Recent content by FranDeVille

Thought I'd let everyone know this one looks like a save and to thank the kind folks who shared their advice and experience with me. I did add blueberry extract and sorbate preservative and back sweetened just a touch. The flavor at bottling the following week was definitely blueberry and not...

It's alive! It's alive!! -- sorry, they're running horror movie ads already in my area and I couldn't resist. S.G. .988 and tasting pretty good. No more off flavor though not much blueberry either. Clearing to a pretty purple-blue color, so feeling pretty hopeful this could be a save. Racked to...

Thanks GF. The S.G. Was 1.000 at last test and the taste was not like any vinegar I have ever tasted. It was definitely offthough. I decided to let it sit under airlock to see if it will clear and to monitor what it does. Will post again with observations in a few days.

OK, so I posted the part above before reading about volatile acidity.... Guess all that oxygen gave the breath of life to more than just the yeast, since readings now suggest I've got about 5 gallons of vinegar in the making. I'm definitely interested in more experienced opinions on this...

UPDATE: S.G. Now 1.015. No action in airlock, but clearly something is working. :) Thanks again to everyone for advice and helpful info! Wine is now quite cloudy but expect that will fall clear with time. It tastes close to what I wanted. Definitely lost a lot of blueberry flavor, but think I...

Update: Broke my hydrometer before I could test the wine! I have a spare, but is not accurate and I don't trust it. Nevertheless, it read 1.058 SG which is still much higher than desired, so I added nutrient and energizer for 5 gals, stirred vigorously for about 2 minutes to mix well. It got...

Sorry, I didn't answer about the water--tap water right out of the faucet. Been making wine kits and meads with my tap water successfully so far, can't think that's a problem. Regarding the yeast rehydration gear, I use a glass bowl and a small spoon, both of which also get sanitized along with...

Thanks all for the helpful posts! Yetijunk, I will try the bathtub route and monitor temp along the way. Agree shouldn't need more yeasts just yet--pretty sure there's enough in there already, but like my teenager just need some motivation to get to work. ;) WVMJ, I added energizer and nutrient...

Thanks Jensmith and yetijunk. I did not add any nutrient or energizer after initial pitch because research readings said not to. Will try that and let you know. Do I need to get more oxygen stirred in as well? Temp in my brewstation is pretty steady 76 F, but I don't think anyplace else will be...

I am new to this glorious hobby and think I have my first fail in blueberry wine. Everything I've read here and on other boards have been very helpful so far, but am at a loss with this one. Here's the recipe I used and what I tried: Vintners Harvest Blueberry fruit wine base 96 oz...