BIRDWATCHERS

[Skid20]

Not sure if my numbers are were they should be. I followed the tried and true birdwatchers and had a starting sg of 1.06. the ferment ran strong for about nine days at a room temb of 78 degrees. I had a finish sg of 1.03. from what I have read my finish sg should have been around.995. Used bakers yeast, 128g for 10gal and 10lb of sugar. Any thoughts

[Bigbob]

Did you let it ferment all the way or did you go by time? Your FG seems pretty high.

[bearriver]

Next time omit the lemon juice and add oyster shells. TPW can and should finish around .99 without stalling.

You could run it or you could try and get it to ferment out further.

[NZChris]

Keep an eye on the PH. If it drops too far, it'll cause problems. if you can get some, clam shells can act as a buffer to stop the pH getting out of hand.

If you test the pH before you add lemons/acid, you might find it doesn't need any. Mine never needs any.

[Skid20]

My PH started at 6 and stayed consistent, I ran it until it quit bubbling then let it settle out. Should I add more yeast and see if it starts up again??

[bearriver]

My PH started at 6 and stayed consistent

Whatever you are using to measure the pH, it's not working... Nothing about that sounds right.

Should I add more yeast and see if it starts up again??

No. Identify why it stalled, try to fix it, then repitch.

[Skid20]

Any hints bearriver?? I used test strips for the ph. I halfed the reciepe because I donnt have a 25 gal fermenter (right now). I'll check the ph again tonight and everhing else I can think of and repitch. I have two batches, one for a sacrifice run and one for a keeper run. They way I figure I have about 7% low wines, good enogu for me I guess, Im more interested in getting the process right and figuring out what I did wrong so it dosnt get repeated when I mash in my whisky run. Thanks

[bearriver]

Any hints bearriver?? I used test strips for the ph.

NZChris nailed it.

However, when you use pH indicator (drops or strips) make sure you do the test outside in natural sunlight with a plain white backround. A piece of white printer paper is readily available and works well... Folks, myself included, will often misinterpret pH indicator. I use a pen, but a standard set of protocols with strips will help minimize getting the reading wrong.

If it's still telling you the wash pH is 6.0, throw the rest of your strips away and buy something else to test the pH. Defer to the advice given above.

Edit: I bet it tastes sour, doesn't it?

[NZChris]

When you say 'bubbling', do you mean in the airlock. If you do it might be a leak and it's not actually finished.

[bearriver]

When you say 'bubbling', do you mean in the airlock. If you do it might be a leak and it's not actually finished.

Good catch.

[Skid20]

You could see the yeast reacting in the wash, after nine days it stopped and everything settled to the bottom.

It actually taste like wine. not sour or sweet.
should I adjust the PH back to starting ph and repitch? Maybe add a little more sugar and paste?? seemed like it was going fine until it wasnt

[NZChris]

Adding more sugar is always a mistake.

Why it isn't still working is a total guess because we can't bring our gear around and test it. My BWs sometimes take a couple of weeks and when they do, I just sit on my hands and wait. If the SG doesn't drop in the next couple of days, run it and get what you can out of it.

[Mikey-moo]

You could see the yeast reacting in the wash, after nine days it stopped and everything settled to the bottom.

It actually taste like wine. not sour or sweet.
should I adjust the PH back to starting ph and repitch? Maybe add a little more sugar and paste?? seemed like it was going fine until it wasnt

If you really were at 1.03 then it would taste sweet. Can you measure the current gravity again?

[Skid20]

I ran it as my sacrificial run over the weekend. After a pint of the nasty, it registered at 185 proof. I think this would tell me that the sg was higher than the refractometer indicated. Maybe the refractometer needs to be recalibrated... Going to do anoter 10-gal run this weekend and mash in some corn in my new 25-gal fermentor that came over the weekend. Thanks again for all the input

[der wo]

Ok, here is it...
With a refractometer you get a different measurement than with a hydrometer AFTER FERMENTATION. The most here use hydrometers. But there are calcs for refractometers too. ou will find on brewing websites.
You are right. Your sugar was way better fermented than thought.

