Different plums ferment differently ?

[Fruit]

Recently I asked some questions as I have problems with my first ever plum wines. Wines, not wine because I made couple different ones.
Yesterday I removed fruit remains from 5 tanks and this is what I noticed:
Dark blue-purple skin plums (King Billy) fermented no problems. Yellow skin and yellow flesh Plum Luisa (https://leafland.co.nz/trees/prunus-salicina-luisa/) did not ferment well.
I made 2x30 liters tanks with Luisa and one tank of mixed King Billy+Luisa and this one also did not ferment too well.
I am not even sure what to expect, no idea if wines made with Plum Luisa will be drinkable, as SG reads 1.15-1.25 (depends which wine/tank).
So my observation is pretty clear: Plum Luisa (huge, wonderful fruits to eat, btw) did not ferment well.
Other than different variety, all other factors were pretty much same.
Why Luisa did not ferment well ?
Perhaps Luisa needs lot more pectin enzyme ?

All that wines will be transferred to beer keg and to carboys today (from primary ferm. tanks) and I will keep checking SG on "Luisa Wine" from time to time but I am afraid about this one :-(

Can anyone bring some light on what happened ?

 

[Ohio Bob]

Recently I asked some questions as I have problems with my first ever plum wines. Wines, not wine because I made couple different ones.
Yesterday I removed fruit remains from 5 tanks and this is what I noticed:
Dark blue-purple skin plums (King Billy) fermented no problems. Yellow skin and yellow flesh Plum Luisa (https://leafland.co.nz/trees/prunus-salicina-luisa/) did not ferment well.
I made 2x30 liters tanks with Luisa and one tank of mixed King Billy+Luisa and this one also did not ferment too well.
I am not even sure what to expect, no idea if wines made with Plum Luisa will be drinkable, as SG reads 1.15-1.25 (depends which wine/tank).
So my observation is pretty clear: Plum Luisa (huge, wonderful fruits to eat, btw) did not ferment well.
Other than different variety, all other factors were pretty much same.
Why Luisa did not ferment well ?
Perhaps Luisa needs lot more pectin enzyme ?

All that wines will be transferred to beer keg and to carboys today (from primary ferm. tanks) and I will keep checking SG on "Luisa Wine" from time to time but I am afraid about this one :-(

Can anyone bring some light on what happened ?

Your sugar levels are higher than typical (1.090). If coupled with high acid, low pH, could be one reason. I wouldn’t think insufficient pectin enzyme would cause the ferment to stall, just would cause haze in the wine. How long has it been since you pitched the yeast? Did you use a starter?

 

[Fruit]

I pitched the yeast on Febr 11th, so 3 weeks ago.
I do not know what is "starter".
I used EC-1118, just spilled it on top of must (no re-hydrating).
All together I made 10 tanks of plums wine and only that 3 tanks are problematic (2 tanks of Plum Luisa only plus one tank of mix King Billy and Plum Luisa).
Week ago I moved couple liters from better fermenting Luisa plum wine (at least some lazy bubbles were present there) to stalled one, it seems no improvement.

 

[Ohio Bob]

EC-1118 can ferment anything, so that’s not a problem as long as the yeast wasn’t expired, or stored improperly, etc. I assume 1 packet per tank?

A starter is a mix of water, tablespoon of sugar, and nutrients (Edit - and yeast). Let sit for 12-24 hours, slowly pour into the must without stirring. The starter greatly multiplies the yeast colony so it hits the must running. Sprinkling on top is rumored to shock the yeast as it hydrates in the must. Some have success though, just not optimum.

Did I miss what the SG is on your problem tanks?

 

[Fruit]

I used 2 x 5 grams of EC-1118 per tank (25-26 liters of must in each 30 liters tank).
SG on problem tanks is 1.15-1.25 or so, hard to read it really accurately.

When is starter added ?

 

[Ohio Bob]

WOW, so it never even started. Possibly dead yeast. Make a starter with fresh EC-1118. Especially since you are trying to ferment high sugar musts.

