Blueberry 2008 in the carboy

Well, the blueberry fermentation is finally complete. Seems like it took forever to ferment to dryness (it has actually been 34 days). I'm actually not entirely sure if it had completely stopped fermenting. I could see a very slow, but steady evolution of tiny bubbles that led to a bubble in the airlock about every 2-3 minutes. However, the brix level had remained steady over 3 days at Brix = -1.5. I double check with a hydrometer and found that the SG = 0.995, which is considered dry. So I decided to rack last Thursday (3/18/08) and treat with an extra heavy dose of sulfites. Given how long the fermentation took, I'm wondering if I should increase my yeast nutrient dose? I've never had fermentations last this long...

After racking, I filled a 3 gal carboy and a 1.5L bottle (picture to the right). What a lovely, deep, deep, dark purple color! The taste is actually pretty good, as well. Still rather sharp from the dissolved CO2, but some nice dark fruit flavors and good mouthfeel. I think I'm going to need to add some more tartaric acid after it clears, but we'll wait and see.

Let the clearing begin!

Salute,
A Wine Student

Blueberry 2008 prior posts:
Initial Mix
Yeast Addition and Oxi-Clean
Pressing Blues