Skittle Wine

[seanstermatic]

How long has fermentation been taking for people? Mine is going really slow...

Made 6 gallons, used EC-1118. Fermentation was going strong in the beginning (about 2-3 weeks ago) but now the SG drops about 2 points everyday (currently at 1.050 from OG 1.090). I'm not used to seeing such slow fermentation.

Fermentation actually stopped for a couple of days, so I repitched a massive starter and that got it going somewhat again, but still about 2 SG points a day. I'm too impatient for this!! EC-1118 normally finishes in about a week, 2 weeks TOPS...

Checked the pH and it's about 6 or so (used litmus paper) so this doesn't seem very acidic. It certainly doesn't taste very acidic. I suspect Ed Wort's apple wine (which I often make using 1118) is more acidic and there's no issue there.

 

[ColourfulCottonCandy]

I'm having the same problem as you, seanstermatic!!! I started my 2½ gallon batch of Skittle wine about 40 days ago and it's fermenting sooooooooooooo slowly!!! I have it down to about 1.048 and I'm not sure what to do - should I throw in some yeast energizer? It is still fermenting - I see the bubbles going up the sides of the carboys (I have it in 2 1-gallon jugs and a 3l jug, with the tops covered with cloth) but it's definitely not going as fast as I'd like.

 

[seanstermatic]

I pitched half a pack of yeast and then the following day pitched a starter I made using some lees from a batch of Wort's apple wine (in the fridge, about 2 weeks, starter was fermenting pretty good after 24 h). A day after this the SG dropped 0.004 points (from 1.046). It's now been stuck at 1.042 for 4 days but I do see it bubbling (visually and by the air lock - about 6 bubbles/minute).

I think I will rack it off the lees and repitch with a fresh full pack. I've heard that sometimes yeast may go dormant and start producing chemicals that can slow down metabolism. If I rack it off these "lazy yeast" (as I've heard them described) and repitch with fresh yeast, maybe this will restart fermentation?

Edit: Just checked the temperature and it's 75*F. So that's not the problem.

 

[djrockinsteve]

You have this must under airlock??? Get it in a bucket, give it a good stir. Does it need nutrient? Add fresh yeast if need be. Your choking the yeast if it's under airlock.

 

[seanstermatic]

I do have it air locked, but I've never had a problem doing primary fermentation under airlock with anything else. Should mention that I don't have much experience, but I've done a few wines and they've been okay under airlock. With Ed Wort's apple wine, I have had fermentation complete very quickly under airlock, so at least in this environment the yeast have no problem with oxygen availabilty.

In the beginning of skittles fermentation I was shaking it every now and again and more so once it started slowing down. This released a lot of gas and I'm sure it introduced oxygen. Wouldn't this be sufficient?

I've added yeast nutrient twice (in the beginning, and a day before pitching the starter).

I'm not sure if oxygen is the issue? Colorful cotton candy has a cheese cloth over his, no airlock and still stuck fermentation. Has anybody else done this wine under airlock for primary fermentation?

I am making another starter using fresh bought yeast. 750 ml of sugar water (SG 1.042 after adding 18 tsp of sugar) and 250 of rehydrated yeast. After 6 hours or so I'm going to add 500 ml of the skittles wine. After about 12 h (overnight) I'm going to add another 500 ml skittles wine. I might play with the timing depending on how vigorous fermentation in the starter is but this is the rough plan. This should at least condition the yeast to the skittles environment.

I will also rack off the lees and sometime tomorrow I'm going to pitch the starter.

 

[djrockinsteve]

Also with an airlock on and not stirring very well you are not releasing enough CO2 which will trap CO2, and thus make the environment difficult for the yeast.

Shaking the carboy as you said, most likely the airspace in the carboy is mostly filled with escaping CO2 so you are in essence adding it back into your must.

Yeast need to breath freely and live in an environment with adequate warmth, oxygen, nutrients and food (sugar). By stirring you are moving the yeast around to food sources and reintroducing air into the must.

When yeast become stressed due to a bad environment they can become stressed and begin to give off foul odors that will impart your wine.

If you haven't had any trouble in the past, great. But if you understand the science of fermentation you can make your fermentation move along better.

 

[seanstermatic]

Repitched the fresh yeast after removing the lees. Fermentation seems more active but not very much more (about 12 bubbles/minute), SG dropped 5 points after 2 days - not bad. Virtually all of the wax is gone after this racking which is nice. Clearly repeated racking is enough to get rid of the wax.

So it's almost the holidays and work in the lab isn't so demanding which gives me more time for more interesting work. I looked at my skittles wine under the microscope (I work in an immunology lab) and it looks different compared to an green apple reisling wine I did alongside. The apple wine was done at about the same time as the skittles and is nearly done fermenting (1.001). Both were done under airlock at the same volume (6 gal).

