Fermentation Stopper made my wine hazy

[WinBase]

Hi

could anyone offer me some help and advice on the following questions please

i'm a relatively new wine maker, (lapsed for many years but starting again since last july) and up to press have 12 gallons of various country wine conditioning in demi-johns in a cool cupboard at around 12c.

2 weeks ago i took my strawberry wine out that has been bulk aging since 2nd aug and was well pleased just how crystal clear it was, and when i came to taste it could tell it's really getting there, so decided to backsweeten it a tad and bottle, leaving until the summer to drink.

so...

I racked it off the small amount of lee's, and added 1/2 teaspoon of potassium sorbate, (youngs fermentation stopper) to be on the safe side, with a campden tablet to each gallon, mixed well and left for a few days before adding a well mixed sugar/water solution in the proportions to achieve the taste i wanted, and it tasted great for one so young. I observed the brew for 10 days or so to make sure no further fermentation was taking place (it wasn't and i didnt really expect it to anyway), HOWEVER the wine now is slightly 'hazy' and not as clear as it originally was before adding the fermentation stopper and sugar, which is a bit of a worry as i'm trying to make quality brew's and not student bedsit plonk. I dont want to drink even slightly cloudy wine myself, or give my friends it, i would see it as failure, so my questions are these:

1) will the haziness clear if i keep it in the demijohn for say another few months?, if so approx how long would one expect it to take. you can still see through the demijohn, just not as well as before.

2) am i ok to continue to leave the backsweetened wine bulk aging (obviously under airlock), or will the fact that i have already added sweetener affect anything

3) should i need to add another campden tablet before finally bottling. i added one pre-fermentation, one after racking when fermentation was complete (a month after pitching the yeast), and another when i racked before backsweetening.

4) is it really necessary to add fermentation stopper at all to a wine that has been conditioning for so long and stopped fermenting in the first place? i plan to leave all my backsweetened wine in a demijohnn for a week or two after backsweetening until bottling anyway just to be on the safe side as i dont want any fermenting in the bottle, in case there is a little residue yeast hanging around in suspension, but if possible after this experience, i would like to avoid adding potassium sorbate if possible, so is there a risk? i understand it could start fermenting again, but if it's still in the demijohn surely not a worry? at a guess all i would need to do is add a little more sweetener later as the yeast has a maximum alcohol threshold anyway (doesnt it lol)

i'm no fan of additives i dont need, but not bothered if i really should do to get the best results, (such as adding pectolase pre-fermentation), so what do you do, and any advice from those more experienced than myself would be great. i have searched the web and there is a lot out there but not quite exactly what im looking for.

regards

Bob

 

[Nev166]

Hi, I’m no expert but been brewing wines since the first lockdown!

1- it will clear naturally, up to a couple months I’d say but depends on a few things.
2- storing it with added sweetener makes no difference. Especially as you’ve added a campden.
3- I wouldn’t add anymore as they will have down their job and you don’t want to taste them.
4- for any wine you’re backsweetening, you have to stop the ferment or at worst the bottles would explode, at best, it would be slightly fizzy.
You’re correct in yeast having a alcohol limit, but with adding more sugar to back sweeten without stopping the ferment, you risk it becoming much stronger.

I always add pectolase to my brews to aid clearing.
I also use Kwik Clear, which clears a wine in around 48 hours, as my brews do not need ageing as they are predominantly WOWs.

Hope that helps

Chris

 

[johncrobinson]

No campden No sweetener.
stop abusing and drugging up your wine.

That was a bit cheeky i know but honestly this is some friendly advice.
You started off well but went wrong with the "so i did this and for good measure added that"

 

[WinBase]

4- for any wine you’re backsweetening, you have to stop the ferment or at worst the bottles would explode, at best, it would be slightly fizzy.
You’re correct in yeast having a alcohol limit, but with adding more sugar to back sweeten without stopping the ferment, you risk it becoming much stronger.

Chris

Hi Chris

many thanks for this, however my point on 4 is that hasn't the fermentation already stopped prior to sweetening?, and per chance if it does start again after, wouldnt leaving it in a demijohn for at least a few weeks it ferment out again so there wouldnt be any problem with fermenting in the bottles?

thanks

Bob

 

[WinBase]

No campden No sweetener.
stop abusing and drugging up your wine.

That was a bit cheeky i know but honestly this is some friendly advice.
You started off well but went wrong with the "so i did this and for good measure added that"

thanks but not sure how i went wrong. i read up that you should add fermentation stopper as a precaution, so didnt add it because of any kind of knee jerk reaction 'for good measure', i added is part of what i believed was the right thing to do at the time.

regards

Bob

 

[Nev166]

Hi Chris

many thanks for this, however my point on 4 is that hasn't the fermentation already stopped prior to sweetening?, and per chance if it does start again after, wouldnt leaving it in a demijohn for at least a few weeks it ferment out again so there wouldnt be any problem with fermenting in the bottles?

thanks

Bob

You are correct that leaving to ferment out again in a DJ would alleviate any issues in the bottles, but the yeast would eat the sugars and it would defeat the point of adding more to sweeten.
To sweeten you’d need to add sugar once you’ve stopped the ferment or add a non fermentable sugar.

