Need to increase acid?

[Smok1]

I started a strawberry rhubarb wine.
20lbs rhubarb
5lbs strawberries
Yeast nutrient
Yeast energizer
Kmeta
Waited 24 hours and pitched ec-1118 and nothing happened at all for 24 hours. So i started some k1-v1116 in measuring cup with water sugar and as it got going i slowly added the juice from my must into the yeast and then added it into my juice bucket and fermentation took off fast. Curious on why the ec1118 didnt take off i tested acid levels and ph. I dont own a ph meter yet(looking into getting one right now) but i had ph strips, unfortunatley the range is 5.5-9 and the ph is definitley below 5.5. So i did an acid test and results were 0.2%. My understanding is acid levels for a fruit wine are suppose to be around 0.6%? Could this be what stunted my ec-1118? Possibly i didnt wait long enough for the kmeta (1/2tsp per 5gallon) to evaporate off but i dont think so. Either way fermentation with 1116 os well on its way, my question is can i add citric acid right now while its in the fermentation proccess? Will it disrupt the fermentation? Will it hinder the fermentation if i dont add it being the acid is so low? Should i wait and test again later?

 

[BernardSmith]

I wonder if you might be confusing pH with TA. Yeast have problems fermenting when the pH falls below 3.0 and a pH which is too high allow bacteria to compete with the yeast. But the yeast generally* create the level of acidity they prefer. TA is not the same as pH - titratable acidity refers to the amount of acid that is in the wine - not the strength of the acids (pH is a measure of the strength) and the TA has far more to do with taste than the viability of the fermentation. Personally, I do not add any acidity until I am ready to bottle
* Honey wine (mead) is one exception as honey has no chemical buffers to control the acidity so you can find enormous swings in the pH when you make meads

 

[sour_grapes]

I sincerely, sincerely doubt you will need to add any acid to a wine with 20 lbs of rhubarb.

 

[Ajmassa]

Nothing at 24 hours is not uncommon. Usually i would wait at least 2 full days before re-pitching yeast. Don't be surprised it was actually the 1118 that took over. I've had activity as early as 5 hours after pitching. And as much as 3 FULL days. Every batch is different.
Did you accidentally buy the beer ph strips?? I did the same thing the first time I bought em! And they're still sitting there collecting dust.
And any acid additions to boost TA will be tartaric acid, not citric. At least for wine from grapes. I'm not a fruit wine maker though so that might be different. Tho rhubarb isn't a fruit right? It's just a plant. That can be used as a laxative. Good luck with all of that brother!
Let it go do its thing.

 

[Smok1]

I sincerely, sincerely doubt you will need to add any acid to a wine with 20 lbs of rhubarb.

I juiced the rhubarb with an omega press juicer, froze it to seperate the oxilac acid, scraped the acid off the top, i have a TA test kit, acid is less than .2%

 

[Smok1]

I wonder if you might be confusing pH with TA. Yeast have problems fermenting when the pH falls below 3.0 and a pH which is too high allow bacteria to compete with the yeast. But the yeast generally* create the level of acidity they prefer. TA is not the same as pH - titratable acidity refers to the amount of acid that is in the wine - not the strength of the acids (pH is a measure of the strength) and the TA has far more to do with taste than the viability of the fermentation. Personally, I do not add any acidity until I am ready to bottle
* Honey wine (mead) is one exception as honey has no chemical buffers to control the acidity so you can find enormous swings in the pH when you make meads

Thanks, i will buy a proper ph meter on monday and i will let the fermentation continue without adding any acid.

 

[Smok1]

Nothing at 24 hours is not uncommon. Usually i would wait at least 2 full days before re-pitching yeast. Don't be surprised it was actually the 1118 that took over. I've had activity as early as 5 hours after pitching. And as much as 3 FULL days. Every batch is different.
Did you accidentally buy the beer ph strips?? I did the same thing the first time I bought em! And they're still sitting there collecting dust.
And any acid additions to boost TA will be tartaric acid, not citric. At least for wine from grapes. I'm not a fruit wine maker though so that might be different. Tho rhubarb isn't a fruit right? It's just a plant. That can be used as a laxative. Good luck with all of that brother!
Let it go do its thing.

Thanks, no the ph strips came from a compounding pharmacutical lab where my wife works, we were just using them until we decided which ph meter to buy. They use ph meters in the lab all the time and can order one through her pharmacy, i was just waiting to do some research to make sure i buy the one i want. Looks like i will have to expidite the purchase.

 

[BernardSmith]

A pH meter makes the testing of TA much simpler and easy to determine. The pH at which the color changes is always 8.2 so rather than using strips which can be a little ambiguous when the wine is red you just use enough Sodium Hydroxide (all other things being taken into account) to raise the pH in the sample to 8.2

 

[meadmaker1]

Rhubarb is a vegetable. The leaves the " stems " or the root of a plant.

 

[Trick]

It makes sense to invest a pH meter. The handhold one is pretty good and stable much better than than the paper strip. The stock buffer solution from the powder can last pretty long time for calibration multiple time.
I always prefer rehydrating yeast before pitching it after encountered a dead packet. It is not for higher rate of yeast cell count but mainly to tell it is alive or not.
EC1118 and 1116 both are tough monsters should work in most conditions. But from time to time, you might see some dead yeast packets.
I usually add acid to the fruit wine for palate preference. I typically adjust pH based on white wine range (3.2 to 3.4), most of time using acid blend. This is where ph meter is typically used. For kit wine, I usually don't bother to do that, just check pH for reference as an experience.

 

[applelover12]

I started a strawberry rhubarb wine.
20lbs rhubarb
5lbs strawberries
Yeast nutrient
Yeast energizer
Kmeta
Waited 24 hours and pitched ec-1118 and nothing happened at all for 24 hours. So i started some k1-v1116 in measuring cup with water sugar and as it got going i slowly added the juice from my must into the yeast and then added it into my juice bucket and fermentation took off fast. Curious on why the ec1118 didnt take off i tested acid levels and ph. I dont own a ph meter yet(looking into getting one right now) but i had ph strips, unfortunatley the range is 5.5-9 and the ph is definitley below 5.5. So i did an acid test and results were 0.2%. My understanding is acid levels for a fruit wine are suppose to be around 0.6%? Could this be what stunted my ec-1118? Possibly i didnt wait long enough for the kmeta (1/2tsp per 5gallon) to evaporate off but i dont think so. Either way fermentation with 1116 os well on its way, my question is can i add citric acid right now while its in the fermentation proccess? Will it disrupt the fermentation? Will it hinder the fermentation if i dont add it being the acid is so low? Should i wait and test again later?

Did you rehydrate The yeast first? Did you add yeast nutrient ?

 

[Smok1]

Did you rehydrate The yeast first? Did you add yeast nutrient ?

No i didnt rehydrate the yeast on the ec1118, i did rehydrate the k1-v1116 when i pitched it. Yes i used yeast energizer and yeast nutrient. Its started up and going well now and smells great

 

[Smok1]

Sg 0.994 today, racked into carboy, really nice smell and color.