Slow Primary Fermentation

[therealjohnsquad]

I made a 1 gallon batch of blueberry wine several months ago and it turned out great. So I decided to make a 3 gallon batch. I used the same recipe, and the same yeast, Pasteur Red. However, the primary fermentation is going very slow. I am on day 9 of primary fermentation and it is at 1.042sg. It is definitely coming down, as it was at 1.052sg 2 days ago. Is it normal for this to run this slow? Is it ok to just let primary fermentation continue? I learned my lesson with racking this wine over to the secondary before it reaches 1.010. Lol! It foamed out of the airlock and all over the place. Thanks for any advice.

 

[Turock]

Did you add any yeast nutrient?

 

[heatherd]

I made a 1 gallon batch of blueberry wine several months ago and it turned out great. So I decided to make a 3 gallon batch. I used the same recipe, and the same yeast, Pasteur Red. However, the primary fermentation is going very slow. I am on day 9 of primary fermentation and it is at 1.042sg. It is definitely coming down, as it was at 1.052sg 2 days ago. Is it normal for this to run this slow? Is it ok to just let primary fermentation continue? I learned my lesson with racking this wine over to the secondary before it reaches 1.010. Lol! It foamed out of the airlock and all over the place. Thanks for any advice.

Some things I do in your situation with a slow ferment:
-Stir the must
-Move the must to a warmer area of the house
-Add yeast nutrient

I measure the SG to be sure it is still moving. If you hit three days in a row where the SG does not move, the fermentation is either done or stalled. Done would be in the 0.995 range.

If it stalls, I introduce more yeast.

Best of luck!

 

[Rodnboro]

What they said[emoji115]. Also, 1 gallon batches ferment faster than 3 gallons.

 

[therealjohnsquad]

Thanks for the advice. I did add yeast nutrient at the beginning of fermentation. Should I add more? I also stir it everyday. It hasn't stalled yet, just slow going. However, if it does stall should I add more of the Pasteur Red?

 

[heatherd]

Yes, I would add more nutrient. If it stalls I would add EC1118.

 

[therealjohnsquad]

Im sorry, but I have a couple more questions. I have two different yeast nutrients: Food grade urea/diammonium phosphate, and thiamin/vitamin b complex. Is there one I should use rather than the other? Also, would it be a good idea to add yeast energizer or just the nutrient? Thank you guys so much for answering my newbie questions.

 

[pip]

Blueberry can be tricky, did you check the ph? They have a habit of getting stuck in the 1.020 - 1.040 range and can sometimes be very slow. There are some good threads on this forum to read. For example,

http://www.winemakingtalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=4508
http://www.winemakingtalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=3974

There's also plenty of stuff on the web about the troubles with blueberry.

 

[therealjohnsquad]

This is awesome info. I appreciate all the help. It is still going but is slowing down. I added yeast energizer on 5/7 and things picked up a little bit and went from 1.052 to 1.038 within 24 hours. The next day it was 1.032, then 1.026, and today it was 1.022. It has been in primary for 13 days now. Should I go ahead and rack it to the secondary, and hope it finishes or should I add ec1118?

 

[Stressbaby]

It is still moving so I wouldn't add the EC1118. Racking to secondary will appear to bring things to a stop, at least temporarily. Personally, I'd leave it until you can be sure it did not stick at a level of sugar that is unacceptable to you.

 

[pip]

I've done precisely one batch of blueberry, so take my advice lightly. I'd leave it in the primary given SG is still dropping. My batch took 23 days in the primary, but it did ferment to dry eventually.

 

[therealjohnsquad]

Thank you guys so much for the info. The help is very reassuring.

 

[Scooter68]

I don't see an reference to the pH level of your must. Blueberries tend to be very acidic and too much acid can impact the fermentation. Ideally a pH between 3.4 - 3.6 is the target area but anything over 3.0 shouldn't have a problem unless the yeast variety is extremely sensitive to the pH.

 

[pip]

I don't see an reference to the pH level of your must. Blueberries tend to be very acidic and too much acid can impact the fermentation. Ideally a pH between 3.4 - 3.6 is the target area but anything over 3.0 shouldn't have a problem unless the yeast variety is extremely sensitive to the pH.

Thats the issue with blueberry, Scooter. I asked the ph question further up the thread. It's resolvable with some bicarb though. I say that from my one batch of blueberry i've made and 50 hours of reading about it on the net, so with blueberry i'm a newb...erry.
Sorry

 

[Scooter68]

Yup - My 3rd batch of blueberry was with 8 lbs of berries the acidity was about 2.8 and it was tough to raise that up into a reasoanble range above 3.2.

Will not go that heavy again. 5-6 lbs is the most that's needed and will reduce the chances of acidity going crazy.

 

[Turock]

It's not a matter of PH. Blueberry has a naturally occurring compound similar to sorbate so it's difficult to get a ferment started. The best way to ensure a smooth ferment is to always use a yeast starter. You can use apple juice for this purpose. Start the yeast in the apple juice, then add to the must. And be sure to split your nutrient dose---half when the yeast takes off and the other half at 1/3 sugar reduction.

When your must is too acidic, use calcium carbonate to raise the PH prior to the ferment.

 

[Scooter68]

So it has been pronounced - do not question! "It's not a matter of PH." ???????????

My 3 blueberry wine batches fermentations fired up just fine - in fact my first fermented dry in 4 days time. 4 1/2 lbs of blueberries using Montrachet.

My last also fermented quickly with 8 lbs of blueberries. Used EC1118 It did go slower 18 days to reach .990. It did also have a very low pH at 2.86.
Same process for each - Mixed my yeast in warm filtered water and set aside while I finished finally SG and pH testing. (Waited about 30 mins before pitching yeast.)

 

[Stressbaby]

It's really not a big deal at all to move pH from 2.7-2.8 up to 3.2 range if you do it preferment.

No I agree with Turock, it's not the pH. Blackberry has the same pH issue but doesn't have the fermentation problems. There is something special about blueberries. It is not just difficult to start them but they tend to stick for the same reasons.