I'm making blueberry wine & am confused! I hope I didn't ruin 5 gallons of wine. I can't get the SG down to 1.040. Do I add more sugar to make it work again or more yeast starter? My "how-to" book isn't really clear. It tastes really good but the alcohol content is somewhat low. Any comments or suggestions?
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- Thread starter Lisa Ann
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Welcome to the forum Lisa Ann.
What was the starting SG and what type of yeast did you use? Also any extra chemicals would help us. I have found blueberry can proceed slowly, so it may have just slowed down. Also do you have it under airlock and how many days has it been going. The more info we have will help with accurate help.
What was the starting SG and what type of yeast did you use? Also any extra chemicals would help us. I have found blueberry can proceed slowly, so it may have just slowed down. Also do you have it under airlock and how many days has it been going. The more info we have will help with accurate help.
im having the same trouble with my coffee wine. Started at 1.080 now 3 weeks at 1.040. Used 212 yeast. I just added a starter with 1118 plus nutrient and energizer. It is not showing activity after 24 hours. I took the aitlock off when i added the starter last night. i stirred it well this morning. Im really groping in the dark.
if i dont get any activity by monday morning ill rack it, stabilise it an clarify. Il have a sweet low alcohol coffee wine in stock i guess.
Anyone have any other ideas except that I should stick to grape wines
if i dont get any activity by monday morning ill rack it, stabilise it an clarify. Il have a sweet low alcohol coffee wine in stock i guess.
Anyone have any other ideas except that I should stick to grape wines
Add yeast nutrient and energizer, stir the must, and make sure the must is around 70 degrees F. If the fermentation is really stuck, create a yeast starter using a yeast that is good at restarting fermentation. See the information on Jack Keller's website on stuck fermentation, which discusses this in detail:
http://winemaking.jackkeller.net/problems.aspEdited by: dfwwino
http://winemaking.jackkeller.net/problems.aspEdited by: dfwwino
Just another note on this stuck fermentation. Im getting light activity since last night an more this morning. I believe the addition of recomended amounts of nutrient and energizer in adition to a quickie starter bottle has helped.
I'm guessing at this next step.
After adding the 1118 etc I removed the airlock and replaced it with a cloth and rubber band.
My ideais to treat it like a huge starter and give the yeast a chance to multiply.
I also stir it vigorosly every morning.
If the activityincreases in a day or 2then i will re-introduce the airlock monday.
Im wondering if the yucky residue around the catboy can have something to do with the mix getting out of ballance.
I usedthis carboy for both primary and secondary fermentations(this is the only time i have tried this))as i am a proponent of stirring heavily before transferring to a secondary for the purpose of leaving very few lees behind.
I surely would like comments.
I believe both Lisa and I would benefit greatly from any thoughts.
I'm guessing at this next step.
After adding the 1118 etc I removed the airlock and replaced it with a cloth and rubber band.
My ideais to treat it like a huge starter and give the yeast a chance to multiply.
I also stir it vigorosly every morning.
If the activityincreases in a day or 2then i will re-introduce the airlock monday.
Im wondering if the yucky residue around the catboy can have something to do with the mix getting out of ballance.
I usedthis carboy for both primary and secondary fermentations(this is the only time i have tried this))as i am a proponent of stirring heavily before transferring to a secondary for the purpose of leaving very few lees behind.
I surely would like comments.
I believe both Lisa and I would benefit greatly from any thoughts.
Thanks for the welcome!
My starting SG was 1.090 & I used regular bread yeast that I've used before in my grape wine. I had in the primary fermentation almost a month because the fermenting went so slow. Now have had it ina carboy for a couple of days.I had it covered in the crock with a towel now in the carboy with an air lock.
My starting SG was 1.090 & I used regular bread yeast that I've used before in my grape wine. I had in the primary fermentation almost a month because the fermenting went so slow. Now have had it ina carboy for a couple of days.I had it covered in the crock with a towel now in the carboy with an air lock.
You can add yeast nutrient and energizer at any time during fermentation, especially if it appears sluggish. I usually feed my meads with yeast nutrient over several days.
One thought is whether the alcohol content of your must has exceeded the ability of the bread yeast to survive. I don't know what the alcohol tolerance of bread yeast is, but you may want to get a good wine yeast and repitch.
One thought is whether the alcohol content of your must has exceeded the ability of the bread yeast to survive. I don't know what the alcohol tolerance of bread yeast is, but you may want to get a good wine yeast and repitch.
I would start using Good wine yeast yeast like dfw said and add the nutrient right now and stir. Not sure what the acceptable temps are for a bread yeast and this leaves to many unknown variables. Temp tolernce, ABV tolerence, are just a few.
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What those guys said I would have to agree with.Also, a month is an awfully long time to be in the primary without going any lower than that. Have you tasted it at all yet? I would be afraid of acetobacter infecting it being low alcohol and asically uncovered for a month. If it tastes and smells OK, like they say, get some wine yeast(try to get Lalvin EC-1118 because it will tolerate up to 18% and restart stuck fermentations) and add some energizer. Try to move it where it is warmer if possible.
Good luck!
Good luck!
My research on google indicates that bread yeast has a low alcohol tolerance and will die at low alcohol levels, even sometimes sooner than an ale yeast. But you say you have made wine before with bread yeast. I'd be curious to hear how high your starting gravities were for the other batches and how sweet the finished wine was. You're much better off using wine yeasts from now on as they are designed to handle fermentations with a must of 1.090 and higher, and will usually produce alcohol up to 14-18% before dying, depending on the yeast. A sachet of wine yeast costs $1.00 or less, a much better route for making sure you have a healthy fermentation. See George's online catalog for the yeasts. Edited by: dfwwino
Perhaps this info will help Lisa
After adding the starter ((1118), nutrient and energizer i finally saw activity after a couple of days of vigorous stirring twice a day. I racked from the 5 gal ((way oversized carboy))to a 3 gallon filled to about one inch from the airlock.
I'm asuming that since a great deal of the alcohol had been produced before the fermentation slowed/stuck, that i should not expect a great deal of activity at this stage.
I am pleased to see some bubbling as slow as it is.
Patience is the secret as I am very slowly learning.
Perhaps in my case, the fermentation was just going to slow for my inexperienced eyes.
At any rate the liquid is no longer a candidate for the sink.
After adding the starter ((1118), nutrient and energizer i finally saw activity after a couple of days of vigorous stirring twice a day. I racked from the 5 gal ((way oversized carboy))to a 3 gallon filled to about one inch from the airlock.
I'm asuming that since a great deal of the alcohol had been produced before the fermentation slowed/stuck, that i should not expect a great deal of activity at this stage.
I am pleased to see some bubbling as slow as it is.
Patience is the secret as I am very slowly learning.
Perhaps in my case, the fermentation was just going to slow for my inexperienced eyes.
At any rate the liquid is no longer a candidate for the sink.