Edit: From 1.06 to 1.03 with a refractometer means 6.25% and is the same as from 1.06 to 1.014 wit a hydrometer. According to this calc:
https://www.petedrinks.com/abv-calculat ... ydrometer/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" rel="nofollow

[Skid20]

Sounds about right. I calced it out to be 7%

[Skid20]

Ran the first keeper tis weekend of birdwatchers and pulled just under 3 1/2 gal of 185 proof out of of 20 gal of wash after heads and tails. pretty happy overall. Still some learning to do on balancing the reflux

[der wo]

This is impossible. Please correct the numbers or measure again.

[rad14701]

This is impossible. Please correct the numbers or measure again.

+1... Those numbers just don't compute... 20 gallons of 7% wash contains ~1.4 gallons of 100%, which is impossible to get out of a hobby scale still... There would only be ~1.5 gallons of 185 proof, all in... Subtract your foreshots, heads, and tails, and you'll have significantly less...

Check THIS calculator... There are other calculators on the parent site that you will find helpful as well...

[Skid20]

Thanks Rad and your right! I diluted the run from the first 20gal and added it to the wash for this run, inluding the heads and tails. (forgot about that) I have a fresh batch in the fermenter now and will run it in a couple of weeks. I'll see then what my yield is.

[rad14701]

Thanks Rad and your right! I diluted the run from the first 20gal and added it to the wash for this run, inluding the heads and tails. (forgot about that) I have a fresh batch in the fermenter now and will run it in a couple of weeks. I'll see then what my yield is.

Mystery solved...

[Skid20]

I’ve done my third BW now and have yet to get below an FG of 1.03. I’ve followed the recipe in T&T closely and have a temp controlled room at 78 deg. From what I’m reading over at T&T BW post it looks like I may be running out of nutrients early. The PH of the water is between 5 and 6 (city water), don’t think its chlorine as the ferment churns vigorously for a week then quits. The ferment smells fine and taste like wine, sort of, no sweetness at all and no sour smell. What do y'all think???

[Mikey-moo]

Faulty hydrometer?

[Skid20]

Im using a refractometer Mikey-moo

[der wo]

With a refractometer you get much higher results for FG than with a hydrometer. The rule, that you have to get under 1.000, is for hydrometers. There are other calcs for refractometers, you can find somwhere here.

[Mikey-moo]

Yep. +1 what der wo said.

[Skid20]

Mine has a Brix scale and an SG scale. So, are you saying I should take the FG number and use an adjustement to find the true FG?

[Skid20]

Ok, found a calculater online and its a big differance. What I thought was a 7% abv is really over 16% abv. Mystery solved
Part II: FG Brix WRI Alcohol Present:
Original Gravity: Brix WRI Plato SG (1.xxx)
FG - (Brix WRI):
Wort Correction Factor:
OG - Corrected:
21.57 °P, 1.090
FG - Corrected:
-8.19 °P, 0.969
Alcohol By Volume:
16.38%

[der wo]

I am not sure, if everything is right. Two things:
-Was there enough sugar for OG 1.090?
-None of my washes ever reached such a low FG. The lowest was 0.980. A SG 1.090 bw finishes normally 0.988-0.990.

Edit: FG 0.969 would mean, you have minimum 25.7%! (a mixture of water with 25.7%abv has 0.969) Or more abv, if not all sugar is fermented. That's impossible.
I cannot control your calculation. Here is the calc I would use if I would use a refractometer. Perhaps you get another results:
https://www.petedrinks.com/abv-calculat ... ydrometer/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" rel="nofollow

[Skid20]

I am not sure, if everything is right. Two things:
-Was there enough sugar for OG 1.090?
-None of my washes ever reached such a low FG. The lowest was 0.980. A SG 1.090 bw finishes normally 0.988-0.990.

Edit: FG 0.969 would mean, you have minimum 25.7%! (a mixture of water with 25.7%abv has 0.969) Or more abv, if not all sugar is fermented. That's impossible.
I cannot control your calculation. Here is the calc I would use if I would use a refractometer. Perhaps you get another results:
https://www.petedrinks.com/abv-calculat ... ydrometer/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" rel="nofollow

Der wo, this is the one i used and it does calculate a little differently. My wort sarted at 1.090 at least according to the refracometer unconverted and ended at 1.04 unconverted.
http://www.northernbrewer.com/learn/res ... calculator" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" rel="nofollow. I'll have to play around wiht these calculators and see where I end up


Between the petedrinks and the parent site, I am between 10% and 11 % ABV. Does sound about right?