beginner help please

liphook said:

Hi all, i decided to give winemaking a go this year and am currently trying to sort out my elderflower wine, i put it all in the demi john around 2 months ago and it was bubbling fine, but now it has stopped completely.

i followed a recipe my parents used 20 years ago when they were keen wine brewers, it was as follows

500 Mls . Elderflower

1.5 Kilos. Sugar.

250 Grams. Raisins

3. Lemons.

1 Teaspoon of Grape Tannin. Or 1 tablespoon of strong tea.

4.5 Litres of Water.

i did all this as the recipe instructed and left it alone, but now its stopped bubbling and still isnt clear.

i checked the gravity but am still unsure how to use my hydrometer, i think the reading is 1.040 ( its the same line as the beer starting level)

any suggestions as to what im doing wrong and how i can save this batch please?

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Bubbling is not a measurement of fermentation activity. Your wine can still be actively going and not make any bubbles.

The hydrometer is tricky at first, but there are threads on the forum for how to read them. In terms of advice, I would tell you that you're wanting the specific gravity to go down as fermentation happens. So, you'll want to get to around 0.990 to be complete.

Measure the gravity again tomorrow to see if it is going down from your current reading. As long as it keeps going down, your wine is fermenting. When it is the same for three days and gets to around 0.990, your wine is done and you should add potassium metabisulfite.

If the gravity is the same for three days in a row and it's not around 0.990 you are stuck. Not to worry, you can get unstuck by adding more yeast.

Fermentation takes quite a bit of space. I use a white bucket for fermentation that is oversized so that the foaming and froth don't overflow. Then I would rack to your demi-john after fermentation is done.

For your next batch, be sure to take a starting specific gravity reading so that you know your starting point.

I note that there is not any yeast listed in your recipe . did you add a yeast? if a bread yeast you may have reached its full potential for fermentation. I would obtain a wine yeast specifically EC1118, which is capable of restarting your fermentation. I would also add yeast nutrient. again as stated above you hydrometer will tell you when complete not bubbles.

As salcoco stated a yeast nutrient is needed for some yeasts or they stop fermenting. BUT if the SG is dropping steadily All is well.

Welcome to the forum!

After 3 mo. it is probably done fermenting. you started out with 1.5 kilo. of sugar (my conversion says 3lb 5 oz.) What ever yeast you used probably died off from alcohol poisoning. Yeasts have a level of tolerance for alcohol and some will not go very high. So, first thing is to use your nose. See how the wine smells. if ok, try a taste of it. It will be very sweet if it is at 1.040. Rack it and leave whatever solids you may have on the bottom of the container. Get it into a proper sized bottle or carboy and airlock it. Have to do some searching to see how much alcohol 3lb 5oz of sugar will make in a gal. You might have it fermented down as far as it will go and you might be able to use a stronger yeast to get it to ferment down further. Try a couple of these things and get back to us. And welcome to the forum. Arne.

Arne said:

After 3 mo. it is probably done fermenting. you started out with 1.5 kilo. of sugar (my conversion says 3lb 5 oz.) What ever yeast you used probably died off from alcohol poisoning. Yeasts have a level of tolerance for alcohol and some will not go very high. So, first thing is to use your nose. See how the wine smells. if ok, try a taste of it. It will be very sweet if it is at 1.040. Rack it and leave whatever solids you may have on the bottom of the container. Get it into a proper sized bottle or carboy and airlock it. Have to do some searching to see how much alcohol 3lb 5oz of sugar will make in a gal. You might have it fermented down as far as it will go and you might be able to use a stronger yeast to get it to ferment down further. Try a couple of these things and get back to us. And welcome to the forum. Arne.

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Thanks for all the replies and advice guys, its really appreciated.

this is the yeast i used http://www.wilko.com/homebrew-accessories+equipment/wilko-gervin-universal-wine-yeast/invt/0060004

im going to rack it off and put it into new demi johns this week, do you suggest putting more yest in ? and if so what type?

liphook said:

Thanks for all the replies and advice guys, its really appreciated.

this is the yeast i used http://www.wilko.com/homebrew-accessories+equipment/wilko-gervin-universal-wine-yeast/invt/0060004

im going to rack it off and put it into new demi johns this week, do you suggest putting more yest in ? and if so what type?

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Try EC-1118. It is a strong fermenter and alcohol-tolerant up to 18%.

Heather, I read the reviews for that Wilko yeast, and someone researched and found that yeast is rebranded EC1118. Can't say for sure he was right, but it would be the most probable yeast to choose if you were only going to sell one kind. Plus Wilko states it is for a high alchohol wine.

Pam in cinti

In that case, I would pitch more of the same. @liphook what size is your batch?

heatherd said:

In that case, I would pitch more of the same. @liphook what size is your batch?

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I have three gallons brewing.

It smells ok and tastes good, just very sweet.

any suggestions on what to do after racking it again? would more yeast help or more yeast nutrients?

liphook said:

I have three gallons brewing.

It smells ok and tastes good, just very sweet.

any suggestions on what to do after racking it again? would more yeast help or more yeast nutrients?

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Suggest more yeast and more nutrients.

heatherd said:

Suggest more yeast and more nutrients.

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If i filter the three gallons back into my brewing barrel, do I just add the yeast straight from the packet or doi have to do anything special to it?

So three gallons into barrel will be three of the sachets I mentioned above, plus nutrients.

liphook said:

If i filter the three gallons back into my brewing barrel, do I just add the yeast straight from the packet or doi have to do anything special to it?

So three gallons into barrel will be three of the sachets I mentioned above, plus nutrients.

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I sprinkle the yeast on top (rather than rehydrating or making a yeast starter).

3 Packets of yeast for 3 gallons??? Sounds like overkill if you are talking about the standard dry yeast packet. 1 Packet should be more than enough for 3 gallons.

sorry i havent got back to you guys, but been hectic for a few weeks.

I have just today filtered the wine back into my brewing barrel and added yeast and nutrients, the hydrometer was showing the same reading as when i started this post, so no change there.

lets just hope it starts fermenting asgain now

Good luck. Since it has been so long in an unprotected environment, you may have a bacterial sorority party going on. However, if the sprinkling of 1118 doesn't work, I'd recommend making a proper starter, but add some sugar and then a few cups of your must. Measure the brix and when it drops to 5, add more must to bring it back up to 10. Continue to do this until your new starter is your main batch and goes dry. More work, but may create a better environment for your yeast to multiply. However, as I started with, it's been a long time unprotected, I would toss it and start over.