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Re: How long does fermentation normally last?

That sort of depends...it would help if you knew what the starting SG was, and what the SG is now. I've had initial ferments take as little as 3 days, but secondary fermentations take much much longer, depending on when and how much you rack. It might help if you told us what type of wine you're making, are you fermentating on fruit, the name of the yeast you used, and what your hydrometer readings were (if you have them). Darlene

Hi, > I live in the UK and we normally use (small) 1 gallon demijohns for > fermentation (at least the people I know). I recently started a ferment with > honey (3 1/2 lb) and use a high alchohol tolerance yeast, which was > fermenting really vigourously at first (about 3 days aerobically) and has > calmed down after about 11 days (the anaerobic bit) to what I think is > completion - it has started to clear and bubbles are almost gone. > Is this fermentation a little short?? - I expected it to last far longer, > maybe a month or so. > > Does anyone have any advise with the details I have given? ( I used plenty > of nutrient etc)....... > >
Reply to
Darlene
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A lot depends on the nutrients available and the yeast you use and how well the two balance. I have had fermentation essentially finish in 7 days and then it may take a month or longer. The ultimate test of completion is SG. What was your beginning SG and what is your current SG? Let us know and we can better answer your question better. If the current SG is below 1.000 then it is getting close to finished. Personally I do not rack until 2 weeks after the airlock stops talking to me and either the SG is well below

1.000 or the SG is down to a level indicating the yeast has probably given up.

Ray

Reply to
Ray

I have a kit on the go at the moment that's seems to have stopped fermenting too, after about 10 days. The sg now is just fractionally above 1000 although it tastes quite sweet. Should I leave it a bit longer before bottling or should I rack it and try to ferment again. (The instructions are to bottle when fermented and stabilised but I was expecting fermenting to continue for longer)

Reply to
Dee

Reply to
Greg Cook

Hello! Do you know what the temperature of the must is, or at least what the general temp is of the room it is in?

From what I've read, your must will ferment in a temperature range of about

60 - 80 degrees, 75 degrees is ideal, but none of us really hit the ideal all the time. I like to do primary ferments in my kitchen (where it is the warmest). After I transfer to the secondary, I try to keep it somewhere in my kitchen for the next month or two. I really do that to make sure the initial ferment is over. After that, I put the secondary(s) in my basement (where it is cooler 60-70) for aging for at least 5-6 months.

To your questions, I've heard of people cooling down their secondarys by putting the secondary in a tub with ice because it was too warm, and people rigging up a heating system because they don't want their secondary to freeze. So I suppose you could warm up your secondary, but I guess I would ask yourself why you want to do that? I have put a secondary in a warmer spot to aid in the initial fermentation because it has stuck, but I still stay within the temperature range above. Hope this helps.

Darlene

Reply to
Dar V

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