New Pineapple Wine

[DarkLoki357]

Just started a new pineapple wine, well pitch the yeast about 8pm 08/02/16 as of right now it is still not doing anything. I still have until 8am 08/04/16 before it has been 36hours. The date on the outside of the wyeast was 03/08/16. Now if is still is not doing anything by morning what then?

 

[Johnd]

Just started a new pineapple wine, well pitch the yeast about 8pm 08/02/16 as of right now it is still not doing anything. I still have until 8am 08/04/16 before it has been 36hours. The date on the outside of the wyeast was 03/08/16. Now if is still is not doing anything by morning what then?

Cross that bridge when you get there, your yeast is dated nicely, just trust it to do its thing. I've seen a yeast take 3-4 days to get rolling. Are all of your parameters being met? Temps, pH, nutrients on hand, etc. Just curious as I've never done a pineapple, what's the pH? I recall that it can be acidic.

 

[DarkLoki357]

New to wine making have not got to testing ph, as for temp it was 72f but just checked it and the temp on bucket sticker thermometer is showing 78 so I just put a fan on it

 

[Johnd]

New to wine making have not got to testing ph, as for temp it was 72f but just checked it and the temp on bucket sticker thermometer is showing 78 so I just put a fan on it

Mid 70's will be fine. pH under 3.0 can be a yeast stresser. Can you post your recipe? Starting SG, nutrients, etc. Maybe it'll spark some folks to share their pineapple wine knowledge, there are little tricks to every trade, each fruit has nuances, experience is the key.

 

[DarkLoki357]

PINEAPPLE WINE

4.50 gallons Poland spring
12.7 pounds of sugar
1pk of Wyeast Sweet Mead yeast
2qt of Apple/Orange/Pineapple Juice
2qt of Pineapple/Orange/Guava Juice
20oz of Pineapple Juice


SG 1.100 Full Yield after everything added 6 gallons

 

[mennyg19]

Did you put the yeast straight into the must or did you activate it in warm water first. I have only made one wine and i activated first and it worked perfectly, however ive read around this forum that if you pour the yeast straight into the must then it could take a few days to activate on its own.
Btw, your recipe looks good, i know alot of fellows on here will tell you to water down the least possible amount. And also, I wouldn't call it "pineapple wine", theres a LOT of other juices in there

 

[DarkLoki357]

Did you put the yeast straight into the must or did you activate it in warm water first. I have only made one wine and i activated first and it worked perfectly, however ive read around this forum that if you pour the yeast straight into the must then it could take a few days to activate on its own.
Btw, your recipe looks good, i know alot of fellows on here will tell you to water down the least possible amount. And also, I wouldn't call it "pineapple wine", theres a LOT of other juices in there

True, as for the activt part, Wyeast is basically a liquid yeast and has a nutrient packet in side the when you start you break to start activation. I followed the instructions and let it sit the Three hours before pitching.

 

[DarkLoki357]

Did you put the yeast straight into the must or did you activate it in warm water first. I have only made one wine and i activated first and it worked perfectly, however ive read around this forum that if you pour the yeast straight into the must then it could take a few days to activate on its own.
Btw, your recipe looks good, i know alot of fellows on here will tell you to water down the least possible amount. And also, I wouldn't call it "pineapple wine", theres a LOT of other juices in there

True, as for the activt part, Wyeast is basically a liquid yeast and has a nutrient packet in side the when you start you break to start activation. I followed the instructions and let it sit the Three hours before pitching.

 

[DarkLoki357]

Did you put the yeast straight into the must or did you activate it in warm water first. I have only made one wine and i activated first and it worked perfectly, however ive read around this forum that if you pour the yeast straight into the must then it could take a few days to activate on its own.
Btw, your recipe looks good, i know alot of fellows on here will tell you to water down the least possible amount. And also, I wouldn't call it "pineapple wine", theres a LOT of other juices in there

True, will call it Pomona's Blessings, after Pomona a Roman Goddess. As for the activt part, Wyeast is basically a liquid yeast and has a nutrient packet in side the when you start you break to start activation. I followed the instructions and let it sit the Three hours before pitching.

 

[DarkLoki357]

Dam thing said connect problem that post did not only to send three times lol

 

[Winenoob66]

The Wyeast 4184 Sweet Mead Yeast has a tolerance level of 11% and from your SG you will not bottom out completely 1.100 will go to 13%

 

[Winenoob66]

If this helps you in the future bookmark them

http://winemakermag.com/yeast-strains-chart

And ...

http://wiki.homebrewersassociation.org/Potential-Alcohol-Content-from-Original-Gravity

 

[drainsurgeon]

That yeast also has a very narrow temperature range (65-75). Get the temp down so you don't cook the yeast. And the hardest thing for a new brewer (myself included) .....patience!

 

[Johnd]

Odds are, your yeast will die due to alcohol toxicity before all of your sugar is converted to alcohol, leaving a sweet wine. If that's what you want, then all is well. If you'd like to get all 14% of your ABV, consider adding a yeast with higher alcohol tolerance to finish up what your mead yeast leaves behind. You can sweeten your wine to taste later down the road.

 

[Arne]

Did you taste the must? Just wondering if it has a good flavor, that is enough fruit flavor. If the must tastes good it will generally make a good wine. Will be really sweet with all the sugar in there, but should have a strong fruit flavor. 78 degrees is a nice temp. to get the ferment started. Sometimes takes a few days before it starts, tho. Kick back, relax, and let it do its thing. You will probably be doing a lot of waiting. Winemaking takes time. Not much time working on it, lots of time waiting on it. Have fun with it and don't pay much attention to time lines. Each wine will do its own thing in its own time. Arne.

 

[Arne]

Drainsurgen just posted there is a narrow temp. range. You might have to pay attention to that. All the yeasts i have used would take off at 78 degrees just fine. Good luck with it, Arne.

 

[DarkLoki357]

Thanks all for your help, scare is over. Got temp to 72 and it was the time thing hit 36 hours and it is going strong now.

 

[JDesCotes]

Be careful with pineapple wine. The last 3 batches I did EXPLODED into a yeast monster! I would recommend placing your bucket into a laundry sink if you have it available just in case.

My first pineapple wine rose the lid off of my bucket about a foot above the rim with a super dense foam!

 

[DarkLoki357]

Thanks for the warning

 

[Noontime]

We had crazy foam on ours as well. And you'll probably want the wine a bit sweet anyway considering the fruits, so I wouldn't worry too much about the starting SG/yeast choice issue. Adding a more tolerant yeast later if it's too sweet is always an option as John said.

I'm glad things started before you tried to intervene. Of course there will be times when you have to do something, but knowing how long to wait can be tricky. I made a roasted butternut squash wine that wouldn't start for a few days, so I did a bunch of things to get it going. Turns out it just needed time, and then I spent a whole lot of time and effort trying to undo the things I originally intervened with.