Fermentation stuck.

[miccbull]

On Jan 24 I started a batch of welch's grape concentrate wine with a starting SG of 1.086 with EC-1118,

I stirred it daily and activity looked good (lots of foam). On January 29th it got down to roughly 1.035 (foam prevented perfect reading). I stopped stirring here so it could finish and the sediments could drop out. Today I checked it and it is 1.030.

I have an old packet of yeast that hasn't expired yet that I could pitch (but it hasn't been in the fridge) and I could leave it in the primary. Or I could siphon to carboy and get it under airlock, or I could stir it/leave it a few more days

If you can offer advice that would be great

 

[Julie]

Stir it and leave it for a few more days

 

[miccbull]

thanks Julie.

How long can wine sit like this in the pail before spoiling? Just wondering how long I should give it before getting it under airlock

 

[Julie]

once it is down to around 1.010, I would add the the airlock

 

[salcoco]

suggest adding some yeast nutrient such as Fermaid-K to finish fermentation. yeast are out of good food

 

[miccbull]

ok I'll keep stirring it a few more days and add in a Tbsp little yeast nutrient.

 

[Arne]

Did it take back off?? If not, stir it up good and bump the temp. up a little. If the ferment gets too cold, it slows down, but keep watching your s.g. Bet it is still going. Arne.

 

[miccbull]

Did it take back off?? If not, stir it up good and bump the temp. up a little. If the ferment gets too cold, it slows down, but keep watching your s.g. Bet it is still going. Arne.

It is still at 1.030 unfortunately. I gave it a good stir yesterday evening, and another just now. I haven't added more yeast nutrient yet (I did add the 6 tsp as suggested at the start of fermentation), I was planning on picking some up tomorrow - how much more should I add?

I'll bump the temp up to just north of 70. My heating mat got out of hand for a day last week because the thermometer fell off and pushed the temp up into the 80's.... so I have been hesitant to use it.

 

[Arne]

You are getting far enough along, I would hesitate to add much if any nutrient. If the yeast doesn't use it all up, you can have some funny smells from the nutrient. If you add some now, I would use maybe a quarter of what the full dosage on the bottle calls for. Bet if you get it back in the high 70's or so, it will probably get going again. If you have the primary sitting on concrete, put something between the bucket (carboy) and the concrete. I usually put a board underneath it. THe concrete sucks the heat out of the fermenter and will slow or stop it. Arne.

 

[miccbull]

You are getting far enough along, I would hesitate to add much if any nutrient. If the yeast doesn't use it all up, you can have some funny smells from the nutrient. If you add some now, I would use maybe a quarter of what the full dosage on the bottle calls for. Bet if you get it back in the high 70's or so, it will probably get going again. If you have the primary sitting on concrete, put something between the bucket (carboy) and the concrete. I usually put a board underneath it. THe concrete sucks the heat out of the fermenter and will slow or stop it. Arne.

Thanks Arne. It seeems to be going! Checked this morning when I gave it another stir. 1.028! This seems awfully slow but I will trust that the wine wont oxidize prior to getting it to carboy at 1.01. One concern I have is if I keep stirring until it gets to 1.01 then the gross lees will not have settled prior to putting it in a carboy. I guess that just means racking again sooner than usual.

 

[salcoco]

at the point you are at , you only will need about 2 grams of nutrient to finish.

 

[Julie]

Thanks Arne. It seeems to be going! Checked this morning when I gave it another stir. 1.028! This seems awfully slow but I will trust that the wine wont oxidize prior to getting it to carboy at 1.01. One concern I have is if I keep stirring until it gets to 1.01 then the gross lees will not have settled prior to putting it in a carboy. I guess that just means racking again sooner than usual.

I won't worry too much about the gross lees right now. If you are planning on racking at 1.010 you need to pull some of that over to ensure you do not get a stuck fermentation.

 

[Turock]

Next time you do a ferment, get used to splitting your nutrient amount into 2 doses. Pitch the first one when you begin the ferment, the second dose before the 50% dry stage or if using Fermaid K by the 1/3 sugar depletion stage. Lack of nutrient support is often the reason why a ferment gets stuck. When yeast gets stressed from running out of food, it will slow way down or get stuck. And you also risk alot of H2S production.

 

[miccbull]

Next time you do a ferment, get used to splitting your nutrient amount into 2 doses. Pitch the first one when you begin the ferment, the second dose before the 50% dry stage or if using Fermaid K by the 1/3 sugar depletion stage. Lack of nutrient support is often the reason why a ferment gets stuck. When yeast gets stressed from running out of food, it will slow way down or get stuck. And you also risk alot of H2S production.

I had no idea!

 

[miccbull]

Unfortunately the little burst of energy upon stirring it has stopped once more. I've been stirring everyday, I had added 1/tsp of yeast nutrient, and I even pitched some more yeast the other day.

It's at 1.026... at this point do I rack it and give it time? Or at least time to settle out the current yeast so I can restart the fermentation later?

 

[Turock]

Without the energizer, I'm not surprised that it's stuck again. Actually, you can just get it in a carboy with an airlock and allow it to clear. Rack when needed. It will have residual sugar on it, which isn't bad for a wine made from concentrate. You'll probably be drinking this up relatively early anyway. I think you've now learned a thing or two about making this wine and your next attempt shouldn't be THIS difficult.

 

[miccbull]

I'll give it another go and pick up some yeast energizer tonight, prior to giving up on it. There is gonna be a lot of yeast in that bucket!

 

[Turock]

The amount of yeast won't matter. If you are able to get it going again, then the yeast will just stop once the sugars are all metabolized, and you'll rack off the bulk of the yeast cells.

 

[miccbull]

well my hydrometer indicates no luck in getting it going again, despite the fact that it seems to be producing gasses still.... I'll just stir it and rack it under airlock and give it a month or so before checking again and adding kmeta. Perhaps I'll have a sweet wine....

 

[Turock]

The gas is CO2--a by-product of yeast fermentation. Just allow it to sit and clear and age up a little. It takes a while for all the CO2 to come off a wine. The residual sweetness should be quite nice on this wine.