Can't get fermentation going....

[Droc]

I think I need some help... I'm kind of new to making wine with fresh fruit and I can't get my blackberry wine to start fermenting.

I started off with 5 pounds of Blackberries and 1 pound of Raspberries, then added about 1/3 gallon water. I then added 5.5 cups of sugar to get the SG up to 1.090. I put the pulp from the blackberries and raspberries in mesh bags and then added 1 tsp potassium metabisulfite and 3/4 tsp pectic enzyme and let sit for 24 hours.

The next day the ph was 3.6 and SG 1.092 at 66 degrees. I made a slurry of 1 tsp bentonite and 3 oz water and added that while my yeast rehydrated (I used Lalvin K1-1116). After i pitched the yeast I added 1 tsp of nutrient and 1/2 tsp of energizer and stirred vigorously for about 6 minutes to get some O2 in the must.

The next morning I added another tsp of nutrient and energizer and stirred again, then put it into a closet where it is a little warmer (around 65 degrees right now, it's cold here in PA). The at 5 PM I added another tsp of nutrient and stirred again.

I still had no activity so the next day I took a portion of my juice and put it into a blender to get a good bit of O2 into the must, and added another tsp of nutrient and energizer and gave another good stir. I also squeezed the bags of pulp to get the juices out and removed them from the primary.

Then today, I took a sample to check SG to check if it was going on and I wasn't seeing it, and the SG hasn't dropped at all from the beginning.

The only thing I can think of is I added to much potassium metabisulfite at the beginning, but I've made a peach mead using the same process and had no problems with that.

If anyone has any ideas on how to get this going I would greatly appreciate it. If I left anything out that you have questions about, please let me know. Thanks!!!

 

[Floandgary]

HEAT!! Need to get temp up around 75 F. Brew belt or somewhere warmer. Then stir every day. G'luck!

 

[Droc]

Can I just wrap it in blankets to get the temp up? I haven't needed a brew belt for any of my kits or mead's, so I haven't acquired one yet. I'll give that a try and see if my LHBS has any brew belts in stock.

 

[Julie]

I think you may have hit on the too much k-meta, have you been stirring it besides the first time. I would be giving this a good stir a couple times a day and yes give it a little more heat.

 

[jamesngalveston]

first...stop adding anything..
get the temp up.
yeast will slow down with that much sulphides, but will come back up.
pitch another packet of yeast, do not hydrate...sprinkle on top of your must.
dont stir, dont do anything....just let it go...

you will have a ferment.

campden/kmeta, will slow down, but the yeast will over power it and start up....

 

[Droc]

I had been stirring it at least twice a day trying to get it going. I have it wrapped up in a blanket right now. I still have to find a brew belt, I have 2 LHBS shops in my area, so I have to check which one has a good one. I'm going to put it on a heating pad while I go get some more yeast, but once I sprinkle that on I will leave it alone. Thanks for the help. My girlfriend will be a little ticked off at me if I screw this up since she helped to pick all the fruit I'm using....

 

[REDBOATNY]

Although heat may help, that yeast should be fine at 66F. I had a similar problem once with over sulfited juice. I splash racked it several days in a row and could smell the So2 dissipating. Eventually it started working. I may be quicker than stirring.

 

[Droc]

Okay, so I added some Lalvin 1118 yeast, put a brew belt on, removed my airlock to let some more O2 in and after a couple days I have a pretty vigorous fermentation going! I put the airlock back on and I am letting it go until it's finished! Thanks everyone for all your help..

 

[Turock]

Droc---Just another thing here---don't use bentonite so early. Bentonite and pectic enzyme(or ANY enzyme) should never be used together because the bentonite inactivates enzymes. So the bentonite addition needs to be done in a timed fashion. Use the pectic enzyme like you did--on the first day along with the sulphite--then on the 3rd day of the ferment, add the bentonite. By the 3rd day, the pectic enzyme has done its job, and it's safe to add the bentonite.

 

[jamesngalveston]

Bentonite and pectic enzyme(or ANY enzyme) should never be used together because the bentonite inactivates enzymes.

that is the smartest statement i have seen on this board...Thanks.
If the people that sold it and the people that puts it in kits, used that as instructions people would make a better wine.

 

[Droc]

Awesome, I'll keep that in mind for next time I get something going with fruit. That was actually the first time I added them all together. I made a peach mead that I added the enzyme and kmeta, then let sit for a day and only added bentonite when I racked it. Seemed to work pretty well.

 

[Turock]

Yes, you can use bentonite in the secondary as well. We make most of our fruit wines with no water so they are very dense and have a tendancy not to fall clear. So we use bentonite in the primary for these wines, and it works very well. Very often, the wine begins clearing after a couple days in the secondary. I really dislike fighting with wine in the secondary. If you adjust acid pre-ferment, use some of the better pectic enzymes, and use bentonite in the primary, your work in the secondary is limited to racking and aging. The bulk of your work should be at the primary, where you're designing the wine. Must is much more forgiving than wine is.