renewed fermentation?

[lhunkele]

...just peeked at my peach wine and it looks like it's fermentating again after adding the f-pak, it's releasing an air bubble through the airlock about once every 8-9 seconds and there's a layer of something (foam?) on top... is this considered renewed fermentation? and if it is, now what?

9/15 added k-meta SG .994
9/17 degased, added superkleer, wine conditioner (including sorbate), & peach flavoring
9/18 reconsidered and added f-pac
9/25 looks like fermentation is active again, I have a feeling it's not supposed to be doing this... Help

 

[Midwest Vintner]

sounds like refermenting.

you might have not added enough k-meta. also, you should add it the day of sweetening to help stop refermentation. the other reason is as you are sweetening, you are allowing oxygen in, therefore, doing the two together keeps transfer down.

i would either add a little bit more k-meta or just let it go dry and see what happens. another thing i do to keep make sure it's done, is wait more than a few days of no sg changes. wait a week or two when it's dry and you'll have less chance of it happening. sounds like you were doing everything pretty much right though. sometimes it's a combination of small chances that allow something like this to happen.

hopefully it's not rocket fuel. just remember the 3 p's. PATIENCE, PATIENCE PATIENCE!!!

also, what kind of yeast? seems to me the lalvin 1116 and 1118 just don't die sometimes. we had this happen once and it had set for awhile (almost a month) dry even.

 

[cpfan]

Yep, probably re-fermentation.

WHY? Not enough sorbate added. A very common mistake. People think that the sorbate in a little wine conditioner is sufficient. It isn't, unless a lot of wine conditioner was added.

So here's the question...how much wine conditioner did you add? And how much wine are we talking about?

Steve

 

[lhunkele]

Thank you for your quick reply.

I 'though' it was stable after three consectutive days at .994, however I did use the 1118 yeast..., thanks, I will wait longer with my next batch.

When you say, 'let it go dry' I'm a little confused, I've already added 'stuff' to sweeten/flavor the wine, which I though would raise the SG (no I did not take a reading after, I was going to wait until I racked it again...) so, if it's fermenting again, is the SG supposed to go back down to below 1.000, and then back-sweeten again?

Rocket fuel? Oh my...

 

[lhunkele]

Steve, I'm making 1-gal and I added 4-tbls conditioner.

 

[Wade E]

This is just one reason why I dont use that crappy product not to mention it makes wine taste synthetic and is more expensive then just using sugar and water! Make yourself a simple syrup next time by using 2 cups of sugar with one cup of boiling water. Since the only sorbate you have added was you will have to let it ferment all the way down again and then sulfite and sorbate. Do not rely on sorbate in the conditioner as its only there to protect the product itself from refermenting.

 

[lhunkele]

Got it, thanks!!

 

[Midwest Vintner]

Thank you for your quick reply.

I 'though' it was stable after three consectutive days at .994, however I did use the 1118 yeast..., thanks, I will wait longer with my next batch.

When you say, 'let it go dry' I'm a little confused, I've already added 'stuff' to sweeten/flavor the wine, which I though would raise the SG (no I did not take a reading after, I was going to wait until I racked it again...) so, if it's fermenting again, is the SG supposed to go back down to below 1.000, and then back-sweeten again?

Rocket fuel? Oh my...

when i mean let it go dry, i mean for more than a few days. some yeasts, even though the sg isn't dropping are still present. more sugar and they're ready to get going. gotta starve them buggers!

Wade> one problem i've had with the red star is that it doesn't get going. a stuck fermentation is no good either. that said, i use the 1116, 1118, 1122, d 47 and cotes de blanc yeasts depending on the batch.

 

[cpfan]

Steve, I'm making 1-gal and I added 4-tbls conditioner.

Obviously there are different brands of wine conditioner, but I believe that they are all of similar composition.

According to the info abut the Spagnols wine conditioner, 4 tablespoons (ie 60ml) is about the right amount for 1 gallon.

Steve