 

[Fruit]

So starter includes yeast ? Or do I add starter to must containing yeast ?

 

[Fruit]

WOW, so it never even started. Possibly dead yeast. Make a starter with fresh EC-1118. Especially since you are trying to ferment high sugar musts.

It was same yeast batch which I used on other plum wines-they fermented no problems.

 

[sour_grapes]

I used 2 x 5 grams of EC-1118 per tank (25-26 liters of must in each 30 liters tank).
SG on problem tanks is 1.15-1.25 or so, hard to read it really accurately.

When is starter added ?

To be clear: Do you mean 1.150 to 1.250, or did you mean 1.015 to 1.025?

 

[Fruit]

To be clear: Do you mean 1.150 to 1.250, or did you mean 1.015 to 1.025?

I really need to learn how to read this thing properly. Getting too old or what...
Let me go there and measure again

 

[Ohio Bob]

So starter includes yeast ? Or do I add starter to must containing yeast ?

I edited my earlier post to include yeast in the starter.

Starter recipe...
1/2 teaspoon GoFerm nutrient
1 teaspoon sugar
1 yeast packet

I microwave a half cup of water with the sugar until boiling. When it cools to ~100F, add the rest. Wait 10 minutes before swirling. Put a cover over the jar, place next to the must so they both will be at the same temperature when you pitch. Before pitching give it some swirls to remix everything.

 

[Fruit]

1.015 to 1.025

My hydrometer (Alla, made in France) is printed with digits dislocated somehow, which makes it hard to read.
Probably no problem for experts, I am a new kid on the block

 

[Ohio Bob]

Ok, so far so good. Nothing wrong with the ferments. They probably went as far as they could given the high starting SG. So you racked off the wine from the pulp, aka gross lees. Add some potassium metabisulfite, aka Kmeta, and seal the carboy with a stopper and airlock.

Good idea to taste and record your observations in a notebook. Will come in handy later.

Your doing great.

 

[Fruit]

Thank you and I am really sorry for my ignorance.
That makes me frustrated as I am an engineer, I work in super high precision production so I should not have problems with hydrometer... :-(
Are there any optional devices ? Easier to read, direct reading of "voltage" (alkohol), digital display etc...?

 

[Ohio Bob]

1.015 to 1.025

My hydrometer (Alla, made in France) is printed with digits dislocated somehow, which makes it hard to read.
Probably no problem for experts, I am a new kid on the block

Check out your local shop for hydrometers. Maybe they have one with larger digits. Mine has different color shading too.

 

[Ohio Bob]

I’m an engineer too. Just takes a study of your tool, then look at the measurement, then ask yourself... does this make sense. Also, use the carpenters rule, measure twice, cut once.

And yes there is a $130+ USD electronic device that uses tilt to determine density of the fluid it is in. Google tilt hydrometer for a first guess. I thought about getting one for making port, where you want to stop the ferment at 6 Brix. I came to the conclusion it was a solution in search of a problem. I just back sweeten and flavor so I no longer need to stop the ferment at a certain point.

 

[Fruit]

I am almost done with fermenting wine this season.
I will seriously consider buying this tilt hydrometer for next season.
Yesterday I ordered other hydrometer (el cheapo, Ebay)-it is smaller, with less bigger digits, very basic compared to what used recently.

 

[winechef]

For my plum. wines I mash them in a blender, add double pectin enzyme as most recipes. let sit about a day before adding yeast. I dont know the species of plums you have but if acidity is too low that could be causing it to stall. I usually ferment to 15% ABV and back sweeten reducing to about 13-14%

as stated making a starter culture with your yeast can give it better chance of growth that. just adding yeast. like Ohio Bob said.
if started but didn't go dry, just rack into a carboy and it will probably finish slowly. my. blueberry often does that stalls at 11-12% ABV and then in the carboy finishes up to 14%.

I make all my juice in the same container adjust photo, pectin enzyme and tanks, stir well. then divide equally into my fermenter tubs, add same amount of water and sugar in each. pitch yeast. all batches should ferment same rate