Help needed with Hydrometer reading and is ferment finished

[devilbiker]

Hi All,

Well my Strawberry Ribena wine seemed to go ok but now need help.

On 15th July using Kirton's recipe (doubled as I had a 1 lt bottle) then put into 2 dj's sitting on kitchen worktop. Ferment went crazy for a few days then calmed down. Kept bubbling and slowing down til two days ago no more bubbles in airlock and beginning to clear. Temp in kitchen was up to 28 deg C for many days. Didn't do reading at start of brewing as newbie and didn't know I had to.

Using an old Boots Beermakers Glass Hydrometer (accurate at 20 deg c apparently),I took readings Thurs, fri and Sat mornings. All readings same on three days. One dj reads .037 other reads .042, readings taken at 26 deg c in kitchen.

Question is- is this ok and can be racked and bottled or is ferment stuck? Doesn't taste very "winey" and is quite sweet. Was very fizzy but less so now.
Do I take it that for a "perfect" reading it should float in the green range (.995- .000?

If ferment is stuck what do I do - add more yeast and put somewhere cooler? Would it do anything if I stirred it?

Sorry loads of questions but haven't got much of a clue at this lark and don't want to screw up! May as well as all the "Old Pro's" who've been doing it for donkey's years and know loads.

Cheers,
Devilbiker

 

[bobsbeer]

I'm not sure about your readings. The scale should go from about .980 to 1.150 or there abouts without looking at mine. So a reading of .037 is impossible. Unless you mean 1.037. If you do then your fermentation has a way to go, or it's stuck. Could you clarify your readings? Do you know what your starting gravity was? just for information the hydrometer should read 1.000 in plain water.

 

[devilbiker]

Scale goes from .995 to .100. Tried it in plain water and it floats 2 increments below .000 (Which I took to be 1.000 although no number 1 on scale). That would mean readings would be 1.037 and 1.042 which is why I'm asking is it stuck due to high temp in kitchen?

Already said did not take reading at start so no idea what sg was.

What should the reading get to for a sweet wine?
Cheers.

 

[oldbloke]

Dry wines often finish below 0.995, and a sweet one may start above 1.100: you could do with a proper wine hydrometer instead of a beer one.
By "below .000" you do mean "on the .100 side" of .000 ? I assume so as you say it's still sweet.
It may be stuck, or it may just be going very slow, or the hydrometer may be being held up by the gas in the sample.
I'd give it a damn good shake, let it run another week, then sample again.

You only really need a hydrometer reading at the start so as you can calculate the %ABV from the drop and to check you have enough sugar in.
Sweet wine starts out at about 1.150, and you need to kill the yeast at some point to stop it becoming a stupidly strong dry or medium instead.
Sweet can finish anywhere from about 1.005 upwards, but typically not much above 1.015 - keep taking samples and stabilise it when you like the level of sweetness left.

 

[devilbiker]

Cheers for that - I didn't know there were different hydrometers for wine and beer!

Will try giving it a good stir and putting it somewhere cooler for another week and seeing what happens.

 

[oldbloke]

Mostly you see general purpose ones these days, but they have a wider range than yours seems to, which is how I deduce yours is a beer one - the scale on it is probably more elongated for better precision in the beer range.
Mine goes from 0.976 to 1.150, which covers wine nicely, and beer fits within the wine range.
It suggests all wine stops at 1.000 or below, but I've read a few peeps on the net saying judge when to stop a sweet wine by your tastebuds, it could be quite high up the scale.
2 things to check:
Is it calibrated correctly? Try it in some plain water at the right temperature and check it reads 1.000
Are you reading from where the meniscus meets the stem (you're supposed to on mine) and not from the (lower) level of the flat surface of the sample? (which would give a higher apparent reading)