Think I messed up?

[boucheman414]

Hi,
I am experimenting with a recipe and I think I have messed up already lol.
This is the original recipe:
4lbs. ripe pineapple
2lbs. sugar
7qts. water
1/2tsp. acid blend
1 crushed campden tablet
1/2tsp. pectic enzyme
1/4tsp. tannin
1tsp. yeast nutrient
1pkt. Champagne yeast

Now, I purchased a few things recently so that I could make more wine at once rather than dabbling with 1-2 gallon batches. I got a 6 gallon carboy, a 7.5 gallon primary, a hydrometer, and some other various additives.

Now, when I started this batch, I beefed up the recipe to make more wine and here is the recipe that I ended up going with:
15lbs. Pinapples
13lbs. Sugar(started out with 10lbs., then added 3 more pounds when I checked the SG and it was a little lower than I wanted)
6Gallons Water
1Tbsp. Yeast Nutrient
1/2tsp Pectic enzyme
4tsp. Acid Blend
1tsp. Tannin
6 Campden tablets
1 pkt Champagne yeast

When I first checked the SG(before adding the yeast) it was 1.097, PA was 13%, and the Brix was 23
I let it ferment for 7 days with the fruit in a muslin bag and today I took out the muslin bag, let the juice from it drip(slightly squeezing to hurry it up) then checked the SG again and it was .990.... This cant be right?? I was going to leave it in the primary until the SG fell to somewhere around 1.025 then rack and top up in the 6 gallon carboy but it has fallen all the way down to .990 or a little less in only 7 days. The room where I keep the primary is pretty warm most of the time, probably somewhere around 80-85 degrees or so. I was thinking that it just fermented really fast or something. I don't really know what to do though.. I'm going to leave it in the primary until I hear from someone on here that has some advice on what to do. Is it ruined or did I add to much of something or not enough of something? Any advice will be greatly appreciated! Thanks!

 

[Yooper]

At 85 degrees, the fermentation would definitely go FAST. It seems that it did. That's way too warm, but it is done now so try not to worry about it.

Rack it to the carboy, top up to the bung and let it sit. Rack whenever you have lees more than 1/4" thick, or any lees after 60 days. Top up so that you are always within a couple of inches from the bung.

 

[boucheman414]

At 85 degrees, the fermentation would definitely go FAST. It seems that it did. That's way too warm, but it is done now so try not to worry about it.

Rack it to the carboy, top up to the bung and let it sit. Rack whenever you have lees more than 1/4" thick, or any lees after 60 days. Top up so that you are always within a couple of inches from the bung.

Okay, thanks! I will rack it now, I was just wondering about that. Also, after racking should I move it to a room that is not so warm all the time? And just for future reference, what is a good room temp. to make wine at in general?
Thanks again!!

 

[Yooper]

Okay, thanks! I will rack it now, I was just wondering about that. Also, after racking should I move it to a room that is not so warm all the time? And just for future reference, what is a good room temp. to make wine at in general?
Thanks again!!

In general, 65-70 degrees is a perfect temperature although some wine yeast strains are far more tolerant of temperature variations and will do fine at 59-80 degrees.

Keeping it in the 70s if you can would be great.

 

[boucheman414]

Okay, sounds good! I really appreciate it! O wait, I have one more quick question hehe. Does the second recipe that I posted look okay(I mean the amounts of everything i.e. yeast nutrient, pectic enzyme, acid blend, tannin, yeast, sugar, water) Or the next time I try it should I try adding more or less of something? I will try to remember to post on the taste.
I am a beginner at this, this is only my second batch I've ever made and I'm using a book that I got about it to learn, but some of the stuff that it says is kinda vague to me as I am still new to all of this ha. The first recipe I posted is a variation of a pineapple wine from The Joy of Home Winemaking by Terry Garrey. But like I said, I adjusted it to make more at one time.

 

[Yooper]

Okay, sounds good! I really appreciate it! O wait, I have one more quick question hehe. Does the second recipe that I posted look okay(I mean the amounts of everything i.e. yeast nutrient, pectic enzyme, acid blend, tannin, yeast, sugar, water) Or the next time I try it should I try adding more or less of something? I will try to remember to post on the taste.
I am a beginner at this, this is only my second batch I've ever made and I'm using a book that I got about it to learn, but some of the stuff that it says is kinda vague to me as I am still new to all of this ha. The first recipe I posted is a variation of a pineapple wine from The Joy of Home Winemaking by Terry Garrey. But like I said, I adjusted it to make more at one time.

