Very basic set up not fermenting

[Victorthenazarene]

was have 2 gallon buckets one apple wine the other white grape but with raisins in must

4 lbs of white grapes 4 lbs of sugar crushed grapes let sit for 24hrs. Mixed in syrup, juiced a lemon . Starting gravity 1.145. Will not start fermenting, temp ok in closet.
The other is Apple cup of black tea same ingredients as the grape. One juiced lemon starting gravity 1.110. Also not fermenting. Can’t think of anything. Tried repitching yeast & stirring no go. Not sure what to do‍. I don’t have yeast nutrient nor starter, but will be investing in Camden tablets and commercial nutrients. I want to perfect and sell a banan wine

 

[salcoco]

one the starting gravity is to high add some water get to down to 1.092 . this 12% abv if you wish it to be higher add sugar later once fermentation has started.

did you re-hydrate yeast in about 100 degreeF water first. should foam after 15 minutes if not yeast is not viable. are you using wine yeast?

 

[cmason1957]

was have 2 gallon buckets one apple wine the other white grape but with raisins in must

4 lbs of white grapes 4 lbs of sugar crushed grapes let sit for 24hrs. Mixed in syrup, juiced a lemon . Starting gravity 1.145. Will not start fermenting, temp ok in closet.
The other is Apple cup of black tea same ingredients as the grape. One juiced lemon starting gravity 1.110. Also not fermenting. Can’t think of anything. Tried repitching yeast & stirring no go. Not sure what to do‍. I don’t have yeast nutrient nor starter, but will be investing in Camden tablets and commercial nutrients. I want to perfect and sell a banan wine

I guess I am not surprised that your grape wine isn't starting to ferment, that's an incredibly high starting sg. The yeast are probably overloaded with sugar and can't start. Adding water to get it down to 1.092 might help, but will make it thinner.

 

[Victorthenazarene]

I guess I am not surprised that your grape wine isn't starting to ferment, that's an incredibly high starting sg. The yeast are probably overloaded with sugar and can't start. Adding water to get it down to 1.092 might help, but will make it thinner.

Ok my apple wine is doing the same

one the starting gravity is to high add some water get to down to 1.092 . this 12% abv if you wish it to be higher add sugar later once fermentation has started.

did you re-hydrate yeast in about 100 degreeF water first. should foam after 15 minutes if not yeast is not viable. are you using wine yeast?

one the starting gravity is to high add some water get to down to 1.092 . this 12% abv if you wish it to be higher add sugar later once fermentation has started.

did you re-hydrate yeast in about 100 degreeF water first. should foam after 15 minutes if not yeast is not viable. are you using wine yeast?

Yes I did hydrate the wine yeast but at room temp. So I thin it out to 12% , makes sense. Is the apple to high also? And what rate do I add the sugar? I’d like for it to be more then 12%

 

[cmason1957]

Ok my apple wine is doing the same
Yes I did hydrate the wine yeast but at room temp. So I thin it out to 12% , makes sense. Is the apple to high also? And what rate do I add the sugar? I’d like for it to be more then 12%

If you want your wine to higher than 12%, then add some extra sugar (or less water) I use fermcalc to determine how the beginning SG or Brix measurement impacts alcohol percentage, you can also use the Potential Alcohol scale of most hydrometers.

I'm probably not going to be able to tell you for certain why it isn't fermenting. Things I always check, is the SG in a good range, is the ph in a good range (3.5 +/- .3 is what I shoot for). Is the yeast viable? I always make a starter and once the yeast wakes up in warmish water, I add some of the must in and make sure it keeps fermenting that and bring the temp of the yeast starter near to the temp of the must. Do I have nutrition to feed the yeast? Is the temp in a range the yeast likes (65F-75F works for most yeast). Was there something on the fruit that might impair fermentation, sulfites or potassium sorbate added. Is my added water good? I'm sure I haven't thought of everything you might have to check.

 

[BernardSmith]

Hi Victorthenazarene, and welcome. You say that you want your wine to have more alcohol than 12%. Okay... but why? Wine is not a spirit and fermentation is not distillation. Wine is really all about balance. And balance in wine is about finding the sweet spot among a number of different factors that include: flavor, viscosity (mouthfeel) sweetness, acidity, tannin and amount of alcohol. Most wines cannot support more than about 10-12% alcohol by volume because the fruit flavors are not sufficiently intense. and certainly anyone who aims for a higher alcohol level is likely to step feed their yeast. That's because the yeast can suffer from osmotic shock if the sugar concentration is too high - not a great metaphor, perhaps but it's a little like forcing someone who is in the recovery room after open heart surgery to drink a bottle whisky, and eat 12 portions of a full-fat cheese cake after stuffing themselves with four burgers with chips from a greasy fast food restaurant. What most seasoned wine makers aim for is a solution around 1.090 before they add (pitch)
their yeast.

You don't say what yeast you are using or how much and that might be a source of the problem with the apple wine. How were the apples juiced? Was this from a commercial juice source? Might they have added chemicals to inhibit spoilage? Might those chemicals inhibit or kill your yeast?
Last point: you say you hope to sell banana wine. You cannot be located in the USA because unless you have licenses from both state and federal authorities you are not permitted to sell any wine you make as a home wine maker.

 

[hounddawg]

as already stated your SSG TO HIGH, as for a higher ABV%, try EC-1118 yeast, if you're not on well water, then your water needs to sit out a day or so, so your chlorine can evaporate,
Dawg

 

[Rice_Guy]

Generally speaking use a champagne yeast for high sugar. Red Star has premier cuvee, or Lalvin as dawg said,

 

[scruff_farrier]

So, since no one has mentioned it. Are you sure it's not fermenting? If your using a bucket lid and air lock set up, sometimes they don't seal well and will not bubble cause it's not air tight. It may be chugging away and not look like it. I panicked on a banana I made in a bucket, it never bubbled once...but came out fine at I think like 11%. If you haven't already and you might have, just take a sample off and check the gravity again. It might surprise you. I just thought it would be worth mentioning. Also, sometimes with Ec-1118 you can push it higher. I had a kiwi-strawberry that came out at 18%.

 

[salcoco]

for step feeding start with an sg=1092. make a sugar syrup with two cups sugar to one cup hot water mix in a blender let cool. sugar syrup used to insure sugar is dissolved later. use a EC1118 yeast which will give up to 20% abv if done carefully. monitor fermentation once down to 1010 ad one cup of sugar syrup should rise sg up to 1020 - 1030 monitor fermentation daily when it reaches 1010 do again with one cup sugar. continue in this way util sg doe not move at all. fermentation complete. calculate abv by using starting sg-final sg time 133. do this for each stage then add all percentages.