California sweet moscato with EC1118 from wineexperts, it was on sale! Things went well, my first wine. I like the no cooking thing.
Halfway through brewing beer I switched from hydrometer to refractometer because I broke my test tube and just never looked back. No problems with the beer readings.
Anyway back to the wine....
Came back to my wine according to instructions (1 week) and it read 1.024. O.g was 1.075 /so I was confused but let it set another week, then racked to secondary and spooned some yeast to give it a fighting chance but still said 1.026ish. It never moved for 20-days after that in secondary (busy at work) according to refractometer. I was sad that maybe th fermentation stick. Maybe stupidly I made a starter with EC1118 and dumped it in with some nutrients. But today after seeing no further movement I called wine experts, they had to call me back as the lady was working in the lab. It was literally a 10 second conversation on the return call, “what are you using to take you readings?” I said “refractometer.” She immediately said “those don’t work during or post fermentation and to drop in a hydrometer and get a reading.” Maybe I had missed this in my readings and online research, as it never caused issue in beer. She was haste with her comments as likely others call all the time.
So I came home tonight and sanitized my hydrometer and dropped it in the bucket and it read .0990. I double checked my refractometer and it read approx 1.026.
Talk about weird but I guess I should have read more! A google search really sorta clears it up now. Never thought to drop my hydrometer as a discount double check....
Will finish wine and hopefully it clears and tastes ok.
Halfway through brewing beer I switched from hydrometer to refractometer because I broke my test tube and just never looked back. No problems with the beer readings.
Anyway back to the wine....
Came back to my wine according to instructions (1 week) and it read 1.024. O.g was 1.075 /so I was confused but let it set another week, then racked to secondary and spooned some yeast to give it a fighting chance but still said 1.026ish. It never moved for 20-days after that in secondary (busy at work) according to refractometer. I was sad that maybe th fermentation stick. Maybe stupidly I made a starter with EC1118 and dumped it in with some nutrients. But today after seeing no further movement I called wine experts, they had to call me back as the lady was working in the lab. It was literally a 10 second conversation on the return call, “what are you using to take you readings?” I said “refractometer.” She immediately said “those don’t work during or post fermentation and to drop in a hydrometer and get a reading.” Maybe I had missed this in my readings and online research, as it never caused issue in beer. She was haste with her comments as likely others call all the time.
So I came home tonight and sanitized my hydrometer and dropped it in the bucket and it read .0990. I double checked my refractometer and it read approx 1.026.
Talk about weird but I guess I should have read more! A google search really sorta clears it up now. Never thought to drop my hydrometer as a discount double check....
Will finish wine and hopefully it clears and tastes ok.
