Newbee here. First batch questions

[JimmyDean59]

I live on Vancouver Island BC. I picked my grapes in the backyard on the 28th of August, blended them slightly in a blender after the stocks were removed and put them in my primary fermentor. I had 23 lts of juice. I measured the specific gravity at that time and it gave me a reading of 1.44 I then added 10 cups of sugar to hopefully give me a finished product of around 12% alcohol. I added 1/2 Tsp of Potassium Metabisulfite to the vat. I mixed it in and then added 1 package of brewers yeast.
I stirred the vat everyday. Yeast didn't seem to be working. I removed the skins etc and threw them out and then transferred the remaining juice to my glass carboy on the 1st of September. I added another package of brewers yeast to the top and replaced my oxygen lock on the top. Very little activity in the brew.
Today is the 4th of Sep. I stirred the carboy contents again, checked the specific gravity and it read 1.74

I still see very little activity. I made beer years ago and the brew bubbled like you couldn't believe. I expected wine to do the same. I am now concerned that my yeast still isn't working or the 1/2tsp of Potassium Metabisufite that I originally added has killed everything in the batch.

What should I do now?? Please give me some advice as to what I should be expecting or looking for. Thank you. Love the forums. Cheers

 

[Sammy86]

I'll get the conversation started but I don't make wine very often...first thing that jumps out is your starting gravity numbers. They aren't making much sense.

How did you measure it? Did you mean 1.044 and 1.074 after the sugar was added?

Second thing, what yeast exactly are you using? Brewers yeast generally doesn't mesh well with wine must, you would need to use a yeast specifically for wine.

Paging Dr. @Yooper

 

[JimmyDean59]

Thanks for the reply. As to the questions:
I measured the specific gravity with my hydrometer. I measured this once I had blended the grapes with a blender and put them into my primary container. I think that reading might be an issue as there was quite a bit of residue from the grapes floating in the juice. Rookie error maybe?

The yeast I picked up from the local wine shop. I know it was a brewers yeast but I threw out the packaging and can't give you a specific name. I'm assuming it was for wine as the wine shop sold it to me.

I just looked at the lock and there is no movement in the air bubbles at all. My room temperature is fairly stable at 69 degrees.

Thanks again for your help with this. Cheers

 

[TkmLinus]

Thanks for the reply. As to the questions:
I measured the specific gravity with my hydrometer. I measured this once I had blended the grapes with a blender and put them into my primary container. I think that reading might be an issue as there was quite a bit of residue from the grapes floating in the juice. Rookie error maybe?

The yeast I picked up from the local wine shop. I know it was a brewers yeast but I threw out the packaging and can't give you a specific name. I'm assuming it was for wine as the wine shop sold it to me.

I just looked at the lock and there is no movement in the air bubbles at all. My room temperature is fairly stable at 69 degrees.

Thanks again for your help with this. Cheers

Are there any bubbles coming up the sides of the fermenter? Does the liquid foam up when mixed? You should have activity right now. CO2 bubbles can form on your hydrometer and lift it up giving the strange reading.

 

[JimmyDean59]

Success! I turned up the heat to 71 degrees and I have foam on top of my brew. It is finally working. Will have to keep it warm for a week or so. When should I transfer into another carboy? Hmmm, I will have to check out some of the forums for the correct procedures. Thank you for the information and steering me in the right direction. Will keep you posted with the hopefully continued success. Cheers

 

[marc1]

1.44 and 1.74 aren't specific gravity readings from a normal hydrometer. Can you double check it, and maybe post a picture?

 

[Mallerstang]

That's good news that the yeast woke up! There are different wine yeast types available, some of which start fermenting easily and some of which are more finicky. If you online search for "wine yeast strains" you'll find charts. The most widely available is EC-1118, which starts every time without being rehydrated and tolerates a wide range of temperatures.

 

[Mallerstang]

If you'd left it in a more open primary, you'd transfer it to the carboy when the hydrometer read 1.030 to 1.010. Since it's already in a carboy and you can see what's going on, rack it again in a month - unless there's a thick layer building up at the bottom which could produce off flavours, in which case maybe do it sooner. After that, rack every 2 months until it's clear.

If your hydrometer is like mine, it shows 1.000 near the top, 1.100 two-thirds of the way down, and two-digit numbers at intervals. From the top down the readings are 0.990, 1.000, 1.010, 1.020, 1.030 etc down to 1.090, 1.100, etc. So your readings were probably just missing a zero.

 

[JimmyDean59]

So warmed up the room to 71 degrees and my brew is bubbling like you can't believe. Obviously working well this morning.

Thanks for the information about the racking. I will keep an eye on it and take a reading in a week or so. I have another glass carboy to transfer it into as well and yes, I was reading the hydrometer incorrectly. Thanks for this information. The reading I took the other day then was 1.074 When I transfer it I will take another reading to see where I am at with specific gravity. This is great! Happy everything is working. Cheers

 

[JimmyDean59]

Good morning fellow brewers. I checked my specific gravity again today using a hydrometer. The batch is still brewing and my current reading is at 1.020 Is this reading low enough to transfer it over to the secondary or should I wait a few more days for it to finish?

Thank you in advance for your assistance. Cheers

 

[Funky Frank]

You should be good to transfer.

 

[JimmyDean59]

Thanks Funky Frank for the info.

I transferred into a glass carboy this morning. I was reading about topping up the carboy to reduce oxygen in the must. Distilled water and 4 oz of Vodka per gallon?? What do you usually use to top this head space off? Store bought wine? I would need a couple gallons I think. Any thoughts anyone?

 

[marc1]

Thanks Funky Frank for the info.

I transferred into a glass carboy this morning. I was reading about topping up the carboy to reduce oxygen in the must. Distilled water and 4 oz of Vodka per gallon?? What do you usually use to top this head space off? Store bought wine? I would need a couple gallons I think. Any thoughts anyone?

If the headspace is a couple of gallons you might want to look into a smaller carboy. Or use several one gallon carboys.

Generally you would use a similar wine. Or the same wine, from some smaller containers of it. Or glass marbles for smaller volumes.

In the future when you plan out your wines, you can aim to have extra must, so that you get a full carboy at transfer.

 

[TkmLinus]

What Marc said. Though don't buy 1 empty gallon carboys unless real desperate. Go to the supermarket and look for fruit juice or wine in 1 gallon glass jugs. It will cost the same or maybe even less than buying an empty 1 gallon glass jug. That way you get something to enjoy and a free carboy. Depending on the style they will use either a number 6 or 6.5 stopper. Hope that helps!

 

[JimmyDean59]

Thanks TkmLinus for the advice. Great idea! Glass carboys are getting expensive that's for sure. I will try to run down some 6 or 6.5 stoppers. Cheers