No Fermentation

[skeenatron]

Well your so2 add looks good, your nutrients look good. Your temp is good. I think scooter has the right idea, give it chance to get through the lag phase as this can be longer or shorter depending on a number of factors. If it ends up not taking off, it could have been a yeast to juice temp issue which a reinoculation could fix. Keep us posted!

 

[Rosa321]

Well your so2 add looks good, your nutrients look good. Your temp is good. I think scooter has the right idea, give it chance to get through the lag phase as this can be longer or shorter depending on a number of factors. If it ends up not taking off, it could have been a yeast to juice temp issue which a reinoculation could fix. Keep us posted!

Thanks again!
I will surely keep you posted.

Is the 1/4tsp Kmeta enough to keep it from spoiling? I still have the lid loosely on... Fingers crossed something happens soon!

 

[skeenatron]

Thanks again!
I will surely keep you posted.

Is the 1/4tsp Kmeta enough to keep it from spoiling? I still have the lid loosely on... Fingers crossed something happens soon!

Ya you took care of native microbest with that so2 dose. Now your yeast is in control. I wouldn't do any more sulfuring.

 

[Rosa321]

Still nothing happening Re-pitch the yeast?
It looks like the yeast is falling to the bottom. Before I stir and squeeze the fruit, the must looks quite clear.
Maybe it was a temp thing, or a bad packet of yeast?

This has never happened before...I hope I can save this batch!

 

[skeenatron]

Still nothing happening Re-pitch the yeast?
It looks like the yeast is falling to the bottom. Before I stir and squeeze the fruit, the must looks quite clear.
Maybe it was a temp thing, or a bad packet of yeast?

This has never happened before...I hope I can save this batch!

Ya I'd re-pitch

 

[Scooter68]

Unless a bacterial infection gets past the K-Meta treatment what's the worst that can happen? It starts to ferment with a wild yeast? Re-pitch and keep an eye on temps and acidity. I'd try to get temp up to low 70s for starting out - then let it drop a little if you have to.

 

[Rosa321]

Thank you both for the advice!
I re-pitched the yeast. I gave it 20mins this time and it was pretty frothy so I hope that's a good sign for the little microbes.

 

[Rosa321]

Unless a bacterial infection gets past the K-Meta treatment what's the worst that can happen? It starts to ferment with a wild yeast? Re-pitch and keep an eye on temps and acidity. I'd try to get temp up to low 70s for starting out - then let it drop a little if you have to.

I'm trying. The house is very chilly, so I have my bucket wrapped in towels to hopefully warm up!

 

[Rosa321]

Still No Fermentation... :-( Just gonna let it sit and see where it goes, I guess.

Wonder what I could have goofed. Followed the recipe like I have a dozen times before.

 

[Rosa321]

Ok. I'm officially done complaining to this thread. Fermentation started!

Sorry...patience is obviously not my strong suit!

 

[Tnuscan]

@Sweetiepie , how is your wine coming along? Did you rack it to the carboy?

 

[Sweetiepie]

Thank you for asking. I got confused with what I heard here and several recipes I was going off of. I think I was suppose to put it into the carboy at about a week or at 1.03 ish and I waited two weeks and it finished at 1.000. It held that SG for 3 days before going it to the carboy. I did check and stir it each day, I just thought I was suppose to let it ferment dry before the carboy and then I looked at the recipes again. So it was open to air with just a cloth over it for that length of time, hoping I didn't mess it up to bad. Since it has a bad after taste like vomit. But upon research on here I let it sit in the glass and it was better. I was worried it had an infection.

I am still tying to find wine I like, so as a result I opened a new bottle that night and it had that same after taste. So I think it is fine, I am most likely going to have to back sweeten and maybe it is the acid level, I don't like. Since I didn't know I left it at 3.6.

So since your asking, can I ask should I rack again when it hits 21 days? That is what most grapes recipes say. My extra carboy is showing up on Friday so I could rack again on Monday, that will be 21 days from the start. Or since I just did it on Monday, wait a while?

P.S. I originally thought I could top off with water until reading on here it should be alcohol and the only thing I had to top off with was Mogen David's Blackberry wine. Hope that will be ok.

 

[Tnuscan]

Thank you for asking. I got confused with what I heard here and several recipes I was going off of. I think I was suppose to put it into the carboy at about a week or at 1.03 ish and I waited two weeks and it finished at 1.000. It held that SG for 3 days before going it to the carboy. I did check and stir it each day, I just thought I was suppose to let it ferment dry before the carboy and then I looked at the recipes again. So it was open to air with just a cloth over it for that length of time, hoping I didn't mess it up to bad. Since it has a bad after taste like vomit. But upon research on here I let it sit in the glass and it was better. I was worried it had an infection.

