NEED HELP! Very strange issue...

[Johnsmyname]

Hi All, this is my first post here. I'm new to the forum, but not new to fermenting or making wines/beer.

I picked all my late season peaches and ended up with about 20+ gallons on mashed fruit. The next day I check on it and it has turned into a very very thick goo. I've never seen anything like it???

Here's what I did...

- Removed pits and squished peaches by hand into barrel.
- Added pectic enzyme and let sit for an hour.
- Dissolved Yeast Nutrient in a quart of boiling water and added to barrel.
- Proofed x4 packets of D47 yeast into 250ml of 100F water for 30 min, then pitched into barrel.

I can't figure it out? It's the first time using the barrel, but it is says it's chemical resistant and FDA Food Contact Surface safe. My Pectic Enzyme was a year or 2 old and not kept in fridge, but that wouldn't cause this. Is this some strange infection? Is my mash ruined, PLEASE HELP!!

There's almost no liquid, it's thick like this to the bottom...

 

[NCWC]

How many grams of yeast?
4 packets at 8g is 32g should only need 20g
Maybe yeast gone crazy

 

[Johnsmyname]

I think they were 5 grams each, but over yeasting would just be a waste of yeast and kick start the ferment faster, not cause it to turn to snot. The yeast if left to it's own devices will multiply many many times over in the first day or 2 anyway.

 

[BernardSmith]

Hi Johnsmyname - and welcome.
Speaking from ignorance here so others might chortle - but I think that you are seeing the impact of the enzyme breaking down the fruit fibers. Your mashing may not have released as much juice as you had hoped /want/need but I suspect that everything will be fine and that the enzyme may still be active although in the presence of alcohol my understanding is that the enzyme is denatured. I wonder , though whether it might be better to press the juice out of the fruit much like one might expel juice from grapes or apples (and with fruit like peaches, that might better entail freezing the fruit and then allowing it to thaw so that the cell walls are ruptured, and so release the juice)...

 

[Johnsmyname]

Hi Bernard, thanks for the welcome.

The pectic enzyme should break down the pectin and allow it to turn to liquid not goop (or so that's the impression I was under). I usually use it with pears and apples and have not had anything like this before. Freezing is a great method, but with the amount of fruit I have, I couldn't nearly fit it in my fridge.

 

[PandemoniumWines]

I had the exact same thing happened to me with a batch of pumpkin wine. When I mixed it, it was completely liquid, but the next day it was sludge. It did ferment out just fine though.

 

[Johnsmyname]

That is good to hear! Did that snot stuff eventually break down? Right now it is so thick I could hang the whole 20 gal in a laundry bag and not lose a drop.

 

[Scooter68]

Had similar thing with two batches of peach wine. Impossible to get a SG reading for a couple of days. I delayed starting the ferment because of that. Good news is that it should be fine. Once the yeast starts feeding on the must things should turn back to liquid quickly. Just be aware that you can expect LOTS of lees.

 

[PandemoniumWines]

Mostly. I did have to strain it to secondary. Getting a gravity reading was impossible for three days or so.

As Scooter said, LOTS of lees!

 

[Johnsmyname]

Great to here guys thanks. For whatever reason peaches always give me tons of lees. I've often thought about just bagging and pressing them, but always end up mashing my fruit.

 

[Johnsmyname]

I did a lot of reading last night. What do you guys know about "ropey" or "graisse"? It's a bacterial infection that is supposed to cause something similar to this. From what I have read it appears to be very rare though. If you guys both had something similar that went away, I'm hoping this is not the problem. I don't think the graisse goes away or turns back to liquid.

 

[Scooter68]

Great to here guys thanks. For whatever reason peaches always give me tons of lees. I've often thought about just bagging and pressing them, but always end up mashing my fruit.

I'm afraid efforts to separate the "Lees" producing pulp from the juice might result in a thin wine flavor. As much pain as it is to deal with, I just cut them up, mash well and bag the whole thing. Just means you have to plan on a lotta lees. Next time I'm going to make a 3 gallon batch - I'll be sure I have at least 3.75 gallons. I've also used a strainer for the first rack from primary to secondary fermentation container. Takes some time but it works well.

 

[Scooter68]

Seems like it would have to be a very fast growing bacterial infection. You should see some change in 2-3 days once the fermentation starts.

 

[Johnsmyname]

Hopefully, I'll keep you guys posted!

 

[Julie]

I very much doubt that you have a bacterial infection. By the looks of your pics, you have a good fermentation going. Also, if your must is too thick to get a hydrometer reading, put a fine strainer into the top, push down to get some liquid and syphon that into your test jar to take a reading. When you go to rack, rack it into a straining bag (you can buy paint strainer bags at Lowes, these work great), squeeze that to get as much juice as you can, then rack.

 

[Johnsmyname]

Thanks for the comments Julie. I have a refractometer and plenty of fruit bags. I mostly have pears, apples and peaches available to me up here in New England.

It seems to be thinning slightly. I'll keep checking it and keep this thread updated.

 

[Johnsmyname]

For posterity and an interesting read, I did find these articles worth while.

http://www.milkthefunk.com/wiki/Pediococcus#.22Ropy.22_or_.22Sick.22_Beer

https://books.google.com/books?id=0...KHQr3BIAQ6AEIPTAD#v=onepage&q=graisse&f=false

https://books.google.com/books?id=0...8AKHQr3BIAQ6AEIPTAD#v=onepage&q=ropey&f=false

and...

http://homedistiller.org/sugar/sugar/poly

 

[cmason1957]

Thanks for the comments Julie. I have a refractometer and plenty of fruit bags. I mostly have pears, apples and peaches available to me up here in New England.

It seems to bee thinning slightly. I'll keep checking it and keep this thread updated.

Remember, after fermentation starts, that refractometer will not read correctly. When your wine is all finished fermenting, it will say something like 6 brix. It is only meant to be used before there is alcohol present in the sample. In the winery, the hydrometer is your friend.

 

[Johnsmyname]

Right, thanks for the reminder mason.

 

[Turock]

Well, for one thing you should not add nutrient until your culture has taken off. Adding it up front like that can give nutrient support to any microbes that may be present. Did you use any meta on the fruit before you started the ferment? If not, this could also add to any microbial issues. The proper protocol is to add meta to the crush. Wait 12-24 hours, then add pectic enzyme. On very pulpy fruit it's good to use Lallzyme C Max because it is faster at breaking down the pectin than other pectic enzymes. The next day you can begin some preliminary acid and brix tests but be aware that until the pectic enzyme has done a good portion of its job, you can't get totally accurate tests as the acid and sugars are still somewhat bound up in the fruit and not all in solution. Once you're happy with the amount of fruit breakdown, your acid and brix tests will be more accurate.

Once that is done and you pitch your culture, wait until it has taken off, then add the first half dose of nutrient. At 1/3 sugar reduction, add the second half dose of nutrient. On peach wine, we also add 1/4 tsp of tannin per gallon but not until the pectinase has done it's work because tannin can interfere with the action of enzymes. We also bentonite this wine as otherwise it can be a bear to get perfectly clear.

And don't forget to stir it--get the ferment working on breaking the fruit down the rest of the way.