Search results

A grain bag for under $10 works well. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00UZH24W0/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

A lot to cover above... In short, yes. I've scrubbed and hosed done my stainless tanks many times and then sprayed it with caustic sodium hydroxide and watched it change color as it reacts with residual anthocyanin pigments on the tank walls. Absolutely no amount of scrubbing can remove the...

Many fruits have a fairly high amount of protein and you should consider using bentonite during the fermentation (or after if you didn't) to help drop protein that can cause a haze or "ghost" later in the bottle

I did a blueberry bench trial this summer to get a feel of issues it presents. One issue is that the pH is rather high. The straight blueberry juice was 3.8 and TA 4.5 g/L, so I added 1g/L of citric acid and that lowered the pH nicely and gave the wine more needed acid. I also found that the...

What grapes are you using? Some American grapes (eg Catawba) will only make a rose wine regardless of the time on skin. Not a lot of anthocyanin pigment. Also, increased skin time may impart undesirable flavors in non vinifera grapes.

The pH electode will drift over time so you need to periodically calibrate it with buffered standards, usually pH 4.01 and 7.01 solutions. As mentioned, be sure to rinse your electrode after use. I also spray a caustic cleaning solution, rinse with water, an acidic spray, rinse again with...

A grain bag for brewing is pretty efficient

It is best to make any needed acid adjustments before fermentation altogether. I would not make any adjustments now unless you are trying to correct a problem. The pH doesn't appreciably change over fermentation. It will drift if the wine drops tartrate crystals.

That's a reasonable range for the pH of a fruit wine. Would not want it to be higher or you risk oxidation/spoilage.

I'd add the yeast nutrients at 1.04-1.05. The acid question can't be answered unless you know what the current acid level is in your wine. How's it taste now? You can always add it later by taste if needed. The current level of yeast and sugar will augment the taste. Any idea what your pH and TA...

Depends on how long between rackings, I guess. Here's what I do for a fruit wine... after fermentation is done (SG is about 0.990) add 75ppm potassium metabisulfite (KMBS). This is like 1.5 campden tablets per gallon. That wallops the wine with sulfites and will protect it for months as long as...

The blackberries I've worked with run about 9 brix and the blueberries run about 14 brix, just to give you an approximate starting point. Since a lot of the sugar will still be locked up in the berries, measuring the SG can be tricky. Adding water up to 6L will dilute the fruit roughly 2:1, so...

One thing I've noticed with blueberry is that the pH is rather high and acid rather low. I've had some good commercial blueberries and some badly oxidized ones. I suspect you'll need to add some citric acid or lemon juice to the blueberry to lower the pH and protect it from oxidation. I made a...

Welcome to the joy of winemaking WTD! Lots of variables and lots of ability to customize your wine style. To answer your questions in order: The acid addition is necessary to keep the pH in a healthy range (3.1-3.5 for fruit wines, say) and adjust the TA to the right level of tartness. Unless...

Anyone else have large scale crystal formation after using calcium carbonate to deacidify a citric wine? I made a moderately small batch of Skeeter pee and used the calium carbonate to lower the TA. Apparently I've hit some critical solubility constant and I've had massive formation of what I'm...

Some caustic sodium hydroxide or oxyclean will do wonders with any stains too

I've made strawberry for a number of years now with D47. The flavor is quite good but the color is always light. So this summer I ran an experiment of strawberry across 4 different yeasts: D47, Rc212, GRE and BM4x4. All fermented fine but I saw a little better color with the RC212 and better...

You can go ahead and add the chitosan now. I'd give it a quick stir when you add it to kick any kieselsol that may have settled

The pressure may also simply be from outgassing carbon dioxide. Sounds like you didn't rack it and give the wine time to degas on its own. I'm not a fan of agitating the wine to degas it, but that process helps get the wine to bottle more quickly.

Hey jonereb Sorry to hear you didn't get the yield you expected. I usually am get about 1 gal per 10# pitted cherries, but I use a bladder press which is pretty efficient. So if you have access to a good press , you can certainly extract more liquid. As far as what to do now... the wine is...