How to deal with stuck wines or slow starters

[Moley]

Mixing up a starter bottle can be a good way to give any new fermentation a headstart.
Take something like a pasteurised milk bottle (ideal as it will accept a bung and airlock) or a 500ml or litre PET bottle, put in about half a pint (or 250ml) of orange juice or grape juice or even water with just a couple of tablespoonfuls of granulated sugar and a pinch of citric acid, add some yeast nutrients, pitch your yeast, fit an airlock or plug with cotton wool and leave it in a warm place for a few hours. This can then be added to a new must.

To restart a stuck fermentation or get a troublesome wine going (e.g. cordials or Vimto), make up a starter bottle as above. You may need to wash and sterilise a range of bottles, say a pint milk bottle and a 2 litre pop bottle. Give it a good 12 hours to get started.

After that 12 hours, add half a pint (or 250ml) of your stuck or problem must, refit airlock or cotton wool plug, leave in a warm place.

After a further 12-24 hours that should be fermenting nicely, add a pint (or 500ml) of your stuck or problem must, refit airlock or cotton wool plug, leave in a warm place.

After a further 12-24 hours that should be fermenting nicely, add 2 pints (or 1 litre) of your stuck or problem must, refit airlock or cotton wool plug, leave in a warm place.

You should have the idea by now, double, double, double until it's all going.

 

[aneray]

Nice one Moley :thumb:

Great advice for winemakers old and knew !!

 

[evanvine]

Well done Moley!
Sometimes you hesitate to post what may be obvious, but it always helps someone, especially those new to "brewing". (big thumbs up)

 

[danny]

Hi Guys

I have a birch sap wine on the go and it hasnt really frothed at all while fermenting yet the air lock has been blooping away at quite a rate. If there is no froth does this mean the ferment hasnt started? New to all this so any advice would be appreciated.

ps- there is 1/2 pound of raisins in the brew that have floated to the top, is this what is causing the airlock to go crazy?

Thks

 

[evanvine]

If your bubbler's popping, it's fermenting!

 

[Moley]

New to all of this and goes straight in with a Birch Sap! :shock: I'm impressed. :
(but that really was a stupid question )

If your airlock's popping, it's fermenting. If the raisins or any other fruit pulps are being carried to the top, it's fermenting, but they don't all froth. Put your ear against the jar and you should hear it fizzing, and if you're still not sure remove the airlock, stick your nose in the neck of the DJ and inhale. Pick yourself up off the floor, quit coughing and refit the airlock.

 

[corby_brewer]

Thanks for a great how to Moley, I was having problems with a Strawberry Ribena Wine, which I started on Saturday. After 6 days there was no activity what so ever. I read your post and followed the instructions and it now fementing away nicely. :thumb:

 

[danny]

Well, after reading an article by Hugh Fearnely Whittingstall on the subject of birch sap I was somewhat intrigued about the whole thing and thought this is worth a go which then led me to this site.

I now have a wurzel on the go and many others planned so If this becomes an obsession I'll hold that dude over at River Cottage HQ fully responsible.

In hindsight Moley it was a stupid question but I guess being a newbie its par for the course lol

thks for the replies guys

Cheers

 

[Aleman]

Just remember guys the only stupid question . . . is the one you don't ask! :thumb:

 

[Moley]

I now have a wurzel on the go and many others planned so If this becomes an obsession I'll hold that dude over at River Cottage HQ fully responsible.

In hindsight Moley it was a stupid question but I guess being a newbie its par for the course lol

Danny, I think you'll find that Hugh Furry Wotsisface has started quite a few people off, his Eldeflower fizz is another one which has brought more new members to the forums.

I'm sorry about that previous comment and hope you know it was tongue-in-cheek, but you had already apologised for other “stupid questions” on the Wurzel's thread which were actually quite valid and not stupid at all.

As Aleman says, the only stupid question is the one you don't ask, we've all asked stupid questions and made stupid mistakes. Of course, with any forum you will often get some quite stupid answers.

