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First kit has stopped fermenting

This group has been a great wealth of knowledge and help so far for me, and I turn to it again for some advice.

My first kit, a peach wine, has stopped fermenting and my SG is still at 1.045. I've written in here about this kit before, as I screwed up initially and started primary fermentation in a 6G carboy instead of the standard plastic bucket. It was slow to start because my temperature is a bit low (15-18C), but with all your help I got the fermentation going and watched my SG drop from 1.090 to 1.045. Yesterday however, CO2 production was very very slow (the air lock would "bubble" maybe once per 5 minutes). I don't have any bubbles on top of my wine anymore, and my SG has remained constant for two days now.

In an email, someone here mentioned it is possible to restart fermentation, but at this point I'm asking myself if it is even worth it. If I restart fermentation is it just going to stop again? Should I rack the wine into a proper fermenter or leave it in the carboy? Should I toss it down the drain and consider it a $45 lesson learned, or is it still really easy to save this wine?

Thanks in advance, Harry

BTW -- I've since started a Pinot Noir kit, and it is going fantastically and is not giving me any grief.

Reply to
Harry Colquhoun
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Harry, Was your starting SG 1.090? If so, then your starting % alcohol by volume was 12%. If you are at SG 1.045, then your % alcohol by volume is about 6%.

12% -6% = 6% alcohol by volume, so that is a bit low for storing and keeping the wine longer term. According to the instructions with my hydrometer, an ending SG of 1.045 is a sweet wine. Since I'm not familiar with this kit - what kind of wine are you trying to make? If it is a sweet wine with a 6% alcohol by volume, then you're there - if not, then you can do a couple of things to help it along. I wouldn't throw it away - chalk it up to experience and keep going.

Are you still keeping it in a warm place? You could try racking to another container and letting it splash, the additional oxygen might get it going again. If that doesn't work, you can buy a packet of yeast, create a yeast starter and add to your must to get it going again. There's a good set of instructions on how to do this at Jack Keller's homemade wine site -

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Or you could just chalk it up to experience and continue with the kit- do you or your friends like drinking a sweet wine? I'd be interested to see what others have to say. Hang in there. Darlene

Reply to
Dar V

Harry, You should be able to restart your fermentation. You never mentioned what type of yeast you used but there are more aggressive ones out there such as EC-1118. You shoulud add some yeast nutrient, bring the temperature of the must up to 68 F or more and add the EC-1118 after creating a starter. Check the best before date on the yeast when you buy it. Lalvin's has it stamped on the top ridge.

A yeast starter can be made by boiling some water and using it to sterilze a small jar and then filling it with about

1/2 cup of water. When the temp of that water gets down to about 104 F or slightly warm to the touch add the yeast. Wait about 10 minutes and add it to warm must.

Do a Google Groups search on "stuck fermentation", "yeast nutrient" for more info. Also check these pages:

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There's info on stuck fermentations there as well as yeast rehydration and EC-1118.

Don

Reply to
Don S

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