So I started my first batch 9 days ago based on Steve Piatz's book whose recipe and instructions I've tried to follow.
Over the course of the 8 days that I've been stirring the must, I've noticed that the gravity reading is rapidly getting closer and closer to the Target Gravity of 1.010. Somewhere around the 4th or 5th day, I couldn't resist and took a little taste test from my wine thief. Taste reminded me of ice wine and I thought things were going well. On the 8th day, the gravity reading I took put it at 1.000 and it tasted so dry with no sweetness at all. It was like a complete opposite of the first time I tasted it just a few days prior. So I am clearly doing something wrong as the book instructs to leave the must in primary fermentation until the 21st day.
Trying to look back and think of the mistakes I've done, it may have been the following:
1. I did not add enough water. Since I was going for a SG of 1.115, I was slowly adding water until I hit that mark but I didn't realize how little it was for a little less of a 5 gallon batch. I only added 10.5L of water to 12 pounds of Orange Blossom honey. This may have also lead me to using too much yeast and nutrients (maybe?) since I put in 1 whole packet of 71B for what should have been a 5 gallon batch.
2. I am using my hydrometer wrong. I followed every advice I've read though. Gently lower it, twist it, read from the lower miniscus. However, I did not know until recently that hydrometers are calibrated to a certain temperature. But upon using a calculator, for a hydrometer reading at 28C, I see that my readings have only been 0.002 off.
Steve Piatz called for a mixture of about 4g Fermaid K and 8g of DAP which would make the mixture weigh 12g in total (if my logic is correct) -- I believe Steve Piatz personally measured in tsp but included the approximate weights in his book as well. Since I bought a blade scale and thought weight would be a more accurate measure, I decided to base the amounts on the approximate weights he indicated. However, he only says to add 2g of the mixture everytime. There are 4 occasions where the Fermaid K and DAP mixture is needed according to him, before pitching the yeast and every 2 days after the yeast has been pitched. By my math that makes 8g out of the 12g. So after using the first 6g, I decided to just toss the remaining 6g during the last time I was supposed to add nutrients which might have been a bad move.
I would also like to point out that 12 hours after pitching the yeast is when I first stirred the must. Prior to stirring, you could see a slightly thick blanket of bubbles over the must. I have not seen those bubbles again after my first stirring session.
Here are my gravity readings over the course of the last 8 days after pitching the yeast (on some days I took two gravity readings since I would stir twice a day but due to the busy week with family activities, I could only take one gravity reading on most days):
Day 1: 1.108
Day 2: 1.098 followed by 1.086
Day 3: 1.076 followed by 1.068
Day 4: 1.060
Day 5: Did not take
Day 6: 1.024
Day 7: 1.012
Day 8: 1.000
I would like to note that I do not have a temperature controlled environment. For Day 1 to Day 3, room temperature was at 26C - 28C. Day 4 to Day 6 was at 20C - 29C (I had to move to a different room because my I had relatives staying over in our guest room). Day 7 to Day 8 was back to 26C - 28C.
I may have done a lot of things wrong but I'd like to know what I did wrong, and how do I proceed from there. Can I add water to the must? Can I back sweeten it? Or do I just abandon it? Could it be somehow infected? All help and advice is greatly appreciated.
Over the course of the 8 days that I've been stirring the must, I've noticed that the gravity reading is rapidly getting closer and closer to the Target Gravity of 1.010. Somewhere around the 4th or 5th day, I couldn't resist and took a little taste test from my wine thief. Taste reminded me of ice wine and I thought things were going well. On the 8th day, the gravity reading I took put it at 1.000 and it tasted so dry with no sweetness at all. It was like a complete opposite of the first time I tasted it just a few days prior. So I am clearly doing something wrong as the book instructs to leave the must in primary fermentation until the 21st day.
Trying to look back and think of the mistakes I've done, it may have been the following:
1. I did not add enough water. Since I was going for a SG of 1.115, I was slowly adding water until I hit that mark but I didn't realize how little it was for a little less of a 5 gallon batch. I only added 10.5L of water to 12 pounds of Orange Blossom honey. This may have also lead me to using too much yeast and nutrients (maybe?) since I put in 1 whole packet of 71B for what should have been a 5 gallon batch.
2. I am using my hydrometer wrong. I followed every advice I've read though. Gently lower it, twist it, read from the lower miniscus. However, I did not know until recently that hydrometers are calibrated to a certain temperature. But upon using a calculator, for a hydrometer reading at 28C, I see that my readings have only been 0.002 off.
Steve Piatz called for a mixture of about 4g Fermaid K and 8g of DAP which would make the mixture weigh 12g in total (if my logic is correct) -- I believe Steve Piatz personally measured in tsp but included the approximate weights in his book as well. Since I bought a blade scale and thought weight would be a more accurate measure, I decided to base the amounts on the approximate weights he indicated. However, he only says to add 2g of the mixture everytime. There are 4 occasions where the Fermaid K and DAP mixture is needed according to him, before pitching the yeast and every 2 days after the yeast has been pitched. By my math that makes 8g out of the 12g. So after using the first 6g, I decided to just toss the remaining 6g during the last time I was supposed to add nutrients which might have been a bad move.
I would also like to point out that 12 hours after pitching the yeast is when I first stirred the must. Prior to stirring, you could see a slightly thick blanket of bubbles over the must. I have not seen those bubbles again after my first stirring session.
Here are my gravity readings over the course of the last 8 days after pitching the yeast (on some days I took two gravity readings since I would stir twice a day but due to the busy week with family activities, I could only take one gravity reading on most days):
Day 1: 1.108
Day 2: 1.098 followed by 1.086
Day 3: 1.076 followed by 1.068
Day 4: 1.060
Day 5: Did not take
Day 6: 1.024
Day 7: 1.012
Day 8: 1.000
I would like to note that I do not have a temperature controlled environment. For Day 1 to Day 3, room temperature was at 26C - 28C. Day 4 to Day 6 was at 20C - 29C (I had to move to a different room because my I had relatives staying over in our guest room). Day 7 to Day 8 was back to 26C - 28C.
I may have done a lot of things wrong but I'd like to know what I did wrong, and how do I proceed from there. Can I add water to the must? Can I back sweeten it? Or do I just abandon it? Could it be somehow infected? All help and advice is greatly appreciated.
Hopefully it doesn't occur again.
