Acidity issue - vinegar odor

[veikos]

Hi Everyone,

I started 1 week ago a first project with natural grape juice. Up to 2 days ago, it was still producing enough C02 to bubble in my airlock.
Last night while i was checking after it, it appears that it smell like vinegar, and after tasting it's a bit vinegar taste as well, not as much as it smell.
So far, I do not have right now anything to test easily the ph - any home made tips will be welcome.
Could it be an issue of contamination ? or change of temperature ( I had to move all my stuff last week because of the flood in my country, and in my place :/ ). How is it possible to rectify it ?
Another thing, sorry guys i'm a beginner, Is that normal there is more foam on top than during the 4 past day ?

Thanks in advance for your time and helps!

 

[JohnT]

Hi and welcome!

Could you please provide us with a little more info? Specifica of type of yeast used, type a juice, etc would go a long way.

Thanks,

johnT.

 

[veikos]

Hi John,
Sure here some more informations :
- Type of yeast used was : LaLvin EC-1118
- Type of juice : Fontana brand (cyprus brand ??), 100% natural, no preservative qtty : 4 L
- Added Sugar : 450 g (I followed a receipe)
- Yeast nutriment : None
- temperature of storage during fementation : 26 °C , but raised to 30 ° during the flooding of my house.
- SG/TA .... I don't have yet anything to record it ...

The odor appears after 7 days, and when the production of CO2 lowered (less bubble in the airlock).

Hope it helps, and if you need more détails i didnt mentionned/think let me know ...

thanks again !

Veikos

 

[winemaker_3352]

How are your sanitation methods?


The acetic acid bacteria.

These bacteria live in wineries, on winery equipment and in the air. Unfortunately, when they come in contact with wine and oxygen, they tend to produce acetic acid, the stuff that makes vinegar smell and taste like vinegar.


Acetic acid bacteria need the following things to survive: oxygen, a hospitable environment and a food source. By controlling these factors we can reduce the chances that acetic acid bacteria will find, infect, survive in, breed in and make acetic acid in our wines. We can do this by the following:

• Keep equipment scrupulously clean at all times.
• Keep containers as full as possible, as acetic acid bacteria thrive in half-empty containers that are, by definition, half full of air.
• If there must be headspace in a barrel or carboy, blanket the surface of the liquid with carbon dioxide or nitrogen gas, if available.
• Keep pHs low (under 3.7) so that microbes will not be able to survive as well in your wines.
• Use sulfur dioxide as an antimicrobial agent, keeping free SO2s between 20 to 35 ppm (mg/L).
• Store your wines in a cool, dry area. The lower temperatures and dry air will discourage not only acetic acid bacteria but molds and fungi as well.
• Watch wines that have low alcohol levels (below 10 percent). Alcohol acts as an antimicrobial agent to some extent, and wines with low alcohol levels are especially susceptible to attack by bacteria.
• Finished wine, or wine that has just finished fermentation, is the most vulnerable to acetobacter attack since the protective layer of carbon dioxide produced during fermentation is no longer present. Keep these vulnerable wines especially clean and topped up.
• Acetobacter are often transmitted to wines by insects like fruit flies. Do your best to clean up all spilled juice, must, skins and wine before you give fruit flies - and acetic acid bacteria - a chance to thrive in your winery. Immediately clean up spills wherever they occur, and especially keep tops of barrels, carboys and fermenters clean and free of residue.

 

[joeswine]

Cleaning up

GOOD ADVISE FROM ABOVE ,IF YOU GET A CHANCE READ WHEN GOOD WINES GONE BAD (CLEANING UP),SANITATION IS THE ISSUE,

 

[veikos]

winemaker_3352,
thanks a lot for this information.

I can see now 3 possibles factors :

- Headspace in my container
- Fluctuation for the Fermentation temperatures,
- Sanititation.

So basicaly my experimentation is turning bad ... anyways, i'll focus on this point for my next batch !

thanks