 

[amorphia]

I'm about to do this using sugar water (as have no juice except for the troublesome juice I can't get started). Quick question - got no pinch of citric acid, can I use a little lemon juice instead, and if so, how much?

Cheers,

Ben

 

[screamlead]

Try the juice of 1 lemon and 1 orange for citric acid per gallon. Also for nutrient try Andrews Liver salts - not kidding this stuff makes brews go like a rocket! 1 t spoon per gallon - even works on stuck ferments too.

 

[amorphia]

I only had lemon, and on a hunch had just used half a fruit for a litre... which turns out to be pretty much exactly two fruit for a gallon :) thanks

 

[fred9090]

I made a red wine kit that went wrong as I followed the instructions incorrectly and filled the demijohn upto the top and it bubbled through the airlock and turned to vinegar.
I made a white wine kit but this time followed the instructions to a tee, but it is not fermenting and the yeast is just floating around inside the demijohn, is it bad yeast? can I save by using the stuck wine cure? or is it better to cut my loss and pour down the drain?

I have followed Moley's Wurzels Orange Wine recipe and its buzzing along great, which I'am chuffed about, one out of three not bad.

 

[Moley]

Just because you overfill a DJ and it bubbles out through the airlock is no reason why an infection should be able to get in, that happens to all of us from time to time, you either pour a drop away or into a side bottle, or keep cleaning and changing airlocks until it quietens down a bit.

When did you mix the white kit? Yeast shouldn't float around on the top for long, it soon rehydrates and disperses into the mix. There shouldn't be any need to follow the doubling up method but if it has been more than 24 hours and there doesn't seem to be anything going on it might be worth pitching another yeast.

One out of three is totally unacceptable, something needs sorting out somewhere.

 

[fred9090]

Thanks for the reply, greatly appreciated; I checked the white wine today and after about 30+ hours its started to ferment quiet well. The instructions did say to use cold water to mix the ingrediants before adding the yeast; I thought this was a bit odd as I always thought yeast needed warmish water and sugar to start working. I'am using a Wilko white wine kit and my cupboard is around the recommended 20 - 25oC mark.
I did pour some of the red away when it started to come through the airlock, and clean the airlock out but it did not work on this occassion, I must have done something to infect the wine as the smell was like being in a chip shop.

As well as the white wine and the Wurzel orange wine I have brewing, I keep forgetting I have 25ltrs of pilsner in the same cupboard doing well (I hope)

 

[Sean 159]

Good afternoon all, I am also quite new to this home brewing. I found myself with a few fruit trees in my garden and decided it would be a good idea to make free alcohol from the fruit. Last year I followed a simple recipe and boiled three gallons of apple juice which I pressed myself and fermented it and bottled around 6 litres in grolsh style bottles. The result was quite incredible with the cider tasting like champagne. Purely by luck!!
This year I have done the same but the four gallons of juice just wont ferment, I have tried restarting it twice so far and still nothing. There appears to be a degree of separation in the barrel with clear liquid to the top.I have also tried a gallon of pear juice which seems to be going nicely in a demijohn. (although there is an eggy smell to it at the moment) If there is anything else worth trying to get the apples going then I will give it one more go before consigning it to the compost heap. Not a problem as the trees are still laden with enough apples to start again without too much drama. Although I have to take up the whole kitchen for an afternoon. Also would it be a good idea to take out as much of the pulpy stuff before going into to fermenting bin, I left all this in last year and it just seemed messy?

 

[bobsbeer]

Welcome Sean. There are a few cider makers on here so I will bump your question.

 

[hypnoticmonkey]

As Aleman says, the only stupid question is the one you don't ask, we've all asked stupid questions and made stupid mistakes.

+1 :thumb: :thumb:

Definitely +1.

 

[godfrey]

my port was stuck for the last 3 days SG 1.040

added Tronozymol as per the directions and gave it a good stir
increased the ambient temperature from 18 to 24 deg

few hours later the airlock is going great :party:


EDIT: another few hours later and my airlock is popping every 5 seconds
so if you have a stuck fermentation, maybe try some nutrients first....