All, I pressed a Cab at
- posted
17 years ago
All, I pressed a Cab at
At this stage I'd wait until it's dry but monitor the smell closely - the CO2 won't help much if you get H2S. You can also stir the lees once a week or so, it will also help the yeast . I do this pretty regularly without H2S issues (knock on wood) if the ferment was clean. I used to rack off the gross lees early before but got a stuck Merlot that way in a very similar situation you are in.
These days I usually wait until complete dryness before pressing.
Pp
Pp
IMHO - if there truly are 'gross lees', I would argue for racking. Getting it off of the lees is the easiest way to avoid H2S problems. Obviously, at this stage, minimizing oxidation during racking is important.
Add 1 part per million (ppm) copper sulphate while there is still some yeast activity. Any excess copper will be chelated by the yeast, and you will clean up a lot of the pong. Leave on gross lees until dry, then rack.
James.
I don't see a need for this if there are no off smells, stirring the lees is a safer option in my opinion. I would not mess with copper sulphate unless I had to personally.
Joe
I agree completely with Joe. Copper sulfate is nasty stuff - and unless there is a real necessity, I would absolutely avoid it.
The OP was simply asking - "I'm worried about possible H2S, should I rack?" Clearly this is not a black and white answer; some suggest 'no, wait until complete or until a smell is noticeable'. For my own part, I have found I can reduce the incidence of H2S by racking off of gross lees as quickly as possible.
Maybe the best thing to do here is check the residual sugar now with Clinitest; if it's at 0.2% it's dry.
My feelings also.
Joe
Thanks to all for your help. I really appreciate it.
Joe
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