| Archive for Downsizer For an ethical approach to consumption |
| bernie-woman |
stuck fermentationOne of my friends has a gallon of wine which has a stuck fermentation apparently - or so her book has told her - sadly her wine book doesn't tell her what to do about itShe told me this just as I was telling her I ws going to get my first ever rhubarb wine on the go this weekend  
Any thoughts on what she can do?? - if anything |
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| gil |
has she got a hydrometer ? Could you lend her one ? What SG has it stuck at ? Could it have fermneted out ? 1020-1030 seems to be the problem point.
Possible actions : Put it in a warm place. Give it a stir to prod the yeast in the sediment into action Add the juice of a lemon Add yeast nutrient (or grape juice) Try re-starting the ferment with one of those high-alcohol-tolerant yeasts And check out previous threads on restarting stuck ferments : there are probably quite a few 
Others will have different suggestions |
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| bernie-woman |
I don't think she has a hydrometer - this is what she said she had done
She put some wine into her bin 5 days ago and everything was going great - she then put it into the demijohn and nothing has happened - she has shaken it and added more yeast and still nothing - she is threatening to chuck it down the sink when I said - I would ask here - its putting me off starting mine now - is this a frequent occurence 
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| Treacodactyl |
Is this any help?
http://www.downsizer.net/Projects/Processing_Food/Dealing_with_a_stuck_ferment/ |
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| judith |
Beat me to it
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| bernie-woman |
Thank you I have just emailed that to her - I knew someone would know on here  - I do hope mine doesn't get stuck
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| gil |
Could she have killed the yeast by putting the wine into a demijohn that had had strong steriliser in to clean it, but not been thoroughly rinsed out before the wine went in ?
Sounds more as though the wine is in shock after its transfer than that fermentation has ground to a slow, painful halt. Might it also be that she forgot to add the rest of the sugar (if she were intending to add it in two stages (1/2kg when starting off in the bucket, followed by 1/2kg+ when it goes into the demijohn) ? A 1 gall fermentation could easily ferment out the sugar in 1/2kg in about a week. If there's no more food for the yeast, it will stop working. I've done that before now, and wondered why ferment had stopped - then remembered.... If this is a possibility, she should try adding (quite) a few teaspoonfuls of sugar to the demijohn, to see whether bubbling recommences. EDIT : and get a hydrometer : they only cost a couple of quid, and are very useful and dead simple to use.. |
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| Treacodactyl |
I've only been brewing for a couple of years and made/making about 20 gallons and I've never had the problem like this. Getting them to stop fermenting at the end yes. As Gil suggests, has sugar been added and was the dj rinsed well? To restart it could be worth adding some yeast to mug half full with warm water and a teaspood of sugar and when that's going add that to the dj. |
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| gil |
Just had more thoughts, following on from TD's post :
1. It was wine yeast, wasn't it ? A beer or baking yeast might have fermented to reach an alcohol level at which it would stop working. (think of strength of beers as opposed to wines) 2. I assume the yeast was a new packet / tub, and not past its use-by date, or been opened and hanging around for ages, perhaps with the lid not properly closed ? 3. TD's suggestion about making a proper 'starter' in a mug is a good one : much better than chucking dry yeast into the DJ and just hoping : it proves that the yeast is viable. 4. If that doesn't work, make another half-mug. Once the yeast starter gets going, you could also then try topping up the mug with some wine out of the DJ, to get the two acquainted with each other. And if necessary, repeat additions of wine, in a larger container (sterilised and well-rinsed old mayo jars are quite handy), till you have about a pint of the new fermenting mix. Then add back into DJ. The situation you describe is not a common problem. At most, the longest I've had to wait for ferment to restart / recover after transferring from bucket to DJs is a couple of days. The main problems I had with fermentations were caused by making wine in a house that is cold in winter and very cool in summer : not warm enough. Warm yeast is happy yeast ! |
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| dpack |
raisons soaked in a yeast starter can act as a restart catalyst
im out of practice ,another thing for the list (i need more peasants )
check the brew though |