Elderflower champagne help

[Thomaspassmore]

Hi

I wonder if anyone can help
I'm making elderflower champagne for the first time. I was intending to ferment in a bucket for 5 days, then syphon into demijohns until it gets to a hydrometer reading of c0.996 before bottling with a little sugar.

However....

It's been in the bucket 4.5 days and I took a hydrometer reading of 0.990 already. Why has this happened? I presume it's the heat at the moment.

And what should I do?

Thanks a lot for the advice.
Tom

 

[Session]

Hey Tom,
It’ll be the heat speeding up yeast activity. Do you have a means of temperature control? I imagine it will have finished fermenting based on the hydrometer reading (I would take another reading tomorrow if you’re not sure) so I would bottle it.
What yeast did you use? If you post the recipe someone with more knowledge than me might be able to help - I only really brew beer!

 

[Thomaspassmore]

Hi there
Thanks for the reply.
The recipe was

https://www.colchesterhomebrew.co.u...derflower-wine-and-elderflower-champagne.html
I can't really control the temp down as I only have a fridge.

If the fermentation is done, should I go straight to bottle and skip the demijohn. Is it a bad thing that it all happened so quickly?

 

[Thomaspassmore]

Gervin GV3 Sparkling Wine Yeast was the yeast.

 

[Session]

Hi there
Thanks for the reply.
The recipe was

https://www.colchesterhomebrew.co.u...derflower-wine-and-elderflower-champagne.html
I can't really control the temp down as I only have a fridge.

If the fermentation is done, should I go straight to bottle and skip the demijohn. Is it a bad thing that it all happened so quickly?

I’m not sure why you aren’t able to reduce the temperature with your fridge... isn’t that the purpose of the fridge? I’m not familiar with the yeast, but it may throw some off flavours if it got too hot. I wouldn’t worry about it though, the proof is in the pudding!

If you’re happy that fermentation has finished then yes I would go ahead and bottle it.

 

[Thomaspassmore]

Wouldnt the fridge slow it down hugely?

 

[Session]

Wouldnt the fridge slow it down hugely?

Not if you’re using something like an inkbird controller to regulate temperature down to say 18’C. It will only start cooling when the fermentation goes over this temperature and will just make sure it doesn’t get too hot. The inkbird allows you to set the point the fridge kicks on and off so you have more control of your fermentation temperatures than just letting them freestyle.

 

[parpot]

Hi there
Thanks for the reply.
The recipe was

https://www.colchesterhomebrew.co.u...derflower-wine-and-elderflower-champagne.html
I can't really control the temp down as I only have a fridge.

If the fermentation is done, should I go straight to bottle and skip the demijohn. Is it a bad thing that it all happened so quickly?

I have made 5 lots this year 150 plus bottles and all mine have completed early (7 days) down to min 0.986 - 0.900 I bottled straight away with varying amounts of sugar per batch to satisfy various tastes. Last year it was five days in the covered FV and then another 5 days with a bubble trap but this was brewed around 18 degrees in a bedroom but this year around 21 degrees in the garage because of the decent weather we have been having! I only control heat via an ink-bird with my old fridges as they were defunked when I got them so no chilling, I do that in a working fridge and cold crash as required

 

[Thomaspassmore]

Thanks. So it sounds like I should bottle now. Should I put the bottles in a fridge?
Am I ok with flip top glass bottles given I'm controlling the sugar? I see lots onlinr saying it's a risk if it's still fermenting but some saying it's OK if the hydrometer reading is below 0.996 and you add a little sugar.
Thanks

 

[parpot]

Thanks. So it sounds like I should bottle now. Should I put the bottles in a fridge?
Am I ok with flip top glass bottles given I'm controlling the sugar? I see lots onlinr saying it's a risk if it's still fermenting but some saying it's OK if the hydrometer reading is below 0.996 and you add a little sugar.
Thanks

Once bottled treat as beer, keep in the warm for a week or so until carbed up and clear and then put in the fridge as you need them

 

[Session]

Sorry - was after the recipe then realised you’d already posted it above!