Newbie Needs Help

[PanamEric]

Hello All,

Very informative forum.
Due to a sudden ban on alcohol sales (due to covid) where we live, my wife and I had to revert to making our own wine and beer...
So the first batches were not bad considering that we did everything without any special equipment or tools other than standard kitchen equipment.
The beer was not bad at all but cloudy...the wine had nice taste but was too sweet...but we drank it anyway.

So now at the second batch we got a fermentor and sanitizer and hydrometer and doing things in a somewhat more controlled fashion.
Second batch of beer (honey wheat) is pretty decent and very drinkable and bright.
Second batch of wine however is too sweet to enjoy and I am hoping I can find help in correcting the problem here. I have been reading for the past 3 days and I did not quite find any similar issue.

Wine is from juice (welsh) following a recipe found online. We added 1.5 cups ( 360g) of sugar (turbinado) per half gallon (64oz/1.89l) of juice. That actually was half of what the recipe called for as it seemed it would have been too sweet. We made 2 batches of red and one batch of white (with Welsh white juice) using the same proportions. One of the reds we added pure toasted cocoa nibs and blackberries when boiling.

We had not received the hydrometer at that time but I calculated to OG at around 1.1290 based on OG of Welsh and turbinado sugar at 19% concentration. We pitched with standard dry bread yeast .
When we received the hydrometer we started taking regular SG readings until they stabilized (at 1.010) and then racked the wine. It is not bottled yet.
In terms of look and clarity we are really impressed . the color is gorgeous and it is almost as clear as bought wine. A reading with a vinometer gives us 14% alcohol which is more or less in line with results from ABV calculators -15%- considering that Its likely that my calculations for OG are slightly off...

Problem is that both wines are too sweet for our taste. Its not quite at the level of ice wine but it is too sweet to enjoy with a meal.
I first thought that we had reached the alcohol tolerance of the bread yeast so I repitched with EC-1118 and yeast nutrients hoping that we could restart fermentation and dry it up a bit even if it meant bringing up ABV. The ABV calculator state that we should get about 17.2% ABV if we reach a FG of 0.998. Given that EC-1118 is stated as having 18% tolerance I thought it would work out.
After 3 days there was still not apparent activity and SG remained the same.
Same thing at 7 days where I pitched again with EC-1118 and more nutrients.
Now we surely did something wrong (other than not having the OG). We probably did not aerate enough and put the airlocks too soon and might have screwed up by putting the jugs in a fridge (at 68f) from the original room temperature of 86.
I am wondering if, and how, i can still "fix" this wine so we can enjoy it.

Should I pitch again with distillers yeast and nutrient ?
Should I dilute to lower the ABV and SG and pitch again with EC-1118 to eat up the extra sugar ?
Should I forget fixing it and drink it as dessert wine or maybe distill it and see if we can make grappa?
We need to master this quickly as it looks as if this covid situation is far form over.

Any help will be greatly associated.
thanks
Eric

 

[Blacksmith1]

No more nutrients! After a certain point (which is 1.010 IIRC) the yeast won't use it anymore. As for the sweetness, my Welch's wines always come out at least a little sweet but I start at a pretty high OG. Around 1.130 or so, using both bottled juice and frozen concentrate. If he grape is too sweet try a different juice.

 

[bernardsmith]

Hi Panameric - and welcome. If you have an hydrometer check the gravity. That will explain whether the sweetness is coming from the unfermented sugars or is a perception you have from the flavors in the juice. Most wine makers aim for a starting gravity of about 1.090 (about 12% ABV when all is said and done) and then they either backsweeten or keep their wine brut dry. But if you use baker's yeast then you really have no way of knowing how tolerant the yeast you used is for the alcohol you are asking that yeast to produce: I bake bread weekly and when I do I aim for as little alcohol as possible but with as much CO2 as the yeast can produce in 4 -24 hours , depending on the bread I am baking. Bread yeast CAN ferment the same sugars as any wine or beer yeast but the strains of yeast cultured for bread are neither as tolerant of alcohol or are selected for their ability to flocculate and pack as wine yeasts are. If that is the only strain of yeast you have access to OK... but you are playing a fiddle with only two strings.

 

[PanamEric]

Hello Bernardsmith

Thanks for taking the time to answer.
OG calculated at 1.129 (we did not have hydrometer at the start of the batch)
FG measured at 1.010- hydrometer arrived
ABV measured with vinometer at around 14%
ABV Calculator 15.6%
Pitched again with EC-1118 and nutrients twice at 1 week interval but SG readings remain the same (or appear slightly higher). Sweetness appears reduced a tiny bit but still too sweet.
Is there anything to do to correct it?

 

[Seamonkey84]

Adding nutrients past 9 or 10% abv does no good, and may add off flavors to your batch since it doesn’t get used. If you want it to finish dry, then you will have to go through a few steps to acclimate more yeast to your batch, before pitching it in. Hydrate the yeast, or even make a small starter if you can, then step feed your mead into it. Also make sure you degas it to release built up co2, which is the yeasts waste product, and no one like swimming around in their own filth.