I have two different batches of wine with stuck fermentation

[olusteebus]

toss it or stabilize it?

Actually, I have four but for two of them I don't think I can do anything about them.

Batch number one - Six gallons Alexander Cabernet juice (two cans) and blackberry jam (5 jars). fermentation started out with a bang,stopped at 1.01. Temperature is 74 degrees. lid was placed over the wine loosely. I have racked from primary. Checked TA and if I am correct, it comes out at .125. The ph is also very high per the ph test strips, looks to be between 3.6 and 3.8.

Batch number two - 5 gallons of Skeeter Pee, no other fruit. I started with a sg of 1.09. Temperature is 74 degrees. Stopped at 1.06. I took lid off and stirred it. I was seeing some very small bubbles soon but nothing happened. I added some Pasteur Red yeast , all I had, and splash racked. Nothing. I have not checked acid or ph.




I plan on going through the process of restarting fermention on both. On batch 1, should I add some acid blend and if so, how much?

Any other suggestions.


Batches number 3 and four - 5 gallons of muscadine, 6 gallons of muscadine/blackberry jam. Both stuck at 1.01. I probably should not have but I sorbated and added kmeta on those two. also, I put in way too much Kmeta in both. I suppose there is nothing I can do about those. Hopefully, the fermentation will not start in the bottles.

 

[Tom_S]

I think if fermentation stalled and you added k-meta and sorbate, there's probably little chance that fermentation will restart in the bottles. Just to be on the safe side I'd bulk age for a while before bottling.

If you had some Lalvin EC-1118 I'd throw it in those other batches to finish them out. If you have some yeast nutrient I'd definitely add it to the skeeter pee. Lemon juice is high in acid and I believe low in nutrients for yeast.

 

[BernardSmith]

With those four batches, suppose you were to rehydrate some yeast and add some nutrient and sugar then after a couple of hours double the volume of your yeast starter with some of the wine, doubling the volume every three hours or so until you have a gallon or so of the wine actively fermenting - so you are not adding the starter to the wine but the wine in small batches to the starter. And then when (or if) you have about a gallon of wine actively fermenting again you only then add the gallon of 'starter' to the buckets or carboys.

 

[olusteebus]

thanks for the responses. I was out of energizer but picked some up today. Also got some more 1118 and will be doing exactly what you guys suggested;

Thanks.

 

[olusteebus]

Update;

I added a yeast energizer to the sp. Nothing happened. I created a starter with a cup of must, two tsp of energizer and about a quarter a cup or more of sugar (dissolved in warm water). It started to ferment so I kept adding wine until I had a half gallon of fermenting sp going. Added it to the remaining 4 1/2 gallons yesterday. Checked it this morning, no signs of fermentation and still stuck at 1.06

I was surprised that the temp of the must was only about 68 degrees but I just think that is the problem. It is in a tub with an aquarium heater. I have added 2 gallons of warm water and turned the aquarium heater up. I want to bring the temp to about 75.

I really don't expect ferment to start so I am pretty sure I am going to toss it.

I previously added some yeast to the cab/bb. Nothing happened. The strip thermometer showed about 75 degrees on the carboy.

Yesterday, I created a starter with EC 1118, energizer in cup of water. Kept adding wine until I had almost a gallon. It was fermenting so I added it to the remaining gallon.

No change in sg this morning, still at 1.010.

If the increase in heat does not kick off ferment, can I just stabilize and let bulk age with some oak and then bottle?

Or should I toss it too?

 

[olusteebus]

I have had trouble with my last four ferments. None of them have gone below 1.010. The temperature has basically read between 72 and 75 degrees on all of them.

There was one exception on the cab/bb. I racked to a carboy and failed to put it in the warm water for about two days so the temp probably got to around 65 until I put it in a tub of warm water with an aquarium heater.

I know this sounds crazy but I am really beginning to wonder, could there be some competing wild yeasts in my winery. It is a "crawl space" with dirt floor (plastic covered). The temp stays between 62 and 67 degrees with very slow variation. I know there is probably enough wild yeast down there to start a small bakery.

Could that be possible?

 

[Julie]

Once you add the wine yeast, that should take over any wild yeast you would have growing.

Can you post your whole process? This seems very unusual that you have had trouble with your last 4 ferments but it is difficult to figure out if I don't know exactly what you did.

