Fruit Concentrate - Not Fermenting

I would re-pitch asap. Lalvin 1118 possibly. What I have been doing with good results is pitch a packet of yeast in ~ 1 cup water at 100deg f. Anywhere from 98 to 102 is acceptable. After 15 minutes, the yeast better be foaming up in a flask or whatever you use. There is supposed to be enough food source to for the yeast to go for 15 minutes. At that point I feed back some of the must into the yeast starter for food and to bring the temp down. You want to bring the temp of the yeast and must close together b4 pitching all the yeast. I learned this last summer at a Purdue wine course and have been using it ever since. My fermentations have gone the best ever since I have been using it. Hope your time frame has not been to long for spoilage bacteria.

Thanks for your reply. I followed the above to a tee and after 12 hours, there's no activity. Strange I didn't get a whole lot of 'foaming up'. Just a whole lot of cloudy yeast colored water. No real activity there. The yeast itself should have been good. I purchased it yesterday in the refrigerated section of my local wine shop. I dunno. If there's nothing by this evening, I guess I'll scratch me head and try again with a new must. Thanks again. Nick

No, your must should be OK. Just pitch another batch of yeast. I'll back up Lee by recommending Lalvin EC-1118, because if there is anything holding back your Narbonne yeast, it probably won't hold back EC-1118. Just rehydrate it in 30°C water, and pitch into your must.

cheers, Ross.

-- Ross McKay, WebAware Pty Ltd "Since when were you so generously inarticulate?" - Elvis Costello

I would agree with this!!

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You are either getting bad yeast or you have a problem must. (Too much preservative?) I would suggest you start with a new packet of yeast. Don't just pitch or hydrate this time. Make a starter. (See Jack Keller's or a similar site.) After it is going good, add enough of your must to double the volume. Set it aside and be sure it is still going after 3 hours. Then add enough must to double the volume again. Repeat this until you have the entire batch going.

If the starter will not start, you have bad yeast. If the yeast activity stops before all the must is added there is something seriously wrong with it and you might as well give up on it.

Ray

Thanks for the help guys. Honestly, last night I had very little time to spend so I just pitched another packet of 1118 onto the top of the must. This morning there was very little 'action'. This evening there is plenty of activity. SG has dropped from 1.096 to 1.092. Apparently things are now proceeding according to plan.

Thanks again for the advice, Nick.

Thanks Ray. I will definitely keeps this in mind if the need arises again.