Early Sulfur Smells in Must Fermentation

[whackfol]

I can't tell what's in the yeast energizer. The second appears to be DAP. That would be my choice. What you added earlier plus the DAP approximates what I use. Not sure where you are with your fermentation, but I suggest making a small addition of DAP first (maybe just 1/3 of recommended). You can add more. But too much, too late is not good either. The same nutrients that the yeast likes, bacteria likes.

 

[Acast285]

My original SG reading was 1.10, last night it read 1.04, do you think it's too late?

 

[garymc]

I like Lalvin 71B-1122 for muscadines. The Montrachet only has an alcohol tolerance of 13% and you started at 1.1, so it might be close to done at 1.040 regarding adding more nutrient. 71B is 18%. Also Montrachet can produce H2S and other things. The cheesecloth would have been a good idea as soon as the yeast was pitched and punching down/stirring 2 or 3 or more times a day. I wonder about the stale air in the closet, too, not so much that the must won't get enough oxygen, but any odors produced will be very concentrated. Just that you'll notice it more. If the sulfur smell persists, you may have to splash rack it.

 

[Acast285]

What about adding a little more sugar and DAP, do you think that will help it to improve?

 

[whackfol]

If you are still smelling h2s, My recommendation would be to add a little DAP and stir well. You're at 60% sugar depletion and don't want it to get stuck.

 

[whackfol]

I'm more familiar with the Brix scale but I think both Brix and s.g have the same zero. Most of the vinifera grapes I have fermented go dry at below zero. I know little about muscadine wine. What is made in my area has some residual sugar. I don't know if this is a customer preference or how best to present muscadine. What are you shooting for.

 

[ceeaton]

No more sugar unless you plan on pitching another yeast. As @garymc said, the alcohol tolerance of the yeast you pitched is below what your initial SG would produce if it went dry, so adding more sugar will only leave a higher residual sugar, plus a lot of your second addition of nutrient. I suggest punching down as much as you can, maybe add a small dose of dap (I'd prefer Fermaid O), and hope it finishes dry. You can Kmeta and backsweeten it later down the road, aim for dry at this point.

 

[Acast285]

I had an SG of 1.02 this evening, i punched down and stirred a good bit, added a half dose of DAP and capped with an airlock (I've been using a blow off tube in case I had too much must for the bucket) and it's bubbling nicely with little to no smell!

 

[Acast285]

Does this look like enough headroom to you guys?

 

[ceeaton]

So did you rack it from a bucket, I'm feeling a little lost here as to what you are doing? I usually wait until it goes dry, then press the grapes and rack it into a carboy, wait a few days and rack it off the gross lees.

 

[Acast285]

Yes it was in a bucket, my SG was just over 1.00, so I went ahead and racked it this evening

 

[Stressbaby]

That is about how much headspace I would leave if racking between 1.020 and 1.000. It's obviously still finishing fermentation, you have CO2 protection for the time being.

 

[Stressbaby]

Also, I didn't see this directly addressed previously, but I have added an extra pinch of nutrient as late as 1.040 if I detect any off-odors. This practice has worked very well for me without any complications but I would welcome any more experienced winemakers to correct me on this if needed.

 

[Acast285]

I gave it a good stir this morning, my SG hasn't changed much since 6pm last night, still just under 1.01. I was able to take a PH reading this morning as well, and it's at 3.6 and my temp is at 68 deg F. Is that where my ph should be at this point?

 

[ceeaton]

I gave it a good stir this morning, my SG hasn't changed much since 6pm last night, still just under 1.01. I was able to take a PH reading this morning as well, and it's at 3.6 and my temp is at 68 deg F. Is that where my ph should be at this point?

As far as your pH I think you are fine, or at least that isn't a dangerous number (not too high, not too low). Muscadines have so much flavor that if the pH was too low additional sugar added at backsweetening would round it out. I defer to winemakers who have used the grapes before. I've enjoyed a wine my older brother made last Spring and decided at some point I need to make that wine.

So do you have just some of the skins in the carboy, or did you rack it off all of the skins and leave them behind in the bucket? If they are still in there, I'd get them out once your SG stays the same for three days in a row (they can stay in there a bit longer, but I wouldn't age long term with them in there, unless you are doing an experiment like @AZMDTed is doing with extended maceration).

 

[Acast285]

As far as your pH I think you are fine, or at least that isn't a dangerous number (not too high, not too low). Muscadines have so much flavor that if the pH was too low additional sugar added at backsweetening would round it out. I defer to winemakers who have used the grapes before. I've enjoyed a wine my older brother made last Spring and decided at some point I need to make that wine.

So do you have just some of the skins in the carboy, or did you rack it off all of the skins and leave them behind in the bucket? If they are still in there, I'd get them out once your SG stays the same for three days in a row (they can stay in there a bit longer, but I wouldn't age long term with them in there, unless you are doing an experiment like @AZMDTed is doing with extended maceration).

I racked off majority of the skins, what you see at the top in the picture is just what came through the tube when racking. There's still a ton of fibers in there from the plums. Also I separated the Muscadine skins from the grapes and did not add the Muscadine skins in the primary. I did however include the plum and cranberry skins.

Will all of the fibers eventually sink to the bottom to rack out? At this point about half of the carboy looks to mixed in with a lot of fibers and I'm afraid it's going to displace the must so much I'm going to have to add some water to get the level back up.

 

[Acast285]

As far as your pH I think you are fine, or at least that isn't a dangerous number (not too high, not too low). Muscadines have so much flavor that if the pH was too low additional sugar added at backsweetening would round it out. I defer to winemakers who have used the grapes before. I've enjoyed a wine my older brother made last Spring and decided at some point I need to make that wine.

So do you have just some of the skins in the carboy, or did you rack it off all of the skins and leave them behind in the bucket? If they are still in there, I'd get them out once your SG stays the same for three days in a row (they can stay in there a bit longer, but I wouldn't age long term with them in there, unless you are doing an experiment like @AZMDTed is doing with extended maceration).

I racked off majority of the skins, what you see at the top in the picture is just what came through the tube when racking. There's still a ton of fibers in there from the plums. Also I separated the Muscadine skins from the grapes and did not add the Muscadine skins in the primary. I did however include the plum and cranberry skins.

Will all of the fibers eventually sink to the bottom to rack out? At this point about half of the carboy looks to mixed in with a lot of fibers and I'm afraid it's going to displace the must so much I'm going to have to add some water to get the level back up.