Trub on the top and the bottom??

[Slipgate]

I am making an Orange Chocolate Dessert Port from a kit from a company I have never used before. It is on its last racking and there is a significant about of trub on the top and the bottom. About as much on top as the bottom. I am speculating that it is trub. I have not opened it to sample and will not rack until I find out what it is. I am supposed to bottle at this stage but I don't want that crap in the bottle.

Should I just rack a couple more times until the crap is gone? Has anyone experienced this?

 

[Chris_Dog]

If the beer is done fermenting you can lower the temperature for a few days and more than likely it will fall.

 

[Slipgate]

It's wine and I can't really lower the temp anymore since I don't have a fridge big enough for it.

 

[Slipgate]

Well I just went ahead and racked it. No big issues, the stuff on the top was pretty solidified and broke into 3 big pieces and just floated.

On the brighter side, I sampled it and wow is it good! I may bottle it next week.

 

[summersolstice]

I am making an Orange Chocolate Dessert Port from a kit from a company I have never used before. It is on its last racking and there is a significant about of trub on the top and the bottom. About as much on top as the bottom. I am speculating that it is trub. I have not opened it to sample and will not rack until I find out what it is. I am supposed to bottle at this stage but I don't want that crap in the bottle.

Should I just rack a couple more times until the crap is gone? Has anyone experienced this?

R.J. Spagnols is the only company that makes this kit. I made it two years ago and, believe it or not, it's rated as the #1 kit in terms of overall medals taken in the WineMaker magazine annual competition held each year. This is a very good wine that a lot of people have made successfully.

Now, first off, trub isn't a term used in wine making. The equivalent wine making term is "lees".

Secondly, did you follow the instructions? I don't recall ever having sediment on the top of any kit wine after the first racking. There shouldn't be any non-liquid material in the wine at all at the bottling stage, aside from a small layer on the bottom of the carboy. You should have racked the wine off any solid matter before clarifying and stabilizing. This wine will drop some more fine lees during the bulk aging process and you can rack again and allow it to age some more before bottling.

 

[Chris_Dog]

I know absolutely nothing about making wine, perhaps I should have looked at the forums name 1st

 

[Slipgate]

You are correct, this is it - port kit

I made it exactly per instructions. There is only one racking of this port, it gets racked one time and sits for like 30 days until you bottle. I can see no way to get rid of all the "lees" without racking more. All of my other wines are racked 3-5 times before bottling and are brilliantly clear with virtually no lees in the last racking before bottling.

It did taste very good though!

 

[summersolstice]

You are correct, this is it - port kit

It did taste very good though!

Yeah, just keep racking until you get rid of the excess lees. This really is a very good wine. You can hold the glass out at arm's length and smell the chocolate. I fortified mine with a pint of Everclear to cut the sweetness a bit and help stabilize it by boosting the alcohol since the directions call for sterile filtering. The addition of Everclear is a pretty common tweak to this wine.

Since a little goes a long way, I bottled mine in 375 ml bottles and they literally flew off the rack whenever I had company. I think I have 2-3 small bottles left. I'm bulk aging the Raspberry Chocolate Port kit from Wine Expert now to see how it compares.

Enjoy!

 

[Slipgate]

I've made 2 of the raspberry chocolate wine expert kits now. Incredibly good! Much sweeter than the Cru kit from the little of the Cru I've had. I also use 375ml bottles. I used the really expensive Bellissima bottles this time. Really looks nice!

BTW: How much everclear do you add? I'd like this to be not as sweet. nevermind I see a pint..

I am going to use 1/2 pint and just fortify 1/2 the wine. I'll bottle 15 375s, add the 1/2 pint and bottle the rest, that should be interesting! Thanks for the tip!

 

[Texron]

Man, you guys are driving me crazy with the discussion about three things that I really enjoy. Oranges, Chocolate, and Port Wine. So to deal with the curiosities I had to order a kit of my own.

 

[Poobah58]

Anyone got a recipe for the Rasp Port? I would like to brew up only a gallon..

 

[summersolstice]

Anyone got a recipe for the Rasp Port? I would like to brew up only a gallon..

Sorry - it's a kit wine. The sweet chocolate liquid comes in a foil pouch and is added after the wine ferments and is stabilized. A lot of people have tried to duplicate it but nobody's had much success and Wine Expert and Cellar Craft aren't talking!

 

[Slipgate]

I'm looking for Everclear and I found that it might not be available in all states (I can buy from DC, MD or VA). Are you using the 190 proof version? It suggests Vodka as an alternative. What do you think of that? Would it be a similar taste?

 

[summersolstice]

I'm looking for Everclear and I found that it might not be available in all states (I can buy from DC, MD or VA). Are you using the 190 proof version? It suggests Vodka as an alternative. What do you think of that? Would it be a similar taste?

Yes, I use the 190-proof version. Vodka is pretty tastless as well but since it's half as strong, it takes twice a much to achieve the same effect. Some people who live in states with restrictive alcohol laws do resort to vodka.

 

[Slipgate]

Thanks, I contacted Luxco and they said it should be most places in DC and MD.

Just to make sure- I dump in the everclear to the port, mix it, and bottle it? Do I need to dump it in and then let it sit a little more?

 

[summersolstice]

I put mine in at stabilization but you can do it just before bottling. I'd use a gentle stir to avoid getting as little oxygen as possible.