Yes. It may be a bit high on acid blend and tannin, but you can wait and see. It may be low on pectic enzyme, so if the wine doesn't clear in 3-4 months after a couple of rackings, you can add some more (dissolved in some water). The best thing in winemaking is patience, so if you can rack whenever you get lees 1/4" thick, or every 60 days or so if you're still dropping lees, and wait for about 8-10 months, the wine should make itself from here.

 

[boucheman414]

Okay, Thanks! I will try to remember to post every so often on how it's going, and eventually on how it tastes. Thanks for all of your advice!!

 

[boucheman414]

Okay, I know it has been a while since I posted on this one but I will let you know how it went.

It turned out terrible haha. Which I am laughing because I know why it went bad(I think). I let it sit too long on the lees and other waste at the bottom of the carboy.
It wasn't completely undrinkable, that is to say it got me drunk and my brother seemed to like it(not sure why..). But, I let it stand in the carboy for too long because I didn't have the money to purchase any bottles at the time so I had to wait a month or two and I think that that month or two is what soured it. I mean, like I mentioned earlier, it wasn't completely undrinkable.. It just had an unpleasant taste from start to finish.. Oh, it finished terribly on the palate lol.. Oh well, lesson learned! I don't think I will be trying pineapples anymore anyways.. But thank you guys for your help and advice. I am now working on a blueberry wine that I have already had to post about lol. But, I think I'm kinda getting the hang of this wine making thing. I just need about 15 more years of doing it to refine my methods haha. Thanks again guys!

 

[TexasWine]

Okay, I know it has been a while since I posted on this one but I will let you know how it went.

It turned out terrible haha. Which I am laughing because I know why it went bad(I think). I let it sit too long on the lees and other waste at the bottom of the carboy.
It wasn't completely undrinkable, that is to say it got me drunk and my brother seemed to like it(not sure why..). But, I let it stand in the carboy for too long because I didn't have the money to purchase any bottles at the time so I had to wait a month or two and I think that that month or two is what soured it. I mean, like I mentioned earlier, it wasn't completely undrinkable.. It just had an unpleasant taste from start to finish.. Oh, it finished terribly on the palate lol.. Oh well, lesson learned! I don't think I will be trying pineapples anymore anyways.. But thank you guys for your help and advice. I am now working on a blueberry wine that I have already had to post about lol. But, I think I'm kinda getting the hang of this wine making thing. I just need about 15 more years of doing it to refine my methods haha. Thanks again guys!

Don't throw in the towel yet on your pineapple concoction. If I'm reading your posts right, it's only a couple months old. Like Yooper said above, you could spend 8-10 months in the carboy before you even get it to bottles. I'd give it a year before judging its palatability.

 

[Yooper]

Don't throw in the towel yet on your pineapple concoction. If I'm reading your posts right, it's only a couple months old. Like Yooper said above, you could spend 8-10 months in the carboy before you even get it to bottles. I'd give it a year before judging its palatability.

No, this wine is a couple of years old I think!

Leaving it on the lees for months does impact the flavor, so I'm assuming it wasn't racked off of the lees every 60 days until they were gone?

 

[boucheman414]

No, this wine is a couple of years old I think!

Leaving it on the lees for months does impact the flavor, so I'm assuming it wasn't racked off of the lees every 60 days until they were gone?

You are correct. And yes, I believe during the home stretch before bottling I let it sit in the carboy for like 2-3 months. I'm pretty sure that's what did it in. That was like a year or two ago and while I drank in total about 6-7 bottles of it, hoping every time the next bottle would be good, my twin brother took the other 25-26 bottles home with him and drank them haha. He said he thought it tasted good... I didn't taste that part. Maybe I'll try again one day.

 

[TexasWine]

No, this wine is a couple of years old I think!

Leaving it on the lees for months does impact the flavor, so I'm assuming it wasn't racked off of the lees every 60 days until they were gone?

Ha! Thought that it was from July if this year! Ignore my comments.

 

[boucheman414]

Ha! Thought that it was from July if this year! Ignore my comments.

Hehe, it's no problem man. Actually thanks for posting because I had forgotten all about this thread. And I mentioned that I would tell everyone how it turned out. So, thanks! I just wished it would have turned out better... but oh well, that's the beauty of home wine making I guess.. Trial and error.