Liquid Level With Fruit Bag

[timothyap]

Hi Again, when I have my bag of fruit in primary, and up to the 5 gallon mark with liquid, when I pull out the bag the level drops to 4 gallons, should I have a level to 6 gallons so when bag is pulled out I will have 5 gallons of wine ?

I have been adding that 1 gallon difference after fermentation with distilled water just before racking to secondary. Wont that change the acidity and ABV in the end?

Right now before pitching yeast my acidity level is .10 higher than desired, so maybe the added sugar water mix will bring that down a bit with out adding any chemicals.

Also.. could I make a small acidity adjustment by adding some sugar and water mix to bring the level to the 6 gallon mark, (that's only if that adjustment is needed).

Thanks,
Tim

 

[bernardsmith]

Others may have a different approach but when I make a wine or mead I am looking for the volume I want to bottle to determine the amount of volume I need to create in my primary. If that means that I need an additional gallon of must + fruit then so be it. But that is why my primary is a bucket and not a carboy. That said, adding distilled water would (in my opinion) never be a good option. At best you want to begin with the minimal amount of must + the amount you know you are going to lose racking and from other causes (absorption of liquid by fruit, evaporation etc etc.). Worst case, you may NEED to dilute your must by adding more spring water ... but who dilutes a must for any reason. Far better would be to aim for a smaller volume of wine this time around and plan to avoid that mistake the next time...
And that said, why is the pH before you pitch the yeast an issue? pH is an issue at the low end (below 3.0) as too much acidity can create problems for the yeast. At the high end - too alkaline a must might encourage bacteria to compete with the yeast but the yeast are living creatures and they will work to produce an environment that best suits them and that most effectively dis-prefers any likely competitors. For a wine maker it is TA at bottling that is critical - and , yes, pH but only insofar as the pH level informs you how much free SO2 you may want to add to inhibit oxidation and maintain shelf life of your wine.

 

[timothyap]

Worst case, you may NEED to dilute your must by adding more spring water ... but who dilutes a must for any reason. Far better would be to aim for a smaller volume of wine this time around and plan to avoid that mistake the next time...

Dont really understand what your trying to tell me, so.....

This is what I did this morning,,

Added 4 more cups sugar mix with 1 gallon water, level is at about at the 6.25 gallon level with bag, took SG and checked acid,
after my calculating added 2 tsp acid blend, SG at 1.104, proofed yeast and mixed in well.

Thats it for this batch

 

[Seamonkey84]

There’s always some loss, so make more than you want to end up with. Depending on what your making, adding sugar water (honey water for mead) can work. It’s better to add juice from the fruits that are already in the wine. Adding juice (or more fruit) at secondary to top off can add more fruit flavor that was lost during primary. If you Stabilize before doing so, you can use the juice to sweeten the batch, or let it restart a fermentation, up to you. I would only adjust ph to taste, or to the “correct” levels for aging.

 

[timothyap]

There’s always some loss, so make more than you want to end up with.

Thanks, I got it,
I have a little more than a quart extra for the 5 gallons that I should end up with, Like you said if I need to add any juice I have about an extra gallon in the freezer.
Thanks Again
Tim