Blueberry and acid

[colauhu]

Hey all,

So, I went and picked 15lbs of blueberries and now they are in the primary. I followed the recipe at https://winemakermag.com/461-making-blueberry-wine-tips-from-the-pros.

Here's my question. I checked the pH with a digital meter and it was 3.56 before adding anything (water, sugar, and berries). After two days I added the remainder of the ingredients per the recipe. I checked the TA and pH, and low and behold they both seemed to have fallen! So, in what was probably a bad decision, I added another tsp of acid blend. Re-measured, and no change.

Does it take a while for the addition of acid to register? Why would the pH have fallen (it went from 3.56 to 3.15). Should I just leave it alone and quit messing it? Is it hard to get blueberry to start fermenting?

Thanks for any information you have.

Regards

Cody

 

[Yooper]

Hey all,

So, I went and picked 15lbs of blueberries and now they are in the primary. I followed the recipe at https://winemakermag.com/461-making-blueberry-wine-tips-from-the-pros.

Here's my question. I checked the pH with a digital meter and it was 3.56 before adding anything (water, sugar, and berries). After two days I added the remainder of the ingredients per the recipe. I checked the TA and pH, and low and behold they both seemed to have fallen! So, in what was probably a bad decision, I added another tsp of acid blend. Re-measured, and no change.

Does it take a while for the addition of acid to register? Why would the pH have fallen (it went from 3.56 to 3.15). Should I just leave it alone and quit messing it? Is it hard to get blueberry to start fermenting?

Thanks for any information you have.

Regards

Cody

I don't check my acids on blueberry wine, but keep in mind that adding acid would drop the pH even lower so don't add more acid unless you are going by taste and feel it needs it. You can even add acid blend at bottling if the wine needs it.

Blueberry starts just fine for me, but I don't use the same recipe.

Keep in mind that fermentation will lower the pH also.

Have you been stirring a couple of times per day? How many days have gone by since adding the yeast? Any gas forming in the wine, or any fruit rising up to the top? If in doubt, you could check the SG to see if it's dropping at all.

 

[colauhu]

Hey Yooper.

I just pitched the yeast this morning, so I don't currently see any signs of active fermentation, but I do see some very small bubbles along the edge, so I assume there is gas forming. I have stirred it a couple of times today, and there is fruit rising to the top. I guess I just need to leave hands off of it except to stir it and let it ride.

Also just realized that I failed basic chemistry by not remembering that adding acid will cause ph to fall. D'oh!

 

[colauhu]

Did some further investigation and found out using distilled water is not good for yeast. Rehydrated a new sachet with tap water, and within an hour I am seeing signs of fermentation.

 

[mspoljoric]

Did some further investigation and found out using distilled water is not good for yeast. Rehydrated a new sachet with tap water, and within an hour I am seeing signs of fermentation.

How did your wine turn out? I used this recipe and it is going pretty good. I did lose alot of volume after removing the blueberries, lees, and pulp. I think next time I am going to smash the blueberries in a juicing bag and leave that in the solution during initial fermentation. Did you end up adding the grape concentrate or no?