Stuck fermentation

[Rodnboro]

I need advice from you experts. I have my first stuck fermentation. I started 3 gallons of Candy Cane with a starting S.G. of 1.090. It fermented about a week down to 1.020. I moved it to a carboy with airlock to finish. I left it another week before I checked the S.G. (today) thinking it would finish. It is stuck at 1.020. Today, I withdrew 1/2 gallon, added 2 teaspoons of yeast energizer, and another pack of EC-1118 to get things going. Am I on the right track? My temp. is about 70 degrees F. Advice please. THANKS.

 

[AlFulchino]

not an expert on candy cane, but you need air to really complete the work of the yeast and at 1.02 i never let an airlock over my wine ay 1.02

also, did you add sugar at all between the time you were 1.09 and 1.02? i ask because if you did, then your tru starting sg is not 1.09.....and your computing of an alcohol level from 1.09-1.02 will not be accurate.....if your alcohol has risen higher than what your sg's indicate then your yeast may have topped out on what it can do

others will need to chime in vis a vis candy cane wine as i have no knowledge about this wine

 

[Wade E]

What is the temp of this. Being a non-grape wine there is usually a lack of certain nutrients that the yeast needs to do their job and without them they have a hard time and need all the help they can get like nice warm temps, daily stirring for 02, and a few other things. Did you use nutrient in the beginning? Sorry to ask questions instead of really answering but we need to know this stuff to get you in the right direction. One thing that Ive learned over the years is that I like to ferment to dry in primary because racking can sometimes leave too much viable yeast behind causing the exact problem you are having now. Adding another yeast to a wine that is already pretty high in alc is pretty much wasting a packet of yeast. The best thing to do is if you have another wine that just finished fermenting then rack the finished wine leaving all the sediment behind and rack your stuck wine onto that other yeast. That older yeast is now acclimated to a much higher abv and just about any circumstances a yeast can be put through so it has the best chance of doing what your yeast wont do right now. The next best thing to that is to make a good yeast starter by taking some strong yeast like EC1118 or Premier Cuvee and put that into some OJ or grape juice and once that gets going good then add about 1/2 cup of your wine thats stuck. Once that gets going good then add about 1 cup of your wine and let that get going good. Do this a few more times and then gently add that big starter to your wine and if that dont get it going I dont know where to go from there. Make sure the temp of your wine is around 78* especially when having troubles like this.

 

[Rodnboro]

Thanks for the response. I did not add any sugar after the starting S.G. At 1.090 and using EC-1118, I assume this yeast will ferment to dry. I did use nutrient also. In the past, I have moved my musts to the secondary at 1.020 because I thought getting it off of the yeast would help with flavor. I have fermented some to dry in the primary though. I just haven't made enough to know which it best. My temp is 72 degrees. I'll try to warm it a little and see if it can ferment out. Thanks.

 

[AlFulchino]

all that Wade said naturally....i would add in to keep your wine up of the floor in order to make sure that 72 temp is at the bottom of the pail, not just the air and top of the container