First batch and not getting bubbles!

[Tribute]

I am making a batch of harvest wine strawberry and followed the instructions. The only deviation I had was .5 gallons water short of the 4.5 it called for. I put the yeast in and had no visible activity after day 1. I then added an additional pack of yeast. it has been 3 days and I can tell something is happening in there (Some foam on top and smell Changed) and my ferm lock float has moved to the top of the lock. However I have seen no bubbles. I measured the density tonight and got a reading of 1.095. I am concerned it is not fermenting. What should I do?

 

[1tonmama]

What was your starting SG?
And what temperature? You want to keep the temp between 70F~75F.

 

[Tribute]

First Batch of wine and no bubbles!

I really appreciate this forumn as I have NO EXPERIENCE and am a brand new member. I mixed up a batch of Harvest Wine Strawberry 6 gallon recipe and am concerned. I followed the recipe exactly, but did leave out .5 gallons of water of the requested 4.5 gallons. after 1 day I had no bubbles and no evidence that anything was happening in the must. I added an additional pack of yeast at that time. I can now tell the smell and appearance of the must has chamnged. (Some foam on top). I can see enough pressure build that the float in the ferm lock rises to the top of the lock but I do not see any bubbles. I measured the SG today and got a reading of 1.095. I am afraid it is not fermenting. What should I do?

 

[GreginND]

It's only 1 day? Just wait!

 

[Tribute]

It has been 3 days. i added additional yeast after 1 day

 

[1tonmama]

What's your temperature?

 

[Tribute]

A touch below 70. It stays 67-68 in my house. Have you had this issue before? you look new like me from your profile.

 

[dralarms]

1st, what was the starting sg? Second raise the temp to about 74 for a couple days.

 

[hvac36]

Raise temp, remove top an place a towel over it and stir once a day to get O2 in to the mix,.,.,..,
What yeast are you usig also?

 

[JohnT]

Yup, Need more info..

I would measure SG, although I think that the 1/2 gallon of water should make that much of a difference. Another question is if you used any k-meta to help cleanse the must before you pitched your yeast.

1T is correct above, I would check the temp of the must. I would say that the typical preferred range would be from 65 to 75 degrees. Warmer is OK, but if below 60 you may have trouble.

 

[jswordy]

Sounds to me like it is fermenting. Move it to a warmer place if possible and you will see more activity. If you do not have a starting SG reading, take one now and then check against that in 1-2 more days, to assure that it is indeed moving downward.

I have had wines go through the whole ferment and not look like they were doing a whole lot. Not all yeasts will deliver the "soda pop crackle" kind of ferment that many people look for, especially if they are in cooler conditions.

 

[Tribute]

I added a heat lamp to the bathroom where I am storing it to raise the temp. I will also measure against my SG reading from yesterday. I did not take an initial reading. I will update with results.
Thanks

 

[Tribute]

The mix was from Vitners and I used campden tablets.

 

[jswordy]

I have had just one batch fail to ferment and that was because I was a bonehead and put too much k meta in it when I mixed the must. It never did ferment. The must never changed, even after 3 yeast additions and nutrients. It was dead. Only later did I realize my mistake.

I think from your smell and visual info that it is fermenting, just slowly. A rise in temp then should make it more active.

But just for grins, how many Campden tablets did you put in your initial batch, and what size was the batch in gallons?

 

[Tribute]

I put 5 campden tablets crushed. i added 4 gallons of water and a 96 oz jug of vitners strawberry mixture. (Mostly Juice.) I had bubbles tonight (1 every 5 min or so) but my SG reading did not change very much at all. Made it to 1.09 from 1.095 in a day. I removed the lid completly and covered it with cheese cloth. I also left the heat lamp on to keep the temp up. what ya think? Thanks for the help JS Wordy. I am in Star MS. Looks like you have been doing this a while.

PS It also has alot more foamy looking stuff on top today than before. I stirred the top half of it and covered with cheese cloth

 

[Arne]

You mite take a flashlight and shine it down on your must. A lot of times it will be fizzing but hard to see. Depends on the yeast, temps, nutrients, oxygen, and maybe the phase of the moon. Good luck with it, Arne.

 

[jswordy]

A tad high on the Campden probably delayed things. Use one tab per gallon to sanitize. Glad to hear it is looking foamy. In your fermenter, they are singing the old hymn, "Yeast shall overcome...."

After this batch, maybe try buying k meta as a powder. It is cheaper and you can be specific on your measurements. Then next we'll work on using your primary in the bathroom ... ... uh, EEEWWW!

 

[Loner]

You may want to consider adding additional juice once your SG drops to @ 1.040 / 1.050. This will give you a little more bang for your $ and get you closer to the 5 gallon mark. This means less topping off once you transfer to secondary.

 

[Tribute]

The bathroom is an extra that does not get used. I like it because it has a sink, tub, and tile floors. I sanitized everything before I got started. I guess it is now a wine room. I am going to take an SG measurement tonight and will let you know how it turns out. Is topping off critical? I was thinking of not to make sure I dont have a diluted taste. Sometimes thinking......... I will be glad to add more juice for sure if needed!

 

[Julie]

Tribute, welcome to WineMakingTalk.

Topping off at this point is not critical but once it is done fermenting you should. Once it is done fermenting you could stabilize it and backsweeten.