Hi all,

Just got started making my first batch of Elderberry. Picked berries
last summer, froze, destemmed to best of my abilities, and followed
the less fruity recipe on Jack's website.

Since Elderberry isn't that sweet, it took just about what the recipe
called for, 2.5 lbs sugar per gal to get to result of 1.090. I
started the must last sunday and added yeast by monday night.

Everything was clean, sterilized, measured, water boiled, yada yada
yada.

Tonight (sat) I check SG, down to 1.04, pulled out the fruit and did
last stir. Will rack to secondary in one more day.

The recipe says to primary ferment 14 days, which i think is way too
long, especially with my SG the way it is going...

Here's the question....

There's a bunch of sticky gooey muck, unlike any other wine I have
made. It has the consistency of rubber cement, and will roll into
balls if your fingers are wet. The color, well, you'll see. Please
look at these pictures and see what you think it may be.

The interesting thing is that I used two fine straining bags to hold
the fruit, but only one seemed to collect this sticky muck.

What is it?

Will it hurt the finished wine?

http://www.webhosting4free.org/middl...ooinbucket.jpg


http://www.webhosting4free.org/middl...sidebyside.jpg

Thanks,
Greg, Erie, PA

The voices in the head of Hoss caused Hoss to write in
:

Will it hurt the finished wine?

http://www.webhosting4free.org/middl...ooinbucket.jpg

Man, that's gross - it looks like a bomb went off in an abortion clinic!


--
This sig free text brought to you by the letters s, i & g

Don't know what it is, but it commonly occurs with elderberry. Just wait
until you try to clean the fermenter! The wine should be fine.
Steve
"Hoss" wrote in message
...
Hi all,

Just got started making my first batch of Elderberry. Picked berries
last summer, froze, destemmed to best of my abilities, and followed
the less fruity recipe on Jack's website.

Since Elderberry isn't that sweet, it took just about what the recipe
called for, 2.5 lbs sugar per gal to get to result of 1.090. I
started the must last sunday and added yeast by monday night.

Everything was clean, sterilized, measured, water boiled, yada yada
yada.

Tonight (sat) I check SG, down to 1.04, pulled out the fruit and did
last stir. Will rack to secondary in one more day.

The recipe says to primary ferment 14 days, which i think is way too
long, especially with my SG the way it is going...

Here's the question....

There's a bunch of sticky gooey muck, unlike any other wine I have
made. It has the consistency of rubber cement, and will roll into
balls if your fingers are wet. The color, well, you'll see. Please
look at these pictures and see what you think it may be.

The interesting thing is that I used two fine straining bags to hold
the fruit, but only one seemed to collect this sticky muck.

What is it?

Will it hurt the finished wine?

http://www.webhosting4free.org/middl...ooinbucket.jpg


http://www.webhosting4free.org/middl...sidebyside.jpg

Thanks,
Greg, Erie, PA

Greg, the problem you are experiencing is the infamous "elderberry
goo." The riper the berries, the less goo there will be.

Clean-up can be really frustrating or really simple. Use any
commercial cleanser and you will be frustrated. Use plain old
vegetable oil and the stuff comes right off. Then you have to use
really hot water and a degreaser to get the vegetable oil off, but that
is easier than the mess you will have with a commercial cleanser.

When you rack, the goo will be left behind. If any transfers into
secondary, it will be very minor and you can clean it later.

Good luck, and good wine.

Jack Keller, The Winemaking Home Page
http://winemaking.jackkeller.net/

Thanks for the help and the cleanup trick Jack, and all.

I'm glad I posted this to ease the worries and the frustration of
cleanup.

Greg

On 13 Mar 2005 06:16:14 -0800, "Jack Keller"
wrote:

Greg, the problem you are experiencing is the infamous "elderberry
goo." The riper the berries, the less goo there will be.

Clean-up can be really frustrating or really simple. Use any
commercial cleanser and you will be frustrated. Use plain old
vegetable oil and the stuff comes right off. Then you have to use
really hot water and a degreaser to get the vegetable oil off, but that
is easier than the mess you will have with a commercial cleanser.

When you rack, the goo will be left behind. If any transfers into
secondary, it will be very minor and you can clean it later.

Good luck, and good wine.

Jack Keller, The Winemaking Home Page
http://winemaking.jackkeller.net/

Gregory

Your Elderberries were picked to green, you have to wait until the
stems are purple black almost back to the main plant and you will have no
green sticky goody muck at all. You will have to freeze berries to get
them off of main stem because the berries will be ripe,big, & juicy. don't
worry about the little stem that hold's the berry if they are deep purple
put in bag and heat up and squeeze out juice. I use a paint strainer bag.
Your wine will be your best ever.



"Hoss" wrote in message
...
Hi all,

Just got started making my first batch of Elderberry. Picked berries
last summer, froze, destemmed to best of my abilities, and followed
the less fruity recipe on Jack's website.

Since Elderberry isn't that sweet, it took just about what the recipe
called for, 2.5 lbs sugar per gal to get to result of 1.090. I
started the must last sunday and added yeast by monday night.

Everything was clean, sterilized, measured, water boiled, yada yada
yada.

Tonight (sat) I check SG, down to 1.04, pulled out the fruit and did
last stir. Will rack to secondary in one more day.

The recipe says to primary ferment 14 days, which i think is way too
long, especially with my SG the way it is going...

Here's the question....

There's a bunch of sticky gooey muck, unlike any other wine I have
made. It has the consistency of rubber cement, and will roll into
balls if your fingers are wet. The color, well, you'll see. Please
look at these pictures and see what you think it may be.

The interesting thing is that I used two fine straining bags to hold
the fruit, but only one seemed to collect this sticky muck.

What is it?

Will it hurt the finished wine?

http://www.webhosting4free.org/middl...ooinbucket.jpg


http://www.webhosting4free.org/middl...sidebyside.jpg

Thanks,
Greg, Erie, PA