My hydrometer gives me confusing reading!

[Wolf2002]

Hello everyone,

I am new to brewing, i decided to brew red wine at home.
I have followed the instructions given in different youtube videos ... Let me tell you what i did and you tell me if i did something wrong!
I basically pressed 5,6 kg of red seedless juicy grapes and then pored it in a 4,5 litre bucket. Then i measured the specific gravity which was 70. After that, i closed it well and let it stay for 24 hours. The next day i added 3 small glasses of sugar. I stirred well and then measured well but surprisingly i got 80 in the hydrometer. However it says in the hydrometer "start wine"! So i decided to close the bucket and left it for another 24 hours. It gave me the same reading again the next day! So i decided just to put the yeast anyway. So, I closed and left it for again 24 hours. I walk up the following morning and i found it flooding so i thought it may be high time i transferred and filter the juice to the demijohns and lock by the airlock!
My problem is it still tells me 80 on the hydrometer.

How can i fix this matter?! Is it in the first place fixable? Look forward to your help guys 😊

Sorry for the long writing!

PS: i of course sterilised everything before i started ... Just so u know!




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[Yooper]

Did you add any yeast to the juice to get it to ferment?

 

[Wolf2002]

Oh yeah 😂 i should've mentioned that.
I have indeed added 7 grams of yeast the day after added the suger


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[Yooper]

Oh yeah 😂 i should've mentioned that.
I have indeed added 7 grams of yeast the day after added the suger


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It should be fermenting then. Normally, you let it go about 5 days or so in the bucket before moving it to the carboy/demijohn, and move it when the SG is about 1.010. But if you already moved it, don't worry about it. Try to gently stir or otherwise give it some oxygen if you can. It should get going soon.

 

[Wolf2002]

Thank you so much. So it will change by time to 1075?
How can i give it oxygen ... Should i take off the airlock?
How many times a day should i stir it? And how long will it take to be ready to drink u think?

Sorry for the many questions ... I am a beginner in this 😊


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[Yooper]

Thank you so much. So it will change by time to 1075?
How can i give it oxygen ... Should i take off the airlock?
How many times a day should i stir it? And how long will it take to be ready to drink u think?

Sorry for the many questions ... I am a beginner in this 😊


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Yes, take off the airlock and cover it with a napkin and a rubber band or a towel or something to keep dust and bugs off/out of it. Stir it well whenever you can, and check the SG in a few days. It should be about 1.010 or so in a few days, if you didn't remove the wine off of the yeast too much.

 

[Wolf2002]

Oh man ... I don't know what to say ,,, thank u soooo much mate😊


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[DoctorCAD]

1.080 is still a bit low for a good wine, but you should be OK. (That is actually what the hydrometer was telling you...1.000 is what the pure water in your juice equaled, the .070 is what the grapes added to the mix and adding .010 for the sugar you added gives you 1.080)

Let it go until it hits 1.020 or less and then airlock it.

It will be a long time until it is drinkable, probably 3 to 6 months.

 

[Wolf2002]

Ok now i am a bit confused again! After i put the airlock back, will i wait another week or so, or 3-6 months?


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[DoctorCAD]

The general steps to make wine are:

1. Get your juice/must/concentrates up to about 1.090
2. Put that in an open top bucket with yeast, cover with a towel or loose lid and stir daily.
3. When that reaches 1.020, transfer everything but the last 1/4" to a carboy and airlock.
4. Let that sit until it reaches 1.000, rack into another carboy and airlock.
5. Let that sit 3 to 6 months, if there is more than 1/4" of stuff in the bottom, rack it off.
6. Bottle and sit a minimum of 6 months.

A very generic mathod that will work 100% of the time. Many skip or add steps, but until you have a feel for how wine "works" don't skip or add.