Fermentation after stabilization

[rothdavid]

My very first post! I have. 6gal carboy of blackberry (from fresh berries), SG .992. I added stabilizer after I reracked, then some dissolved sugar, stirred' then super kleer finings, this morning, I see I still have some active fermentation, not a lot but prior batches' I don't recall seeing bubbles post stabilizer. (officially batch #4)

Is it normal to to see a bit of fermentation post stabilization? If it continues, is there harm in adding an amt of stabilizer? I added 1 TBL, 1/2 tsp per gal. How long should i give it to stop fermenting, and how much ore is acceptable to add?

Thanks,

David, Central PA

 

[GreginND]

The stabilizers will not kill yeast. It only prevents it from reproducing. If you try to stabilize and sweeten before the wine is clear, there will be plenty of yeast to keep fermenting. Usually we sweeten at a later stage after the wine has been aged for some time, racked and is clear. I think you probably sweetened too soon. At this point, adding the stabilizer will no hurt anything. You will just have to wait and see how long it continues to ferment. When it stops you will need to check if it is still sweet enough for your tastes. If you have already added sorbate, you should not add more. You will need more k-meta later.

 

[rothdavid]

Greg,

Thank you for your comments. I added LD Carlson Potassium Sorbate (stabilizer) according to its instructions. I guess I just wait it out at this point. Seems the general yeast life cycle is 5-10 days, if the yeast can't reproduce, it should stop fermenting inside two weeks, which is about how long I let it settle before reracking to bottle.

David

 

[Boatboy24]

Your wine may simply be degassing itself. Check your SG in a day or two. If it hasn't changed, you're not fermenting.

 

[jamesngalveston]

I dont see in your thread where you degassed.....that could be what your seeing in the air lock.
rely on your hydrometer, not the bubbles in the airlock.

 

[jamesngalveston]

yeast cycle can last until there is no more sugar, even then it is dormant and can wake after it gets something to eat, if there is no sorbate, are the alcohol level is higher then what the yeast can handle.

 

[bkisel]

The stabilizers will not kill yeast. It only prevents it from reproducing. If you try to stabilize and sweeten before the wine is clear, there will be plenty of yeast to keep fermenting. Usually we sweeten at a later stage after the wine has been aged for some time, racked and is clear. I think you probably sweetened too soon. At this point, adding the stabilizer will no hurt anything. You will just have to wait and see how long it continues to ferment. When it stops you will need to check if it is still sweet enough for your tastes. If you have already added sorbate, you should not add more. You will need more k-meta later.

Greg,

My RJS VDV kit instructions has me sweetening in the stabilizing-clearing phase... "5. If your wine kit includes finishing blend or sweetening blend,please refer to label instructions and add now." With several kits I've added my own simple syrup at this phase without ill effect. Have I just been lucky or is there something different going on with these kits?

Thanks...

 

[GreginND]

Frankly I think kits try to rush things too much. But they have been developed to mostly work well. The kits often have more clarifiers than most typical home winemakers doing non-kit wines use. That would be my guess as to why it will tend to work better. They are rushing the clarification. But, to be honest, I've only done one kit wine in my life so I have little experience with them.

 

[bkisel]

Frankly I think kits try to rush things too much. But they have been developed to mostly work well. The kits often have more clarifiers than most typical home winemakers doing non-kit wines use. That would be my guess as to why it will tend to work better. They are rushing the clarification. But, to be honest, I've only done one kit wine in my life so I have little experience with them.

What you say about kits makes sense. Also, as I thought about it, I remember bumping up the k-meta and sorbate a bit when adding my own simple syrup at the stabilizing/degassing/clearing stage of the kit making.

 

[rothdavid]

Thanks for the commentary. I had not degassed the wine yet. I planned on at least one more rerack post clarifier, and at that point I was going to degas with my degasser, which is a crooked plastic stick with a bung and my drill.

 

[rothdavid]

What is k-meta? Is that the finings/clarifiers?

 

[bkisel]

Re-posting this answer...

K-Meta = potassium metabisulfite... which is basically the main ingredient in campden tablets. you can buy it in powdered form and not have to crush them up.

It is not the finings/clarifiers. It is used, generally along with potassium sorbate, in the stabilization phase of all the kits I've done. I'm learning that additional k-meta is used if bulk aging to guard against oxidation.

Oh, the symbol for Potassium on the Periodic Table of Elements is "K".

I'm new to this so hope I've got it right. If not someone more experienced should come along and clarify and/or correct.

 

[rothdavid]

Thanks, yes, I'm new too, my pack of Campden tablets are potassium meta bisulfide. I added them to the must at the beginning. Thanks for the clarification.