I am still tying to find wine I like, so as a result I opened a new bottle that night and it had that same after taste. So I think it is fine, I am most likely going to have to back sweeten and maybe it is the acid level, I don't like. Since I didn't know I left it at 3.6.

So since your asking, can I ask should I rack again when it hits 21 days? That is what most grapes recipes say. My extra carboy is showing up on Friday so I could rack again on Monday, that will be 21 days from the start. Or since I just did it on Monday, wait a while?

P.S. I originally thought I could top off with water until reading on here it should be alcohol and the only thing I had to top off with was Mogen David's Blackberry wine. Hope that will be ok.

Did you add sulfite (k-meta) when you racked or did you just rack off of the lees?

 

[Sweetiepie]

I did not add anything, just racked off the lees.

 

[Tnuscan]

Ok, if you didn't add k-meta at racking, and you added the bottle of wine to top up, Yes, let it sit at around 72 degrees or so. Since you were at 1.000 you might not of finished fermenting. Mine usually falls down around 0.996 to 0.994 or so.

You could go two ways here:

Assuming your topped up, after letting it sit, if it doesn't start fermenting, you could (stabilize)add your k-meta, sorbate, (if backsweeting), and add clearing agents. Let it sit 2 or 3 weeks to clear.

Or if you want it to clear on its own , just give it time in the carboy to do so, racking every 3 months.

Here is normal procedure:
Ferment to 1.010, rack to carboy with airlock. Let finish fermenting (dry). 3 days no change in S.g.
Rack, add k-meta, sorbate if back sweeting, degass while adding clearing agents. After clearing 2 to 4 weeks, rack, lightly sulfite, age 3 months, bottle or keep aging, racking every 3 months.

 

[Sweetiepie]

Wonderful! Thank you. I had moved it to the basement which is about 50 to 55 degrees right now but I will drag it back upstairs and wait probably until Monday and rack. I was going to wait before clearing because I am not sure on the degassing, and have read that time will help with that. Can I back sweetening shortly before bottling, like at 9 months or so? Or is it better to do it now. I was hoping the taste might come around some before I sweetened it.

 

[Tnuscan]

Wonderful! Thank you. I had moved it to the basement which is about 50 to 55 degrees right now but I will drag it back upstairs and wait probably until Monday and rack. I was going to wait before clearing because I am not sure on the degassing, and have read that time will help with that. Can I back sweetening shortly before bottling, like at 9 months or so? Or is it better to do it now. I was hoping the taste might come around some before I sweetened it.

I re-read your post and noticed you used EC-1118, this yeast always ferments dry for me, so you my be ok where your at. You'll have to warm it up to degass.

After most fermentations a lot of the free SO2 gets bound, and does not leave you with a lot of protection, this is why you need the addition after racking off the gross lees. If you added a sweet wine this has me scratching my head.

 

[Sweetiepie]

Ugh.... I didn't even think of it being sweetened. Thank you! Of course I took the SG reading before I topped off the carboy. I have been checking it everyday and no bubbling or fermentation on top. Thank you for explaining the binding of the SO2 and it needing the addition. I probably just should of used water to top it off. Thank you again for helping me through this huge learning curve.

 

[Tnuscan]

Ugh.... I didn't even think of it being sweetened. Thank you! Of course I took the SG reading before I topped off the carboy. I have been checking it everyday and no bubbling or fermentation on top. Thank you for explaining the binding of the SO2 and it needing the addition. I probably just should of used water to top it off. Thank you again for helping me through this huge learning curve.

Wouldn't use water to top up, I would use a wine.

 

[Scooter68]

Still don't get the complete aversion to using small amounts of water to top-off. I could understand if the recipe was thin on fruit/grapes per gallon and a low ABV but it you plan ahead you can boost your concentrations and avoid the issues with adding a sugar/fermentation source to you wine during the aging process. (not with a kit wine perhaps) If a single bottle of wine (25.3 oz) is only 3% of a 6 gallon batch, a 3% addition of water to a batch shouldn't terribly dilute the batch either. Again when doing a kit wine or if the batch wasn't designed to be a little strong to begin with I certainly understand the issue with diluting. I use nothing but water (usually filtered or Distilled water to top off and I haven't had any issue with watered down wines.