 

[WinBase]

You are correct that leaving to ferment out again in a DJ would alleviate any issues in the bottles, but the yeast would eat the sugars and it would defeat the point of adding more to sweeten.
To sweeten you’d need to add sugar once you’ve stopped the ferment or add a non fermentable sugar.

Thank's, i think i need to research a little more on this, as i assumed that as the abv hasnt changed for 5 months fermentation HAD stopped and most of the yeast would have died or dropped out by now, especially as it's kept in a cool location. I will also look into using non fermentable sugar to back sweeten, as i'm now weary of adding fermentation stopper as it affected the clarity so much.

cheers

 

[Nev166]

Thank's, i think i need to research a little more on this, as i assumed that as the abv hasnt changed for 5 months fermentation HAD stopped and most of the yeast would have died or dropped out by now, especially as it's kept in a cool location. I will also look into using non fermentable sugar to back sweeten, as i'm now weary of adding fermentation stopper as it affected the clarity so much.

cheers

It may well have. I’m no expert, and would t know if it’s stopped or not.
I wouldn’t risk it coming back to lie by adding sugar personally, but I guess you can try and see what happens! That’s my method for most of my wines
Hope it all goes well

 

[Wynott]

Hi WB. Interested in this, as I made my first strawberry wine last summer. Here's a précis:

Started 28 June, original gravity 1.080. By 11 October it was down to 1.000, so I put it out in the garage to 'finish off'. Brought it in about a week ago, it was 0.996. I recently had difficulty with elderflower wine continuing to ferment in the bottle, so (reluctantly) added a campden tablet.

It seemed to have stopped, so I added finings and left to settle. It has now started again! There must be some more sugar to use up, I guess.

I still can't work out how to get wines to around 1.000 mark without stabiliser. If I add more sugar, it seems to start up again, and how would I know it had truly stopped on occasions like this?

Scratching my head, but persevering. I'll let you know what happens with my strawberry - eventually!

Good luck with yours

 

[WinBase]

Hi WB. Interested in this, as I made my first strawberry wine last summer. Here's a précis:

Started 28 June, original gravity 1.080. By 11 October it was down to 1.000, so I put it out in the garage to 'finish off'. Brought it in about a week ago, it was 0.996. I recently had difficulty with elderflower wine continuing to ferment in the bottle, so (reluctantly) added a campden tablet.

It seemed to have stopped, so I added finings and left to settle. It has now started again! There must be some more sugar to use up, I guess.

I still can't work out how to get wines to around 1.000 mark without stabiliser. If I add more sugar, it seems to start up again, and how would I know it had truly stopped on occasions like this?

Scratching my head, but persevering. I'll let you know what happens with my strawberry - eventually!

Good luck with yours

Thanks for the reply. mine was initially 1.094 on 23/jul and finished at .988 30 days later fermenting at 21-22c, when i racked off, adding a campden tablet. i left it conditioning in 1 gall demijohns until 28/dec under airlock (when it was really clear), so racked again, degassed, then added potassium sorbate, another campden tablet and backsweetened, and at this point it has become slightly hazy where my story starts and the reason for my post.

from what i gather, adding a campden pre-fermentation, at first racking and pre-bottling is perfectly acceptable and what you should do, and nothing to be reluctant about, so is adding potassium sorbate pre-sweetening to prevent yeast multiplying (it doesnt kill any yeast or stop it fermenting, theres a subtle difference web searches will explain)

im pretty sure that my own wine stopped fermenting, but adding sugar without a fermentation stopper (potassium sorbate) can make you run the risk of fermentation re-starting, (i didnt realise how much until recently), no matter how clear you wine is. you should also ensure it's taken off any lees first.

FYI, i do the primary fermentation with the fruit in a fine 75micron bag, that way when i rack off i dont have to strain it or deal with much sediment, and the lees i get after secondary fermentation are only fine. i find this means i have to do minimal 'topping up' after racking as i dont have to leave a thick sludge in the bottom of the demijiohn

i *think* i may also be correct in saying that when cool, such as in a garage fermentation will be much slower and take longer than when warm

theres a great vid at this link on backsweetening and stopping fermentation. it touches on the fact that eventually by just adding sugar you will oversaturate the yeast till it can't ferment any more, at which time fermentation stops and sugar just adds sweetness, but you will end up with a stronger brew.



hope this helps but im a newbie myself, although done a lot of reading up :)

ps: i just made another post about what may be causing the haziness

GL

Bob