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  • #46
    Originally posted by blackcurrant View Post
    So there are a couple of possibilities:

    * inaccurate hydrometer. Perhaps the FG was lower and I didn't add enough priming sugar.
    * stuck ferment - might yet wake up?
    Drop the hydrometer into some water...what does it read? if it reads 1.000 then its ok, and you can trust your measurements, which would indicate a stuck ferment. Placing the bottles somewhere warm (about 20-25 deg C) should help, but if not you should be able to get it to restart as you used champers yeast.

    if the ferment is stuck, i would return it to a DJ, measure the SG, get the ferment going following this tutorial



    get it to 0.990 or as near as you can, then prime at a rate of 11g per 750 ml wine (or 64g per gallon) and then return to bottles, should produce the goods
    N.G.W.B.J.
    Member of 5 Towns Wine and Beer Makers Society (Yorkshire's newest)
    Wine, mead and beer maker

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    • #47
      or....

      if the hydrometer was incorrect and you havent used enough sugar to prime correctly, tip a bottle into your hydrometer jar, measure the SG (with a different hydrometer of course) and then re prime the bottles...
      N.G.W.B.J.
      Member of 5 Towns Wine and Beer Makers Society (Yorkshire's newest)
      Wine, mead and beer maker

      Comment


      • #48
        Originally posted by lockwood1956 View Post
        Drop the hydrometer into some water...what does it read? if it reads 1.000 then its ok, and you can trust your measurements, which would indicate a stuck ferment. Placing the bottles somewhere warm (about 20-25 deg C) should help, but if not you should be able to get it to restart as you used champers yeast.

        if the ferment is stuck, i would return it to a DJ, measure the SG, get the ferment going following this tutorial



        get it to 0.990 or as near as you can, then prime at a rate of 11g per 750 ml wine (or 64g per gallon) and then return to bottles, should produce the goods
        Thanks. I did test the hydrometer and it was OK.

        I've only got 3 bottle left so am inclined to move on to better recipes rather than try to resurrect the HFW one. And I'd like to make a stronger sparkling wine - something that's pleasant to sip without having to be gulped. The weather has been very warm over the last couple of weeks, so that might be enough to wake the yeast up a bit.

        The first gallon was a very different experience, but I bottled much earlier. After the first bottle nearly blew a hole in the kitchen ceiling, I had to nearly freeze the others before opening, but they were wonderfully sparkling. The plastic stoppers had actually moved slightly out of the neck of the bottle in some cases and were straining against the cage.

        Probably only a matter of time before HFW gets sued.

        The recipe on the C4 website has this intriguing paragraph:

        "Please note we've amended the amount of sugar in this recipe from the original plus we've talked to Hugh about the various results it produces – he says this is down to the differences in elderflower crop and suggests using glass bottles with swing tops plus keep an eye on the brew."

        I found the original version somewhere - it had 2.5 kg of sugar, which was amended to 700g. God knows what the first version must have turned out like.

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        • #49
          I am going to experiment using wine No1 but goldseals variation on it.

          prepare the wine as per normal but towards the end of the ferment, add the juice from a tin of gooseberries, ferment out, and then prime....


          I reckon it should make a very good sparkly style
          N.G.W.B.J.
          Member of 5 Towns Wine and Beer Makers Society (Yorkshire's newest)
          Wine, mead and beer maker

          Comment


          • #50
            Originally posted by blackcurrant View Post
            The recipe on the C4 website has this intriguing paragraph:

            "Please note we've amended the amount of sugar in this recipe from the original plus we've talked to Hugh about the various results it produces – he says this is down to the differences in elderflower crop and suggests using glass bottles with swing tops plus keep an eye on the brew."
            I (and im assuming others) bombarded them with emails telling them of how dangerous it was, eventually got a nice reply saying they had amended it due to safety concerns
            N.G.W.B.J.
            Member of 5 Towns Wine and Beer Makers Society (Yorkshire's newest)
            Wine, mead and beer maker

            Comment


            • #51
              Originally posted by lockwood1956 View Post
              I am going to experiment using wine No1 but goldseals variation on it.

              prepare the wine as per normal but towards the end of the ferment, add the juice from a tin of gooseberries, ferment out, and then prime....


              I reckon it should make a very good sparkly style
              That caught my eye too!

              I currently have a gallon of this nearing bottling (prepared before I found this website & wine number 1):

              2 litres cheap clear apple juice
              250 ml conc. white grape juice
              5-6 crushed raspberries
              1 elderflower head (it was all I could find to add near end of ferment)
              sugar to 1.080

              Does this sound suitable for bubbly with the gooseberry addition?

              I had been planning to leave it to make a conventional flat white after my mixed results from the HFW recipe, but now I think I might go sparkling after all as your instructions are pretty simple to follow.

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              • #52
                you might want to go 500ml of concentrate, the original recipe calls for 1 litre grape juice, so i think a little more than 250ml concentrate wouldnt hurt

                your recipe with added gooseberry juice sounds good

                I would also add the raspberries late, retain their fruity profile better when added late. (would also add them whole in case seeds get crushed, that would impart a little bitterness)


                start at around 1.070 to 1.080 ferment to dry prime, and bob married your auntie
                N.G.W.B.J.
                Member of 5 Towns Wine and Beer Makers Society (Yorkshire's newest)
                Wine, mead and beer maker

                Comment


                • #53
                  Originally posted by lockwood1956 View Post
                  you might want to go 500ml of concentrate, the original recipe calls for 1 litre grape juice, so i think a little more than 250ml concentrate wouldnt hurt

                  your recipe with added gooseberry juice sounds good

                  I would also add the raspberries late, retain their fruity profile better when added late. (would also add them whole in case seeds get crushed, that would impart a little bitterness)


                  start at around 1.070 to 1.080 ferment to dry prime, and bob married your auntie
                  Thanks. I will report back on results in due course.

                  I have another gallon on the go which could go sparkling too, but I'm undecided and may have to follow the conventional route due to shortage of appropriate bottles. Ingredients as follows:

                  * 2 litres cheap clear apple juice
                  * 1 litre red grape juice
                  * small muslin bag of fruit as follows: handful of red grapes; handful of raspberries; 3 passionfruit; 2 ripe bananas. This was left in the must for 2-3 days and then whipped out.
                  * sugar to 1.080

                  I've since racked & topped up with white grape juice and it's still bubbling away. It tastes very promising - just enough tannin - and is rose in colour.

                  I'm not sure which way to go with it: sparkling, dry conventional, or medium dry conventional. I hate using chemicals so am inclined to dry to avoid sulphites.

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