I stained the cells with trypan blue, which stains dead cells blue. This stain works by entering the cell only if the cell membrane is compromised, such as in a dead cell. I've attached the screen shots. Both images taken at 40X magnification.

Notice in the apple wine the cells look nice and large and there aren't many dead (blue) cells. In the skittles wine most/all of the cells are very small and many are dead. There are also many clumps of cells. In mammalian cells (which I work with) cell clumps can arise when cells die and release "sticky" proteins that can cause clumps, so maybe the same thing is happening here. There's also cells that appear to be staining red, the color of the skittles wine (black arrows). This means the red coloring is being absorbed by the cells. I don't know if this is expected. My expectation would be that cells only uptake sugar/nutrients and exclude the red coloring. I don't know what this means.

 

[Samh200]

Hello all... Think i am going to try this skittle wine but i need a little info...
1. What is pectolase? and do I need it?
2. do I need to make a yeast starter?
3. when do I need to put yeast in?...24hr after?

 

[Micah]

Can't answer the first question but both times I have made this I added the yeast directly to the mixture after it had cooled a bit and it took off like a rocket.

I have a 6 gallon batch going now that has been fermenting strongly for almost 2 weeks now.

 

[Samh200]

Can't answer the first question but both times I have made this I added the yeast directly to the mixture after it had cooled a bit and it took off like a rocket.

I have a 6 gallon batch going now that has been fermenting strongly for almost 2 weeks now.

Thanks Micah.. The reason i ask about the (pectolase) is because the recipe called for it.... Did you use this?

 

[Micah]

Thanks Micah.. The reason i ask about the (pectolase) is because the recipe called for it.... Did you use this?

I'm honestly not sure what pectolase is. I did add pectic enzyme to the batch which isn't called for in the recipe but might be the same thing.

Googling for pectolase gives the following answer:

Pectolase is a naturally occurring enzyme that degrades pectin. It is produced commercially for the food industry from fungi and used to destroy residual fruit starch, known as pectin, in wine and cider. In plant cell culture, it is used in combination with the enzyme cellulase to generate protoplasts by degrading the plant cell walls. (From Wikipedia)

You can use Pectic Enzyme as a substitute for Pectolase in your wine recipe. Pectolase is basically a liquid Pectic Enzyme, which is available at many winemaking supply stores. I have purchased it in the past at E. C. Krause and Company. www.eckrause.com

Read more: I have a wine recipe that calls for pectolase. Is that the same as pectin enzyme? If not, where can I get it in the states. I noticed in google that it is a product in Europe.

So it may in fact be the same thing with two different names.

 

[Samh200]

I'm honestly not sure what pectolase is. I did add pectic enzyme to the batch which isn't called for in the recipe but might be the same thing.

Googling for pectolase gives the following answer:



So it may in fact be the same thing with two different names.

Thank you much Micah... Your reply was very hepful

 

[LoneTreeFarms]

subscribed! i'm making 5 gallons of this tonight. has anyone tried food coloring at the end instead of the brown/grey look? just curoius

 

[hvac36]

Ok you got me, 3 gallons coming up... Any tricks that you have all learned that I should know? Water is boiling......
Using 3lbs, 3 Welch's White Grape juice..

 

[Runningwolf]

subscribed! i'm making 5 gallons of this tonight. has anyone tried food coloring at the end instead of the brown/grey look? just curoius

In the end after using Super kleere the wine was pretty clear. I added some concord to try and get at least a straw color look.

Ok you got me, 3 gallons coming up... Any tricks that you have all learned that I should know? Water is boiling......
Using 3lbs, 3 Welch's White Grape juice..

Yes if the skittles quit melting add some more water to the put. It can get so saturated that it won't melt any more.

 

[hvac36]

Ok skittles melted and pan placed in freezer to help solidify the wax. Then off to fermentor and add the rest of stuff. House smells like Skittles.....

 

[hvac36]

Skittle wine is at SG 1.095 temp 73 Degrees everything added and yeast pitched now we sit and wait...

 

[Runningwolf]

wow 1.095, I see where your going with this easy summer drinker. When she asks for the 3rd or 4th glass I hope you're prepared!

 

[hvac36]

Hoping I can get it down to .990 but will be happy with .995 This hobby is taking over my downstairs fast... lol

 

[LoneTreeFarms]

Hoping I can get it down to .990 but will be happy with .995 This hobby is taking over my downstairs fast... lol

crap i made 5 gallons of this stuff last night and my SG was 1.15, i threw in the yeast i think it was cote des blancs, don't have the notes with me now, but i'm hoping the yeast will not be over powered.

the wax layer sucked, but this smelled incredible last night.