Weird Cap And Solids In Rhubarb Wine.
 

I've been following Jack Keller's recipe for Rhubarb wine.
The basic procedure is: Mash rhubarb, put in straining bag in primary. Pour on water, set 3 days stirring each day.
Strain juice back into primary. Add precipitated chalk. Wait a few hours. Add other ingredients including yeast.
Leave over night. Transfer into secondary.

That is the point I have got to. When I strained the juice, it was just juice. After adding the chalk and subsequently
sugar, yeast, nutrients and lemon juice, it's a different story. A brain-like cap formed in the primary over night.
When I came to transfer to secondary I thought "If I throw it away no doubt I'll be throwing away lots of active stuff."
So I stirred it back in and transferred.

Now in the secondary, after a few stirrings, the cap has broken down and fallen to the bottom where there is now 2 or 3
inches I think of these heavy flakes. I never got this sort of substance when I have started other fruit wines and
certainly not this quantity.

Is it the chalk binding with the other ingredients that caused these solids?

Keller doesn't say of course "You'll think your wine has giant dandruff." I'm sure he's guessing I've seen similar
before but I haven't :)

Here's an image of the scale of settling I have after just 48 hours:
http://img56.imageshack.us/my.php?im...1smlsmlnb0.jpg

Weird Cap And Solids In Rhubarb Wine.
 

Jim,
We can wait and see if Jack responds...but I have made rhubarb wine a number
of times and used precipitated chalk. The last batch I had was a bit
different, more cloudy. After I racked it and let it sit, there was a bunch
of white stuff at the bottom. At first I was concerned and then I thought,
hey, it was much cloudier this time around, I'll bet that's the excess chalk
dropping out. Anyway, I racked the clear wine off the lees and the wine
seems fine. Your wine is young, so I wouldn't give up on it. Rack it and
wait and see.
Darlene

"jim" > wrote in message
...
> I've been following Jack Keller's recipe for Rhubarb wine.
> The basic procedure is: Mash rhubarb, put in straining bag in primary.
> Pour on water, set 3 days stirring each day. Strain juice back into
> primary. Add precipitated chalk. Wait a few hours. Add other
> ingredients including yeast. Leave over night. Transfer into secondary.
>
> That is the point I have got to. When I strained the juice, it was just
> juice. After adding the chalk and subsequently sugar, yeast, nutrients
> and lemon juice, it's a different story. A brain-like cap formed in the
> primary over night. When I came to transfer to secondary I thought "If I
> throw it away no doubt I'll be throwing away lots of active stuff." So I
> stirred it back in and transferred.
>
> Now in the secondary, after a few stirrings, the cap has broken down and
> fallen to the bottom where there is now 2 or 3 inches I think of these
> heavy flakes. I never got this sort of substance when I have started
> other fruit wines and certainly not this quantity.
>
> Is it the chalk binding with the other ingredients that caused these
> solids?
>
> Keller doesn't say of course "You'll think your wine has giant dandruff."
> I'm sure he's guessing I've seen similar before but I haven't :)
>
> Here's an image of the scale of settling I have after just 48 hours:
> http://img56.imageshack.us/my.php?im...1smlsmlnb0.jpg
>