Toughest Pee Ever

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Out of all the odd wines I make, my pee gets the best rave reviews. But this on is killing me! I really like using the lees from my plum wine, so this batch I used a gallon of plums( previously frozen) instead of lees in a 7 gallon batch of fresh Meyer/Ponderosa lemon juice. But Stalled fermentation, re-did a run in primary to get stuck fermentation, nothing is working. Airiated, nutrient, nothing working.... Now this odd stuff in one bottle. It doesn't taste all that bad, but not my best. Really not sure what to do. The only thing I did different from previous excellent batches is more plum and maybe letting the fresh juice stay in the fridge to long before fermenting. (30 days). As "wine makers" when do we know when to bottle and when to cry and pour down the drain?

 

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Concern about the white stuff...

 

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Come guys, really looking for some thoughts on the second pic

 

[Arne]

I am not sure what that is as I havn't had that problem. Somebody should jump on and try and help you. If nobody else does here shortly, try asking again in the beginners or general forum. Arne.

 

[wineinmd]

Is it also on the surface of the pee? It looks similar to the ring left behind by the krausen when I'm making beer.

 

[topkeg]

Light haze on the surface. But vast majority building on the wall of the glass. No off aroma. Oddly enough, the water in the air lock is hazy also.

 

[Arne]

Shake the carboy a little and twist it a little at the same time. See if that will help the stuff fall out of suspension. Arne.

 

[wineinmd]

Light haze on the surface. But vast majority building on the wall of the glass. No off aroma. Oddly enough, the water in the air lock is hazy also.

Just from my brewing experience, this sounds fairly typical. I've not yet made SP, but it sounds like you are well versed, and I'm assuming this is out of the ordinary.

Just going off your original post, the only change in variables are the use of fresh plums and letting the juice sit longer. Would the fresh plums have contributed pectin that would have otherwise not have been present when using the lees? Could that have somehow contributed to the film? The other possibility I can think of is that letting the juice sit in the fridge for 30 days allowed something unwanted into the juice and is now making its appearance known in the finished product.

I'm just shooting off the hip here and trying to apply what I've learned so far. Has the film grow further up the side or increased in thickness on the surface since your original post?

 

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winemd,

Thanks for your thoughts. Here is the latest; Two days ago, I added bentonite slurry to clear in two separate 1 gal batches and a 5 gal batch. On the batch that is having the problem, I racked before adding bentonite. So now the problem batch is not clearing nearly as well as the other two, and some of the white stuff is forming again.

In the grand scheme of things saving this batch probably isn't worth the time, effort, or risk of giving my friends crappy SP. So I think this gallon gets to go to the raccoon family in the back 40.

I still have 2 gallons of frozen lemon juice to work with from this years crop, so it will be interesting to see if anything goes funky with the next round.

 

[wineinmd]

winemd,

Thanks for your thoughts. Here is the latest; Two days ago, I added bentonite slurry to clear in two separate 1 gal batches and a 5 gal batch. On the batch that is having the problem, I racked before adding bentonite. So now the problem batch is not clearing nearly as well as the other two, and some of the white stuff is forming again.

In the grand scheme of things saving this batch probably isn't worth the time, effort, or risk of giving my friends crappy SP. So I think this gallon gets to go to the raccoon family in the back 40.

I still have 2 gallons of frozen lemon juice to work with from this years crop, so it will be interesting to see if anything goes funky with the next round.

I agree with the bolded. Having the white stuff return so quickly makes me think it is infected.

I'd give everything used in the handling of the problem batch (buckets/tubing/spoons/stirrers/etc.) an extra good cleaning/sanitizing just in case you did pick up an infection. I've not yet had one, but I've read that it can be tricky to completely rid the equipment of the bad actors.