Update on the Wine

So the instructions said to check the gravity on the wine after 5 to 7 days, however, things get in the way and I put it off because the fermentation was still active in the airlock. After 9 days I finally checked it. The target had been 1.01 for the specific gravity and when I looked I found that it had already gone under 1.0 and was currently around 0.96 This is where it's supposed to be after a couple of weeks in the secondary. I immediately did what any rationale brewer would do. I ran to the brew shop in a panic and started flapping my arms up and down! Actually, I asked the nice man for some input and he generously supplied it, in a nutshell, I was fine, but I should get my project into fermenter #2 pronto! Basically I needed to get the wine out of the primary fermenter and away from the yeast cake because it can make it taste kind of funky if it stays in this state too long. Problem! We only have 2 glass carboy fermenters, and the wine was going to tie one up for an extended period. This would put our next beer brew on hold... (Read: Grounds for dismissal as head brewmaster, a title I currently hold) So today after talking with hubby suggested I could commandeer the 6 gallon carboy to finish out my wine as long as I picked up another 5 gallon brew bucket (much cheaper $5) to get us through this rough patch in our relationship. (What a guy)

 So I gathered my brew bucket for the next batch of beer and went home. As soon as hubby got home from work we began working on moving (racking) the wine to carboy #2.

Quick gravity check before moving.

It was a lot like the moving of the beer, you leave a bit of it behind. I was surprised when we took the top off the bucket and found that the oak chips had all sunk to the bottom.

So according to the guy at the "beer store" we need to let it sit for a couple of days (less than the 10 days that the directions state, but this is why we talk to people who have done it before.) Because of the specific gravity we need to get it moving into the clarification part of the process sooner rather than later. So here is a picture of where we are currently at. I love the contrast of colors between the beer and the wine.

More soon. Hope you enjoyed your visit.