# Foam at end of fermentation



## Stevelaz (Apr 30, 2016)

Im close to the end of my primary fermentation and there is some foaming on top of must. Is that normal? Will that hurt anything? Before i put lid and airlock on there was no foam like that. 

I have 18 gallons in a 30 gallon barrel. I popped lid and air lock on it when sg was a bit over 1.ooo. It is now about 0997-0996 (yesterday). I wanted to wait till it was just about complete before transferring to demijohn. Will prob do that today when i get home. Still have a bit of action in airlock.


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## TonyR (Apr 30, 2016)

Stir the wine to help release some of the traped co2 before you transfer and put it under an airlock


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## PhilDarby (Apr 30, 2016)

To be honest I have no idea whats causing the foaming, but, I would tend to leave it in the container its in, before moving on as you may well get spillage due to foaming, it will settle down eventually what ever the cause is, that would be the best time to transfer to demijohn.


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## salcoco (Apr 30, 2016)

at the sg stated the wine has completed fermentation. foaming and airlock action is CO2 degassing. I would press the must move to secondary. wait three days to have gross lees settle and rack again. perform MLF if desired at this time or sulphite using 1/4 tsp per 5 gallons of KMeta. rack again in three weeks.


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## Stevelaz (Apr 30, 2016)

This is made from Chilean Juice. It must still be fermenting, the sg today is at 0.994-0.993. Im keeping under airlock still in primary barrel. If there is still action in the airlock i should be protected from air. Is that correct? Thanks.


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## richmke (May 1, 2016)

Stevelaz said:


> Im close to the end of my primary fermentation and there is some foaming on top of must. Is that normal?



yes. The co2 produced by fermentation is released, and causes the must to foam. The most amount of foam is usually around day 2 through 4. For some reason, that foam is most "foamy". probably due to the sugar still in the juice giving some type of structure to the foam. This is when you are at the highest likelihood of a blow-off, eruption, volcano, etc.

You will still get foam after day 4, but that foam tends to collapse quickly. If you stir the must to release the co2 gas, you can get a lot of foam.


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## Vinotx (May 2, 2016)

Its probably still fermenting, I would make sure you are having an accurate reading with your hydrometer. The temperature of the wine/must will affect how accurate your measurements are. Most wine hydrometers are meant for either 60 degrees or 68 degrees F. You should have a paper that came with the hydrometer to help you adjust your measurements.


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## Stevelaz (May 2, 2016)

The sg was 0.992-0.993 yesterday so i racked to demijohn and topped up about 2 inches from the bung. Small amount of foam at top and i can see little bubbles going up the glass. I do not remember it doing this last year.


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## vacuumpumpman (May 2, 2016)

Stevelaz said:


> The sg was 0.992-0.993 yesterday so i racked to demijohn and topped up about 2 inches from the bung. Small amount of foam at top and i can see little bubbles going up the glass. I do not remember it doing this last year.



You might be going thru malotic fermentation ?


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## Stevelaz (May 2, 2016)

Thats what i was thinking too...


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## vacuumpumpman (May 3, 2016)

@Stevelaz
My carmenere is going thru that right now on its own. Let it be till its done doing its thing. 

I racked it from the primary into the secondary - I racked it at 1.05

would it hurt doing a transfer to get it off any dead yeast - or do I risk going thru malo ?


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## Stevelaz (May 3, 2016)

Is it bad for it to go thru malo? I thought that would be good for the wine. I considered doing it anyway. When i transferred the other day i gave it a taste and i must admit it was not bad for this point. Last year was terrible at this point.lol


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## vacuumpumpman (May 3, 2016)

Stevelaz said:


> Is it bad for it to go thru malo? I thought that would be good for the wine. I considered doing it anyway. When i transferred the other day i gave it a taste and i must admit it was not bad for this point. Last year was terrible at this point.lol



Malo is definitely a good thing !


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## Stevelaz (May 4, 2016)

Ok, mine must still be fermenting. I Just checked sg and it was a hair above 0.990, id say 0.991 the other day is was at about 0.993. So its been a total of 10 days since i pitched the yeast....


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