Spoke to soon!

[Wade E]

I forget who posted the other day about having a problem with initial
fermentation using Pot-Meta in the 1 tsp. per 1 gal. recipe but I psted
back as I believe Waldo did to. Well, I know have 2 wines as which
ferm. did not start. I started a starting ferm tonight at 5:30 to
hopefully get these 2 wines going. I hope this does the trick. I have
never previously had a problem as they usually start up in about 4 to
six hours. I started these on Sat. morning and pitched yeast Sunaday
aft. The only thing I did differently is use pot-Meta powder instead of
crushing Campdens. Anybody ever noticed a difference.

 

[Waldo]

What kind of wines are they wade? Must temps? Did you use a yeast nutrient and energizer prior to pitching yeast?
How many glasses of wine did you have prior to pitching the yeast? Are you 100% sure you did not pitch yeast to a previously fermented and stabilized batch and the two wines you thought you had started are "yeastless"

Just kidding buddy..I have used both and not had any problems yet. You might try adding a little energizer and stirring good first.

 

[masta]

I forget who posted the other day about having a problem with initial fermentation using Pot-Meta in the 1 tsp. per 1 gal. recipe but I posted back as I believe Waldo did to. .

I hope you are not saying you added 1 tsp of k-meta to a 1 gal batch! That would give you about 900 ppm and there isn't a yeast made that would survive in that environment.


Using powder k-meta in 1 gal batch you only need ~0.5 grams for75 ppm free SO2 which is equal to campden tablet.

 

[Wade E]

The directions on the Vintners Harvest say to use 5 tsps. liquid pot.
Bisulfite or 5 Campden Tablets. Dissolve 5 tsps. in one cup of warm
water. At this point I guess I should have put in the 5 tsps. of that
liquid. I dissolved them and then dumped in the whole cup!I have a
starter yeast going and it is going good. What do I do now that I have
all this Pot- Meta in both batches?

 

[grapeman]

Stir the snot out of it to give off as much of the K-Meta as possible. You've got to diffuse as much of the gas out as possible if it is ever going to start. I usually go with about 1/4 to 1/2 tsp of K-Meta in a 6 gallon batch to kill the wild yeasts. You may have to wait a few days to get the concentration down- then introduce the starter. Good Luck

 

[Wade E]

Thanks everyone. OOOOOOPPPPSSSSS. Thats why I always use Campden tablts.

 

[Wade E]

Oh well live and learn. I dumped both batches down the drain today. The
starter yeast dyed bright off as soon as I added a little of the must
to it. I guess the overdose of Pot-meta was a little too much. Its
probably enough to kill a horse. Really screwed those 2 up!

 

[NorthernWinos]

Oh well live and learn. I dumped both batches down the drain today. The
starter yeast dyed bright off as soon as I added a little of the must
to it. I guess the overdose of Pot-meta was a little too much. Its
probably enough to kill a horse. Really screwed those 2 up!

That's so sad....think I'll cry too...

 

[masta]

Sorry to hearabout dumping two batches but I had serious doubtsthey could be saved based on the amount of sulfite added.


The 5 tsp in 1 cup of water would equal a 10% sulfite solution and 1 tsp of this solution per gallon would equal a campden tablet.


Thanks for sharing since it helps everyone to understand what went wrong.

 

[Wade E]

Yea, Vintners instructions on this were a little unclear and I jumped
ahead before fully understanding. I was wondering what went wrong until
masta jumped in and I went back into the basement and read the part
about adding 5 liquid tsps. As Homer Simpson would say "DOOOOT" I hope this never happens to anyone else.

 

[jobe05]

Wow Wade, Sorry to hear you had to dump them....... I would like to think you could have let them sit for a while, stirring them each day to drive off the Meta........ but I'm to shaken up to think about that right now.............


2............

Down the...........

Drain.............

I'm gonna............

Go hug my..........

Babies.......


And............

Drink these thoughts away............

 

[Wade E]

Maybe I could have saved them but I dont know how long they will stay
without going bad and I really didnt want to chance spending that time
and more money on that experiment that may have a bad taste to it due
to the O.D.. It was so overloaded with K-Meta that I dont know if it
would ever get out and I didnt want to waste anymore yeast either.

 

[PolishWineP]

I'd like to request a moment of silence for the death of 2 batches, put to rest down the drain...

 

[Waldo]

Oh the vinters Harvest wine
Would have been so very fine.
Good to serve with any feast.
If only Ihad only not killed my yeast.
Heed my children of the vine
the directions printed oh so fine
On the cansfrom whence you make your wines.
Or yours may end up just like mine.
Feel my sorrow, feel my pain.
AsI now pour the error of my ways down the drain.
Little yeasties, they gave their all,
They wanted to make some alcohol
But the Metabisulphite took their all.



Edited by: Waldo

 

[Wade E]

Very well said Waldo. I will be placing an order fially with George for
a Vintners Harvest Black Currant. This is the wine I originally wanted
to make but where I went was all out so I bought the Marionberry. I was
not impressded with the flavoring of this though, pretty bland if you
ask me. I have made the black currant once before though and it is
excellent.

 

[Waldo]

Not familiar with a currant wade, what is it like or similiar to?

 

[Wade E]

Probably a mix between Elderberry and Gooseberry Waldo and maybe a little dark Cherry.