Oh no, a stuck ferment!

[chiefstoker]

Well I have a red grape juice wine that seems stuck, it was fermenting away quite happily for 2 weeks then appeared to have slowed right down and stopped, so i checked it and its still on 1050 and sweet as you like

I used youngs super wine yeast with added nutrient, I have since added another teaspoon, but after the initial fizz theres no alot going on, any ideas would be appreciated

: CS

 

[bandit081]

Hey dood, try a re-start sachet, specifically made to re-start a stuck fermentation, I have used this a few times and rescued a stuck fermntation.


Might be worth checking that your wine is at the correct temperature before doing that tho, might just be too cold to ferment :thumb:

Good luck.

 

[silversurfer]

I would check temperature first, as this would be my first guess, and if all seems ok then do as Bandit said and restart the ferment. Just be carefull not to introduce contamination!!

 

[Cussword]

Also might be too warm :)

 

[chiefstoker]

Thanks guys, it is currently in my spare bedroom that has an ambient temp of 20-25c.
Although intinially a couple of weeks ago this rose to 35c - could the yeast have worked to fast during the early stages perhaps?

I will try and get some restart in the meantime

: CS

 

[chiefstoker]

Ok update, I added a whole sachet of in date Re-start yesterday afternoon and there was a small amount of activity..... but this morning nada! :wha:

Its certainly got me this one :hmm:


: CS

 

[Samarith]

Is it possible that you added way too much sugar initially?

If it was bubbling merrily for 2 weeks then its not preservatives killing the yeast, if its sweet and 1050 SG then it doesn't seem likely its lack of food (unless you used light juices with artificial sweeteners), so the next most likely cause would be they are ODing on alcohol.

 

[chiefstoker]

Maybe Samarith? :thumb:

I used 4lt red grape juice - no preservatives, although I will double check, but I'm pretty sure otherwise i wouldnt have bought it

And 1kg of sugar

: CS

 

[Moley]

I did wonder about excess sugar or yeasties giving up due to alcohol levels, but I still don't understand this.

What volume are you making and do you know your OG ?

The red grape juice I use has 156g sugar per litre, 156 x 4 = 624 plus 1kg added
If you're making a gallon, 1624 / 4.5 = 360g/litre which would give 1.135
That's a bit on the high side for a juice wine but your yeast should be up to the job.
If you're making 5 litres, 1624 / 5 = 325g/l = OG 1.120 which should be no problem at all.

 

[chiefstoker]

More or less as you say Moley 1.140 OG I think I measured, I topped up with more juice after the initial thrust and it carried on quite happily for about 2 weeks, then stuck on 1050 - although I havent measured again since adding the re-start yeast.

There is some fermentation taking place because i can see tiny bubbles but the airlock only blubs about 5mins apart if that!

Shall I just forget about it for a few weeks and see what prevails do you think?

: CS