# stop fermentation



## rich47 (Dec 17, 2012)

Hi, over the last 20 years I have tried many ways to stop my wine at a slightly sweet, fruity level. Tablets and additives all add a disagreeable taste, to me. Back sweetening just restarts.
I have tried heating,(tastes carmelized) cooling (doesn't work), and many varieties of yeast, to no avail.

My question is: can I add 80 proof vodka [which I have gallons of) to kill the yeast?

I don't mind the extra alcohol, and it shouldn't add a flavor.

Has anyone tried this? I would like to add before filtering, I assume, to let marry and settle out. Any thoughts about how much vodka per gallon wine?

As you probably can tell, I am more of a box (gasp) wine fan than fine wine snob. Thanks.


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## TonyP (Dec 17, 2012)

Rich, welcome to the forum. Most wine makers responding to posts will tell you questions become repetitive. Yours, though, is one I haven't seen before. 

Clearly, most (non-fortified) yeasts used in wine making will die when alcohol levels reach 10-11%, so in theory it will work. One problem I see though is that you'd need approx. 1 gallon of vodka (depending on alcohol content of the wine when you add vodka) to produce sufficient alcohol content to kill the yeast. (I'd be interested in your computation.) This seems extreme and I believe it would dilute the wine.

By the way, though, I don't believe you'd need much "extra alcohol" because you can stop at 11%.


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## GreginND (Dec 17, 2012)

The more concentrated the alcohol, the better to avoid dilution. If you can get yourself some 190 proof everclear, that would be better than 80 proof vodka. Brandy is more dilute but can also add a lot of flavor - think port.

That being said, this is no longer "wine" it is fortified wine. The extra alcohol may be out of balance with the sugar and acid levels. You may have to experiment.

All that being said, the best way to make a sweet wine is to ferment dry then let it age and clear. Use a minimum amount of potassium sorbate and sulfites to prevent yeast from reproducing and then add sugar to backsweeten. It should not referment and you shouldn't taste the sorbate if it is at the right level.


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## hobbyiswine (Dec 17, 2012)

Adding vodka or everclear or any other alcohol WILL change the flavor. Pour a glass of wine and add a shot and taste the difference. If you want a fortified wine then go for it but if you want something slightly sweet and fruity you might be better of fermenting it dry then backsweetening. There are lots of suggestions of how to do that here on the forums. You will need to add sorbate and metabisulphite to keep it from restarting fermentation. Welcome to the forum!


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## RegionRat (Dec 17, 2012)

I read in another forum about Stove-Top Pasteurizing.


http://www.homebrewtalk.com/f32/easy-stove-top-pasteurizing-pics-193295/


RR


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## rich47 (Dec 17, 2012)

*vodka ferm stop*

Wow, thanks for the quick responses. I realise that everclear would dilute it less, but as I have many gallons of vodka, thats what I will try.
I should have mentioned the qty of wine, this time only had 10 gallons.
I was looking for a RATIO of wine to vodka to kill it. I may have to experiment with different amounts/ qt . 
Fortified wine I can drink, additives make my tongue "furry" even if use sparingly or aged for years, and I just can't drink it. Like diet soda.

I will look into pasturizing, maybe I need gentler heat. I tend to be impatient.

thanks


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## RegionRat (Dec 17, 2012)

rich47 said:


> Wow, thanks for the quick responses. I realise that everclear would dilute it less, but as I have many gallons of vodka, thats what I will try.
> I should have mentioned the qty of wine, this time only had 10 gallons.
> I was looking for a RATIO of wine to vodka to kill it. I may have to experiment with different amounts/ qt .
> Fortified wine I can drink, additives make my tongue "furry" even if use sparingly or aged for years, and I just can't drink it. Like diet soda.
> ...


 

I am trying to achieve a semi-sweet, carbonated, clear, hard cider with ABV 7-8%. I will not get to much into the things I have tried or am going to try. I dont want to get off course of your question too much. 

I have been studying up on cider. Some mills that press apples flash pasteurize it up to 140deg for 10 sec then chill it. Others rely on chemistry. I have yet to try the method I posted for you but I am planing on a batch in the near future. I have other things I am doing first.When I achieve the results I am looking for I will be sure to post.


Found this also


RR


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## offdagrid (Dec 17, 2012)

I like my wine on the sweet side and I never back sweeten, I add more sugar up front so that the yeast burns itself out before going dry.


