Negative pressure / Stop Fermenting

[estubur]

HI

I have just started making fruit wine i used to make as child with grandad and thought i would try again.

I started with a cherry wine made must from 6lb de-stoned cherries, funneled into demijohn with 3lb sugar and yeast, job done fementation took off all was happy

Then all of a sudden last week my airlock showed negative pressure and all fermentation seems to have stopped after only 6 weeks, can anyone help me out with whats going on?

/stu

 

[Malkore]

Airlock pressure doesn't mean much. What are your gravity readings? That's the ONLY way to know what's up with fermentation. Anything else is just guesswork.

 

[Tom]

Have you racked off the primary?
What happened is either a temp change or air pressure changing. Have you checked it with a hydrometer?
Post everything you did from the begining.

 

[pwrose]

If it has been in there for 6 weeks I would have expected it to be done a long time ago. It normally don't take 2 at the most 3 to finish even in the secondary. Normally only 1-2 weeks in the primary. At 6 weeks it should be starting to clear.

 

[estubur]

Ok, dont have hydrometer, will get one tomorrow and post the gravity of it, so far I have not done any racking, but you are correct it has started to clear a little.

Yesterday I removed airloack and replaced it, was this a bad thing to do...?

 

[Tom]

Rack it now to get off the gross lees. Then add k-meta and sorbate. do ypu plan on aging? if not get some clearing agent

 

[estubur]

So instead of meta-K can i use campden tablet?
Should I try hrdrometer first? I was really expecting it to take 3 months to ferment.

By Racking do you mean syphoning off into clean demijohn then replacing airlock for a while?

 

[Tom]

yes transferring from one to another carboy w/airlock leaving the sediment behind
1 campton per gallon then
If you have had it on primary so long I say rack then ck gravity. I'm sure its dry. Primary can take from a few days to maybe 10 depending on temp and other factors.
Taste it...

 

[estubur]

Tasting now . . .

 

[estubur]

OK... it does taste alcoholic and slightly cherry

 

[estubur]

OK so bought hydrometer, dropped it in demijohn and cant get it out . . .

Only joking took reading and it says 1.024 is this ok?

 

[Tom]

No.
you may have a stuck fermentation.

Post the whole recipe with all timming and what you did from begining

 

[winemaker_3352]

OK so bought hydrometer, dropped it in demijohn and cant get it out . . .

Only joking took reading and it says 1.024 is this ok?

Take another in a few days - see if it has dropped are stayed the same.

If it has dropped - it is still fermenting - if not - then it is done.

 

[estubur]

OK:-
took 6lb cherries, destoned mashed added 6 pints of water boiling and campden tablet, left for 7 days.

strained through muslin into demijohn, added 3lb sugar, some yeast applied airlock and watched

This is all, was all going fine until it stopped.

Left for 3 days same situation (what i call negative pressure)

SHook slightly nothing put in warmer place nothing.

Removed airlock and replacedto equal pressure nothing.

Took Hydrometer reading 1.024

 

[Tom]

OK:-
took 6lb cherries, destoned mashed added 6 pints of water boiling and campden tablet, left for 7 days.

strained through muslin into demijohn, added 3lb sugar, some yeast applied airlock and watched

This is all, was all going fine until it stopped.

Left for 3 days same situation (what i call negative pressure)

SHook slightly nothing put in warmer place nothing.

Removed airlock and replacedto equal pressure nothing.

Took Hydrometer reading 1.024

So you are making one gallon. What yeast did you use. Now since you did not take a starting gravity reading we are just guessing here but.3#'s of sugat is alot for 1 gallon. the yeast you used may have maxed out. Shake it up and see if it will wake up the yeast. Did you use backing yeast?
Not sure why you removed the fruit before adding yeast and didnt add pectic enzyme.

A quick check I see 16+% alcohol which is way to high. S/B around 10% for fruit

 

[estubur]

So you are making one gallon. What yeast did you use. Now since you did not take a starting gravity reading we are just guessing here but.3#'s of sugat is alot for 1 gallon. the yeast you used may have maxed out. Shake it up and see if it will wake up the yeast. Did you use backing yeast?
Not sure why you removed the fruit before adding yeast and didnt add pectic enzyme.

A quick check I see 16+% alcohol which is way to high. S/B around 10% for fruit

I just got recipe out of old wine making book, as i say i am new to this having done this only with my grandfather 118 years ago when i was 15

Just used a normal fruit wine yeast nothing special, no backing yeast, removed fruit as i had made a nice must over a week, and have not got a clue what the pectic enzyme is for....

Big learning curve i know but i am grateful for help and advice

 

[myakkagldwngr]

The pectic enzyme (PE) breaks the fruit down and lets you get all the juice and flavor the fruit has to offer.

 

[estubur]

Hi all,

Added more yeast & some nutrient and we are fermenting again!!!

/stuart