1. Home
  2. Winemaking Craft Forum
  3. How to check SG TA and pH in freshly crushed must?

How to check SG TA and pH in freshly crushed must?

I took some readings in some fresh must that was just crushed. It seemed hard to check SG with a hydrometer, as there are lots of particles in the must. Seems this would skew the readings.

My initial readings.

TA .58 pH 3.80 SG 1.115

I added enough TA to increase it by 1%. I also added meta, enzyme and nutrient After stirring up the must I took readings again. TA .55 pH 4.05 SG 1.110

What is the best way to get a good sample of must for tests? Does the material floating in the must effect the readings?

Reply to
Fishhead
Loading thread data ...

Yes, it does. The hydrometer is supposed to be in contact with fluid only. Just strain it, I have a 8 inch funnel with a screen that works well for this. You could use a cloth or something like that too.

Your nuber seem a little wierd, they went the wrong way on acids. Was it fermenting? CO2 will skew the readings.

Joe

Reply to
Joe Sallustio

It was not fermenting.. I just crushed it and took readings. I will be taking readings again tonight, and then add my yeast

Reply to
Fishhead

I have one of these funnels and screens also... I never thought of using it for that. (I bought it for cider)

I strained the must and re-checked the numbers. I will post these in a new thread

Thanks!

Reply to
Fishhead

Your pH will rise as the potassium in the skins of the grapes diffuses into the must. You really need to get some tartaric in there pronto! Your pH is soaring. Could this be Petite Syrah?

I've found the easiest way to pull juice samples from must is to push a strainer down into the cap, let it fill with juice and suck out a sample with a turkey baster.

Try taking the TA up to 0.70 (on the sample) and see what that does for the pH. Then _taste_ the juice. Always do a sanity check by taste before busting any big moves with tartaric. Double check your calculations, do the addition in portions and check in between portions to see if you're on track. It's a lot easier to add more tartaric than it is to remove it if you overshoot.

Tom S

Reply to
Tom S

Thanks for the comments Tom.

I added my new numbers from today in another thread... These were after I strained the juice from the pulp.

The grapes are Merlot and Zinfandel

Reply to
Fishhead

Quote........ Just strain it, I have a 8 inch funnel with a screen that works well for this. You could use a cloth or something like that too. .......

Pantyhose works great.just fill a foot up and squeeze a bit to strain.....my cab. sauv. was so thick with solids that to look at it I was afraid it was all sugar.But after straining this way the Brix measured 22-23....my Zin was 26 Brix...both very reasonable I think.......

Reply to
jomuam

DrinksForum website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.