# Fermentation stuck?



## Wheelman (Sep 6, 2019)

I have a fermentation of Petite Syrah, Syrah, and Malbec field blend of my own grapes. 

About 6 gallons of must. It has been at 1.004 for 2 days, is it stuck or finished?

I have never had my fermentation stop here, usually it goes to 0 or below. 

Any help, advice, suggestions appreciated


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## salcoco (Sep 6, 2019)

I would go ahead and press . the added oxygen while pressing will charge the yeast to finishing.


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## Wheelman (Sep 6, 2019)

Thanks, I was considering that, but didn't want to end up with a sweet wine. So sounds like I should be good


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## Kozzie (Oct 24, 2020)

Here's my question on stuck fermentation. On 10/3, I took 50 lbs of frozen red grapes, St. Croix, Marquette - three years worth, mashed the grapes and followed EC Kraus' recipe for medium body Concord wine. SG was 1.12, Acid 5.5. Added pectin enzyme, yeast nutrient, wine tannin, camden table. 10/5 added sprinkled 71B yeast. Starting 10/6 - 10/10 I had great fermentation, stirred 3x a day to push cap down, looked good. On 10/11, there was no bubbling, so I removed and pressed the grapes and added 1 gal of water to get it back up to 5 gals. Good flavor and the S.G was 1.01. Since then, there's been zero fermentation, I've wire whipped it and moved it next to the stove to get up to 73 degrees. On 10/17, with still no bubbling, I followed instructions for a stuck fermentation and added 2.5 tsp yeast energerizer. It's now 10/24 and still nothing. SG is 1.01. What should be my next step? Any advise would be great appreciated!

I should also add on 10/11 I racked from the 5 gal bucket to a carboy.


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## sour_grapes (Oct 24, 2020)

May I ask how your original SG go up to 1.120? That is VERY high for the grapes you are speaking of. 

Is it at all sweet right now?


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## Kozzie (Oct 24, 2020)

The EC Kraus recipe had me add 6.5 lbs of sugar! And yes, still a bit sweet, good flavor.


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## Bossbaby (Oct 24, 2020)

sounds like its done.


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## sour_grapes (Oct 24, 2020)

If you wish to get this to complete, try making a starter. Follow these directions: Using Yeast Starters For Improved Fermentation


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## Kozzie (Oct 24, 2020)

sour_grapes said:


> If you wish to get this to complete, try making a starter. Follow these directions: Using Yeast Starters For Improved Fermentation


I do! I was thinking it fermented so hard and fast with the must cap, that it might have exhausted the yeast when I pressed the grapes and racked it.


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## salcoco (Oct 25, 2020)

an additional method is make yeast starter as suggested using EC1118 yeast. ounce starter is foaming well take one cup of juice and add to starter, once it is foaming add two cups, continue to double the volume each time the fermentation restarts until all in.


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## stickman (Oct 25, 2020)

@Kozzie Based on Fermcalc the ABV is already around 15%, so 71B is likely out of the game as expected. A restart may be difficult, but possible if care is taken to follow procedures indicated by others above.


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## Kozzie (Oct 25, 2020)

Sounds good, all ! Should I rack it before I add the starter to get it off the lees on the bottom?


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## Kozzie (Nov 5, 2020)

An update. I made a yeast starter with EC1118 and thought I'd use a pint of the must along with the sugar and yeast nutrient. Well that didn't work at all - totally dead. I had to leave it sit while I was out of town. Last night I racked it off the lees and the SG is exactly 1.00 and I added a gallon of water to pump up the volume. Then I took another packet of yeast EC1118 and added 16 oz of Welch's apple concentrate with no preservative along with yeast nutrient and sugar. I did add a little water. The fermentation started quickly and tonight, I did as Salcoco suggested. I put the yeast starter into a gallon jug and added a cup of wine must. Fingers crossed that this works.

All thoughts and ideas welcomed!


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## Kozzie (Jan 3, 2021)

Since my last post (11/5), I've just let it sit and it's still at 1.0. It's not tasting all that great. Since I've tried two different yeast starters that didn't work, should I call it a fail and toss it or is there something else I can try? Your comments/thoughts have been and continue to be most welcome! Happy New Year!


