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muscadine pyment, very sour at first racking?

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aczdreign

NewBee
Registered Member
Jul 3, 2010
219
0
0
Hey guys and gals--

I just moved my batch of muscadine pyment over to the secondary fermentation in a glass carboy, and when I gave it a taste test, it was extremely sour...I mean SOUR.

I know that the end of primary fermentation doesnt exactly provide the best representation of final taste, but I'm wondering if this is normal for muscadines, or if I neglected to add something or other to counteract the acid.

Here's the Recipe:

-~7 Gallon bags, muscadines, frozen, smashed
-~3oz rosehips, dried and crushed.
-~12 lb honey (1 gal)
-Pasteur red star champagne yeast, activated
-Yeast energizer
-Fermax yeast nutrient


26% brix

I smashed the grapes, added water, honey, and rosehips, added campden tablets, and waited until the next day to pitch my hydrated yeast. Oxygenated must by stirring with racking cane twice daily. Racked out of primary fermentation after six days.
 

aczdreign

NewBee
Registered Member
Jul 3, 2010
219
0
0
Hah!

Good to know I havent gone too far off course.
Is there anything that I can add to counteract this, aside from heavy backsweetening?
 

Medsen Fey

Fuselier since 2007
Premium Patron
Blending with low-acid mead.
Treating with carbonates to reduce acidity.
Malolactic fermentation.

Each approach has pros and cons, but if you have strong grape character (which muscadines usually do) I think the blending approach is worth considering.
 

aczdreign

NewBee
Registered Member
Jul 3, 2010
219
0
0
ok, thanks a lot medsen!
The carboy has a lot of pulp in the bottom, so I should be able to make a traditional mead and mix it in next time I rack.
 

aczdreign

NewBee
Registered Member
Jul 3, 2010
219
0
0
I just racked this again last night, I know it's been a while, but I've been really, REALLY busy this winter.
Taste test: Still incredibly sour. Barely any honey character at all, very strong grape smell and finish.

I'm making preparations to mix up a gallon of traditional to mix down into it. In the racking process I lost just about a gallon of the pyment to sludge, so it should fill out nicely to 3gal when it's ready to bottle.
 

Laura_Tallo

NewBee
Registered Member
Aug 24, 2020
23
7
3
Independence, Louisiana
I am working on my first muscadine pyment. I used Lalvin Bourgovin RC 212 wine yeast. I encountered no activity in the airlock, but when I took off the lid to my bucket, the smell of alcohol was incredibly strong. I initiated this on 8/8/2020. Within ten days, the color had turned a cloudy pink, the smell of alcohol lessened and turned sweet. By day 12, the color was burgundy, and it smelled like wine. The smell was sweet. The taste was that of a strong, dry wine. I siphoned some into a quart jar. I poured the contents into two glasses. One I backsweetened with just one (rock) of Belgian light sugar. The other, I back sweetened with a little honey. The one with sugar, the muscadine flavor came back immediately, and it tasted like a dry muscadine wine. However, the one back sweetened with honey, (I did let it sit longer.) was full-bodied, semi-sweet, fruity, and delicious. I suspect at this date, 8/24/2020, that my fermentation is complete, however, we have two hurricanes coming our way. When this happens, we lose power. I decided to rack into two gallon demijohns, and I put them in the refrigerator. I did put airlocks on them. I also froze a gallon of water, and I placed that in the fridge just in case the lights go out, it will keep my pyment lower than room temp. We will see how it goes. I put the airlocks on after I took this pic. Oh, my initial reading was 1.120. My current reading is 1.000. When this storm finishes, I will stop fermentation , and I will work on clearing it. As far as yours, it might sweeten up with just a little honey. It might not take much. Mine didn't.
 

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Laura_Tallo

NewBee
Registered Member
Aug 24, 2020
23
7
3
Independence, Louisiana
Hey guys and gals--

I just moved my batch of muscadine pyment over to the secondary fermentation in a glass carboy, and when I gave it a taste test, it was extremely sour...I mean SOUR.

I know that the end of primary fermentation doesnt exactly provide the best representation of final taste, but I'm wondering if this is normal for muscadines, or if I neglected to add something or other to counteract the acid.

Here's the Recipe:

-~7 Gallon bags, muscadines, frozen, smashed
-~3oz rosehips, dried and crushed.
-~12 lb honey (1 gal)
-Pasteur red star champagne yeast, activated
-Yeast energizer
-Fermax yeast nutrient


26% brix

I smashed the grapes, added water, honey, and rosehips, added campden tablets, and waited until the next day to pitch my hydrated yeast. Oxygenated must by stirring with racking cane twice daily. Racked out of primary fermentation after six days.
Where they the bronze scuppernong variety, or were they purple?
 

edaskew

Got Mead? Patron
GotMead Patron
Jun 19, 2018
375
61
28
North Carolina and Mississippi
What's the ph? Regardless, it will improve with age and it's very young. There's a lot of possible remedies depending on how things go with that pyment. Just go with it as per usual, and we'll see what happens. Worst case scenario, it can be some doggone good brandy.
 
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Laura_Tallo

NewBee
Registered Member
Aug 24, 2020
23
7
3
Independence, Louisiana
I have no idea. I have a wishlist on Amazon. As I learn what I need, I add it to the list. There aren't classes on how to make mead that you can buy. I just get advice from others, and I try to create an action plan. There are some books on Amazon that I want to buy. So, I will wait until payday and treat myself!
 
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