 

[olusteebus]

Once you add the wine yeast, that should take over any wild yeast you would have growing.

Can you post your whole process? This seems very unusual that you have had trouble with your last 4 ferments but it is difficult to figure out if I don't know exactly what you did.

I will get my notes and post that later. thanks

 

[fivebk]

Have you checked the SG with a different hydrometer? Maybe your hydrometer isn't reading correctly!! Maybe the wines that are at 1.010 are really already dry. You should have added yeast nutrient instead of energizer, try it it might just help and stir the crap out of it.

Just a thought

BOB

 

[olusteebus]

As for my procedures on the sp, I followed the easy peezie recipe and process to the letter except I did not put any other fruit in it. My starting sg before sugar was 1.01 I think - writing was bad. Added sugar and brought it up to 1.095. After a couple of days, the temp was 75 and the sg was 1.06. It has been 1.06 since.

On the cab/bb, here is the recipe which I followed to the tee

Cabernet Sauvignon - Blackberry Wine

6 gallons

6 - 1 lb jars of Walmart Blackberry Seedless Jam
2 - 46oz cans Alexander's Cabernet Sauvignon Juice Concentrate (68 Brix)
1 tbl bentonite
1 ½ tbl yeast nutrient
2 ½ tsp pectic enzyme
1 ½ tsp tannin
10 ml K-Meta 10% solution
Powdered dextrose (SG to 1.090, approx 2 ½ lbs)
Spring water to bring volume to 6 gallons
1 packet Red Star Pasteur Champagne Yeast
1 packet of Oak chips, medium French Oak

For stabilizing after fermentation
25 ml K-Meta 10% solution (50 grams of K-Meta in 500 ml water)
2 ½ tsp potassium sorbate



Add 1/2 gallon of hot water to bottom of primary, stir in 1 tbl bentonite till completely mixed.
Add the contents of the jam to the PF, stir until dissolved.
Add 1 gallon of spring water, mix throughly.
Add Peptic Enzyme, mix.
Add Tannin powder, mix
Add Yeast Nutrient, mix
Add the contents of both cans of Alexander's Cabernet Sauvignon concentrate, mix throughly. Rinse cans with spring water and add to PF.
Add spring water to bring must to 6 gallon volume, mix very throughly.
Measure SG, add dextrose to bring SG to 1.090 ~ ABV 12%, mix well.
Cover PF and let it sit for ~ 24 hours
Pitch yeast
When SG drops to 1.010 rack to clean sanitized carboy, leaving settled solids.
When fermentation is FULLY complete < 1.000 and SG is stable, rack to a clean carboy
Add 25 ml 10% K-Meta solution.
Add 2.5 tsp potassium sorbate.
Stir vigorously to dissipate CO2.
Add SuperKleer
Top up carboy and reattach airlock.
Rack after 14 days to clean carboy
Add oak chips
Rack again in two months, further racking and bulk aging as deemed necessary.
Bottle
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The sg at after sugar ( used cane sugar) was 1.09.

 

[olusteebus]

I have a question about the sp. It has been in the primary for over a week and a half with a lid loosely on top. When I take the top off and watch, it is fizzing with real small bubbles. Is this CO2 gas? It has been doing that for at least three days. No foam on top nor any large bubbles.

 

[Julie]

olusteebus, I'm still at work and just glanced at your recipe but the one thing that jumped out at me is powdered dextrose, why did you use this? I'm not sure how well that would ferment out. I know this is a common sugar with processing meats and in canning.

And to answer your last question about co2 gases, take a hydrometer reading, it sounds like it is still fermenting.

 

[olusteebus]

Thanks very much Julie. I did not use the dextrose as I could not get any at the time. I used cane sugar to get the sg up.

I have been taking sg readings and nothing is changing.

I checked the hydrometer with water and it read 1.000.

Just for giggles, I will check it again later with a different hydrometer.

 

[olusteebus]

Well, I hate to admit this, but I think I know why my wine did not ferment to less than 1.000. I have not stirred it enough. And, stirring after it sticks will not necessarily kick it back off.

That must be my problem.

Won't happen again.

 

[Julie]

Well you may have something there. I kept going over your procedure and I really could not find anything wrong with it except maybe you were not transferring enough yeast when you racked at 1.010.