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## hounddawg (Jan 3, 2021)

did you max out your ABV, if nothing else i'd bulk age it for a year,
Dawg


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## VinesnBines (Jan 4, 2021)

You have several options other than dumping.
1. You can let it age and do nothing more than add K-meta every three months - minimal cost.
2. You can oak it and let it age - little more cost.
3. If if did not go through malolactic fermentation, you can try that though pricy for 5 gallons.
4. Since you were about 30 lbs short of the recommend poundage for 5 gallons and have added at least a gallon of water, you have a thin, fairly sweet wine, you could either add some concentrate and try to referment or make another batch of something and blend.
Example: Get a cheap kit of concentrate (Amazon has Fontana, Wild Grapes or Wine Lovers for $60) and either add to the 5 gallons and make 10 gallons or just make the 6 gallon kit to 5 gallons and blend to age (result will be 10 gallons).

If it was mine I would do either # 2 or # 4.; if I did # 4, I might consider # 3 to finish.


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## winemaker81 (Jan 5, 2021)

@Kozzie, I agree with @VinesnBines -- you started with a low amount of fruit and later diluted it by 40%. At this point you have alcoholic Kool-Aid, and SG is 1.000 in part due to the high amount of water (which has an SG of 1.000). If the wine is sweet, I'd expect it to continue fermentation, but yeast is a living organism and other things in the environment may have stunted it.

I'd go with Option #4. Given the amount of dilution, I don't expect you'll be happy with other options. My suggestion:

Buy a 6 liter kit, doesn't matter what brand. The kit should be diluted to 6 gallons, meaning you need to add ~4.5 gallons of water. However, you've already added 2 gallons of water and started with low fruit, so let's call that another gallon, e.g., treat it as having 3 gallons of water added. So in addition to your existing wine, you only need 1.5 gallons of water.

If you dilute the kit to it's normal level and then mix with your diluted wine, the result will be diluted -- not as much as the original, but at a point you may not like.

Mix the concentrate bag into your existing wine, add 1.5 gallons of water, stir well, and taste it. It's gonna be sweet as it's full of unfermented concentrate, but the overall richness of flavor should be much improved. Add the yeast that came with the kit, and put the wine some place warm, 75 to 80 F. I've had fermentation stick when at somewhat lower temperatures (67 F) that restarted when warmed up.

I don't have a clue what the SG should be -- my best guess is in the 1.050 to 1.060 range.

If anyone has adjustments on this, please chime in.

Couple of points:

_Very few_ grape wines need added water. Grapes are used for wine as they are a complete package, with all constituents in the skin. In some cases the balance isn't optimal for wine, so we adjust, typically sugar and acid. _Rarely_ water. Other fruits and vegetables do not have the proper water content, so adding water is required. Kits are concentrated, so the added water dilutes them to the correct level.

Once a must is set and the SG is in the correct range (typically 1.070 to 1.100), _do not add water_. Kit instructions say to add water to topup -- do this only as an absolutely last resort. Once you add water, removal is not an option.

Ok, adding 1 to 2 cups to a 5 gallon carboy doesn't have much effect. However, adding 1 gallon (20%) will impact the wine. When necessary, top up with a similar or complementary wine whose quality is at or above the wine you're topping up.


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## VinesnBines (Jan 5, 2021)

I like winemaker81's plan. If you grew the grapes you don't want to throw out your efforts; this is a reasonable plan. It should turn out nicely. 

I suggest you try a Pinot Noir kit since Marquette is a grandchild of Pinot Noir. The next choice would be the old standby Cab Sav. The Cab will give you a dry, dark berry flavor that will blend nicely with both the Marquette and St. Croix grapes. I think either choice will be a success.
Either way you can buy a commercial wine to top up if you don't have enough for a full carboy. Or if you have extra from the new ferment, save the extra in an smaller container to use to top up.

Let us know what you decide.


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## Kozzie (Jan 5, 2021)

VinesnBines said:


> You have several options other than dumping.
> 1. You can let it age and do nothing more than add K-meta every three months - minimal cost.
> 2. You can oak it and let it age - little more cost.
> 3. If if did not go through malolactic fermentation, you can try that though pricy for 5 gallons.
> ...


I like this a lot! I will do 4.


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## Kozzie (Jan 5, 2021)

winemaker81 said:


> @Kozzie, I agree with @VinesnBines -- you started with a low amount of fruit and later diluted it by 40%. At this point you have alcoholic Kool-Aid, and SG is 1.000 in part due to the high amount of water (which has an SG of 1.000). If the wine is sweet, I'd expect it to continue fermentation, but yeast is a living organism and other things in the environment may have stunted it.
> 
> I'd go with Option #4. Given the amount of dilution, I don't expect you'll be happy with other options. My suggestion:
> 
> ...


