Fermentation has already started.

[jhawk]

Pick up juice buckets up on friday. I put a 1/4 tsp of kmeta to kill yeast. I notice sat evening fermentation had already started. I couldn't do anything that night do to a party we were hosting. Sunday now and some buckets are really going to town. I always add bentonite to my juices at the beginning and pitch the yeast Iwant to use. Can I stI'll do both? Thanks

 

[acorn]

Adding your yeast may not even work at this point, because the wild yeast that's fermenting there already may compete with your commercial strain, not letting it develop properly, not to mention possible side effects of this clash. If you are to use bentonite, I would use it after the fermentation stops and rack it within a couple of days with the gross lees. I haven't been there before, but this approach would make sense to me under the circumstances.

 

[jhawk]

Well after looking at the buckets of juice just a little foam and bubbling. So I ended up adding mixing wine nutrient bentonite and the yeast in the buckets. Only the reds had signed of early fermentation. The whites had none. Hopefully nothing is at lost. Friday the sg on the buckets 1.088 today read 1.082.

 

[jhawk]

Does anybody else have any feedback on this. Anything g I should be worried about.
thanks

 

[acorn]

Well after looking at the buckets of juice just a little foam and bubbling. So I ended up adding mixing wine nutrient bentonite and the yeast in the buckets. Only the reds had signed of early fermentation. The whites had none. Hopefully nothing is at lost. Friday the sg on the buckets 1.088 today read 1.082.

It appears that the fermentation isn't all that active. I will let others comment on it, but one possible solution could be adding just a bit more K-meta (just on the tip of the knife) so that it halts the active wild yeast that apparently wasn't "killed" in the first place, and then start with your commercial yeast culture after 24 hours. Also, is there any chance your K-meta is old and could have lost potency?

 

[NYCWINO]

The buckets start by themselves most of the time. If left alone, often they finish dry and turn out quite well, but not always. Just add a competitive or nearly any strain of commercial culture to insure it finishes well. The yeast will have no problem assisting or finishing the final high alcohol at the end.

A small nutrient addition is helpful, as it is clarified juice, usually on the low end of nutrients. I dont know why you are adding bentonite to juice, which is usually crystal clear, and is not needed. Sulfite is un necessary as it is juice which is quite stable and not high in bacterial colonies, and the yeast are very insensitive to it. The best you will do is stress them further adding it now, if enough is used to have any effect on them.