crazy wine

[tracar]

can this be normal ??

i have racked this carboy of dandelion / banana 4 times and the last two times i have tried to deny the yeast the right to enjoy themselves.

primary fermentation.2 weeks

first racking. after 2 weeks

second when fell clearer about 6 months (6 campten tabs added to new carboy)

third rack - after a year. this point it was clear.. Very clear with a dark whiskey color and good smell to it . still fermenting after almost 2.5 years

but the yeast was still active and very alive ( a bubble every 20 seconds in airlock)
there was no sugar in the mix... very dry and very strong with alcohol !!
considering it should be only 8% ... its way over that mark.

whats up with the yeast. i know it can cannibalize its self. but i dont have any sediment in the carboy. and even to date its still bubbling and samples drawn from it are carbonated.

is this a bad thing ? i mean fermenting for 2.5 years straight

 

[xanxer82]

Did you degas and add sorbate? It could be a secondary fermentation.

 

[tracar]

sorbate would stop the yeast.
i know this. but will it be ok to let it continue. or end it before its done
im not a big fan of sorbate. i leave it o-natural and like them dry. and add honey if needed at time of drinking


so i guess a good question would be ( can unwanted smells / tastes / alcohols be produced in this carboy of dandynanna wine )
but thanks xanxer82 !

 

[Woodbee]

Too curious. I would tend to think it was giving off dissolved CO2 as opposed to still fermenting. Degas.
Brad

 

[tracar]

i believe this is happening. :

Quote { Generally the malo-lactic fermentation is to be welcomed, since it lowers the acidity and gives additional rounder smoother flavours, although in very low acid ciders it can reduce the acidity too far. In bittersweet ciders it produces characteristic 'spicy' notes (often detectable in ciders from Normandy). It may be recognized by the evolution of gas without renewed turbidity (if a yeast re-ferments a sweet cider it becomes cloudy because the yeast cells are so large (typically 10 microns). Malo-lactic fermentations, unless very heavy, tend to remain clear because the bacteria are so small (typically 0.5 microns).

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yCQucfQwUh4&feature=youtube_gdata_player[/ame]