Yes, excellent points. Amazing advice. Will do


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## Kozzie (Jan 5, 2021)

VinesnBines said:


> I like winemaker81's plan. If you grew the grapes you don't want to throw out your efforts; this is a reasonable plan. It should turn out nicely.
> 
> I suggest you try a Pinot Noir kit since Marquette is a grandchild of Pinot Noir. The next choice would be the old standby Cab Sav. The Cab will give you a dry, dark berry flavor that will blend nicely with both the Marquette and St. Croix grapes. I think either choice will be a success.
> Either way you can buy a commercial wine to top up if you don't have enough for a full carboy. Or if you have extra from the new ferment, save the extra in an smaller container to use to top up.
> ...


Good idea. I would not have known what kit to buy and what you've suggested makes sense for the Pinot Noir. Now I'm excited to try this. It was making me sick to think I would have to throw it out. Now I have a plan. Stay tuned everyone!


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## Kozzie (Jan 31, 2021)

@WineMaker


winemaker81 said:


> @Kozzie, I agree with @VinesnBines -- you started with a low amount of fruit and later diluted it by 40%. At this point you have alcoholic Kool-Aid, and SG is 1.000 in part due to the high amount of water (which has an SG of 1.000). If the wine is sweet, I'd expect it to continue fermentation, but yeast is a living organism and other things in the environment may have stunted it.
> 
> I'd go with Option #4. Given the amount of dilution, I don't expect you'll be happy with other options. My suggestion:
> 
> ...



@winemaker81 - Got the kit wine and I'm ready to go! Fingers crossed!


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## Kozzie (Jan 31, 2021)

@winemaker81 - I used ABC crafted series Cabernet Sauvignon - medium-bodied from Amazon - I think it's a Canadian brand. I followed the instructions, starting with 3/4 gal of my wine juice, then adding bentonite and then the concentrate followed by more of my wine juice. I actually had ~4 gal of juice, so I only had to add another 12 cups of water to get to 6 gallons. Stirred it and tested s.g. and got 1.086. Which is somewhat in the low range of their targeted range of 1.08 to 1.11, but higher than your estimate. Then added the yeast and put it by the woodstove. I did taste it and yes it was sweet but tasty. Now we wait. Stay tuned and thanks again for everyone's thoughts and comments.


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## winemaker81 (Jan 31, 2021)

@Kozzie, my math may have been off. It I was right, your ABV may be a bit higher. But the result is pleasing? Call it a win!


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## Kozzie (Feb 25, 2021)

@winemaker81 - I may have been too optimistic and of course hindsight being perfect, I never should have added all +3 gallons of my existing wine to the new Cab Sav mix. I think I should have only done maybe 1.5. Fermentation has been stuck at 1.06 for two plus weeks now. I only had a couple of days of bubbling and then nothing. Sunday I gave it a good stir and added Yeast energizer - nothing. Now I'm thinking I should just pitch a packet of EC-1118 and the energizer again. Anybody have thoughts.


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## winemanden (Feb 25, 2021)

Rack it to a carboy,let it sit. Time and patience often work wonders.


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## winemaker81 (Feb 25, 2021)

Kozzie said:


> Fermentation has been stuck at 1.06 for two plus weeks now.


Is the SG 1.006 or 1.060? I'm guessing the latter. [Always use 3 digits to the right of the decimal to ensure no confusion.]

Adding EC-1118 can't hurt, and it guarantees you've got a high potency yeast. SG before fermentation and after fermentation are clear cut. In the middle? The mixture of sugar and alcohol produce inconsistent results, so it's possible the current ABV is higher than expected. 

Otherwise, I agree with @winemanden -- rack to a carboy and ignore it for a while. Check the airlock at least once a week, but let it do its thing.


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## cmason1957 (Feb 25, 2021)

If the SG is 1.006, then you probably won't get it restarted just by pitching a packet or EC-1118 or anything else into the mix. You may have to resort to making a huge (two, three, maybe four packages) of yeast, with the appropriate amount of water and let it really get bubbling, then add about one or two cups of your must to that, let it get bubbling, wait 20 minutes, add twice the amount you added before (so two or four cups maybe), let it get bubbling, wait 20 minutes, repeat. You probably don't want to add any yest nutrients to this case, but I would add GoFerm to help the yeast out as much as possible.