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## jensmith (Dec 18, 2012)

Make it easy. Just keep feeding your wine must suger untill the yeast dies off. If high abv and is not a problem this is the easyiest way to go. Some yeast have a tolerence of 13% others 18%. Just keep adding suger untill it stops fermenting. You will end up with a sweet wine and dead yeast. Then age it and add more suger to taste. Safe, easy, and fun!
If this is finished wine you have there is a math formula on here somewhere that can help you. I am not so good with the math so I would have to do it out long hand. 3 parts 10% wine to 1 part 40% vodca would give you 17.5%. Just add the % together and devide by how many parts. Basicaly average it out.


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## rjb222 (Dec 18, 2012)

Ok here are a couple points on what you want and sugesstions made. Wine is about balance if you are going to fortify you will need a wine that can take on the extra alcohol to remain in balance. Chapilization the feeding of sugar also your wine will need extra flavor body etc to remain in balance, Adding alcohol of any kind adds it's own flavor to your wine.Stopping a fermentation using any of the above mentioned practices will be impossible or scald the wine causing off flavors.There is only one true way to stop a ferment and that is bring the temperature down close to freezing and this needs to be done quickly as a slow drop will stress the yeast again changing or adding flavors, You then need to filter cold with filer called an absolute filer that is size specific to the yeast I am not sure of the micron needed but it is small. If you ferment to dry you then could add in this order 1/4 tsp K-Meta per 5 gallons of wine, stir this into your wine then use 1 1/2 tsp fresh potassium sorbate you need fresh additives to be successful additives that are over 1 year old loose half their power and you need to add more therefore add more of their flavors to your wine. In short what you want to do is very hard for the home brewer to achieve it can be done but there is no short cut and always a risk of re fermentation after.


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## JohnT (Dec 18, 2012)

This is a topic that seems to keep comming up. 

My advice is to use stong brandy. Brandy is made by distilling wine and I find adds to and improves flavor. You will not get this with vodka or grain alcohol.


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## SBWs (Dec 18, 2012)

Rich47 read up on Pearson's square. That is one way to figure out how much vodka you would need. Running the figures through my head on using 80 proof vodka (40% abv) and a wine at 10% abv you would need one gallon of vodka to two gallons of wine to reach a abv of 20%. 20% should kill most yeast, notice I said should and not will. 

40% --------- 10

--------20%-----------had to use the dashes to make the square

10% ---------20 

So for every 10 parts vodka you would need 20 parts of wine. Or a 1 to 2 ratio. That's a lot of vodka, now if your wine has a higher abv then the amount needed will be a little lower, I used these numbers because it comes out 1 to 2 ratio which is a little easier to understand. Do google pearson's square it's a very useful tool in wine making when it comes to blending.


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## rich47 (Dec 19, 2012)

*stop ferm update*

In the past I HAVE tried to keep adding sugar to reach the yeasts limit, but end up with a thin, hot to tongue, lighter fluid..not wine.

Now I started with 6 gallons of grape wine, at a semi sweet stage,added 1 gallon of 80 proof vodka. Tasted good. 24 hrs later, still working,tastes thin,but drinkable.Added another qt vodka. 

I think this is a dead end. Believe this is a super yeast I got from canada back when I was mainly concerned with speed [ I know!] and high alc. I used to use a heating pad and blanket and you could watch it eat sgar and pee alcohol..nasty stuff but it did the job.

I guess I'll look around for a yeast that isn't so strong, or take a chance on the natural stuff on my grapes.

let you know,rich


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## millwright01 (Dec 19, 2012)

rich47 said:


> Hi, over the last 20 years I have tried many ways to stop my wine at a slightly sweet, fruity level. Tablets and additives all add a disagreeable taste, to me. Back sweetening just restarts.
> I have tried heating,(tastes carmelized) cooling (doesn't work), and many varieties of yeast, to no avail.
> 
> My question is: can I add 80 proof vodka [which I have gallons of) to kill the yeast?
> ...



I have backsweetened a few different wines now. If properly stabilized it should not restart and I have never noticed a flavor change. Did you use proper amounts of sorbate and meta when you stabilized? I think adding the alcohol will affect the balance and flavor more than you think.


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## Pumpkinman (Dec 19, 2012)

Rich, if you are using one of those Super Yeasts made for beer, you will want to change it for a lower alcohol tolerant yeast. Here is a link to a bunch of yeasts:
http://winemakermag.com/guide/yeast


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## rich47 (Dec 22, 2012)

*yeast*

I have been using lalvin EC-1118. Must be left over from years ago when I made sparkling wine. Thanks for the info.


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## Pumpkinman (Dec 22, 2012)

No problems.


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