If the SG is really 1.060, then I would do the first step, maybe with just one packet, but let it get going good and then pitch it into your must/wine.
In this case you could also add some yeast nutrients to the must/wine.


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## Kozzie (Feb 27, 2021)

winemaker81 said:


> Is the SG 1.006 or 1.060? I'm guessing the latter. [Always use 3 digits to the right of the decimal to ensure no confusion.]
> 
> Adding EC-1118 can't hurt, and it guarantees you've got a high potency yeast. SG before fermentation and after fermentation are clear cut. In the middle? The mixture of sugar and alcohol produce inconsistent results, so it's possible the current ABV is higher than expected.
> 
> Otherwise, I agree with @winemanden -- rack to a carboy and ignore it for a while. Check the airlock at least once a week, but let it do its thing.


Yes, sorry 1.060.


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## winemaker81 (Feb 28, 2021)

@Kozzie, I'd activate a package of EC-1118 and add nutrient as @cmason1957 suggested. If nothing happens after 72 hours in a warm place, move to a carboy and leave it alone. Watch it on a daily basis, in case Dionysus decides to prank you and kick the fermentation into high gear. But don't mess with it or bother checking SG for at least a month, unless the airlock starts bubbling.


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## Kozzie (Mar 11, 2021)

cmason1957 said:


> If the SG is 1.006, then you probably won't get it restarted just by pitching a packet or EC-1118 or anything else into the mix. You may have to resort to making a huge (two, three, maybe four packages) of yeast, with the appropriate amount of water and let it really get bubbling, then add about one or two cups of your must to that, let it get bubbling, wait 20 minutes, add twice the amount you added before (so two or four cups maybe), let it get bubbling, wait 20 minutes, repeat. You probably don't want to add any yest nutrients to this case, but I would add GoFerm to help the yeast out as much as possible.
> 
> If the SG is really 1.060, then I would do the first step, maybe with just one packet, but let it get going good and then pitch it into your must/wine.
> In this case you could also add some yeast nutrients to the must/wine.


Tomorrow I should be getting the GoFerm and EC-1118. I am thinking I'll try three packages. Is there anyplace I can look to read about using GoFerm and how much water to add to get this going. Looking forward to trying this. And yes, the SG is 1.060.


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## cmason1957 (Mar 12, 2021)

Kozzie said:


> Tomorrow I should be getting the GoFerm and EC-1118. I am thinking I'll try three packages. Is there anyplace I can look to read about using GoFerm and how much water to add to get this going. Looking forward to trying this. And yes, the SG is 1.060.



I think Scott labs, in their fermentation handbook offers instructions on how to restart stuck ferments. You can find that on their website and download it. It's good reference material, even if that isn't where I read about restarting ferments.


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## Kozzie (Mar 18, 2021)

Update, tonight is the night. Real time! Added18 grams of Go Ferm to 12 oz water (heated to 110) stirred, let sit for 15-30 minutes. Added 15 grams of EC-1118 (3 packets) and let sit another 15-30 minutes. Added 12 ounces must and again let sit for 30 minutes. The yeast was bubbling, but not super hard. Added 4 ounces must and am letting that sit again for 30 minutes. So in 20 minutes we'll see what's happening.


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## Kozzie (Apr 5, 2021)

An update. I've let it sit in the primary fermenter since my last post. No action whatsoever. Yesterday 4/4, I took a reading at it is still at 1.060. I then racked it off the lees into the carboy and will do as Winemaker81 suggested and let it sit for a month. Thanks everyone!


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## Kozzie (Jul 1, 2021)

Another update - since my post of 4/4, it's been sitting in a carboy. And I have to clarify something as Winemaker81 asked earlier which did I mean for the SG - 1.060 or 1.006? I mistakenly said 1060. It is reading 1.006 - it is 3 line marks above 1.000 and 2 line marks below 1.010. So that's been stuck at 1.006 since April. Do I still need to get it to 1.000? If so, do I follow what CMason1957 suggested again? Many thanks for your help!


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## winemaker81 (Jul 1, 2021)

This is a Cabernet Sauvignon? If so, unless you like sweetish reds, you want to restart the fermentation. Follow @cmason1957's advice.


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## Kozzie (Jul 1, 2021)

winemaker81 said:


> This is a Cabernet Sauvignon? If so, unless you like sweetish reds, you want to restart the fermentation. Follow @cmason1957's advice.


Yes, I started it with my own grape must, screwed up the sugar by adding too much, and then bought and added a Cab Sav must. I will try to restart again. I just can't figure this out....


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