Re: stuck/slow fermentation

I racked it again mainly because I thought the sludge was in there too long. I have made maybe 10 kits and never waited more than 2 weeks to get the SG below 1. I thought maybe something would go bad.

What is the point of racking if you are bringing the sediment over as well? Why rack or transfer at all?

I don't quite get the process for restarting the ferment. Could you give more detail.

Thx, Steve

> I have a strawberry/zinfandel fermenting since March 7. The SG is sitting at > > 1.006 (has been for several days now) at 18C right now. It doesn't have far > > to go but is it still too high to go ahead and degas then continue on? > > Depends what you want as a result - 1.006 is still pretty sweet, but > if you want like the taste, go ahead. > > > > > What reasons would it take so long to ferment, and I am sure there are many. > > > > Is it worth adding more yeast to start it up again. I used filtered water > > but this wasn't the first time I had done that. It was racked from primary > > after almost 2 weeks (heated for about 7 days) and racked again less than a > > week later and now there is more sediment on the bottom. > > There can be several reasons, but from what you said here, it sounds > like you got rid of most of the yeast! Why did you rack the wine the > second time? Racking is really a bad term for the operation at this > stage, you should try to include as much sediment as possible, > otherwise you're removing yeast and nutrients. > > If you want the wine dryish, you'll need to add some yeast - EC1118 is > good for this. The usual way to restart stuck ferment is to build a > starter and progressively add to it larger volumes (double of previous > amount) of the stuck must, waiting at each stage for the ferment to > get active. > > Pp

Precisely, there is no good reason for racking (as in removing sediment) at that stage in fermentation. As I understand, this is an artificial step introduced by kit makers. I guess you have to move the wine from primary to a carboy to prevent oxygen exposure, so that reason is valid, but you should move everything, including the sediment. I learned the hard way, having several stuck fermentations because I was leaving sediment in the primary. Now I'm moving the sediment, and everything works well.

The only exception to moving the sediment is if you're getting hydrigen sulfide smell (rotten eggs) from the ferment.

Hydrate the yeast in warm water (35-40 C) for 15-30 mins. Add 1 cup grate juice (can be table grape) + 1 cup water. Add yeast nutrient. Wait until ferments actively. Add 2 cups of stuck must. Wait until ferments actively. Add 1L stuck must. Wait... Add 2L stuck must etc.

- so you're doubling the added amount in each step, let it catch up and continue. This shouldn't take days, generally each stage should be several hours because you don't want your stuck must to be exposed to air for no longer than necessary. The idea is that the yeast progressively gets accustomed to the low sugar anf high alcohol levels in the stuck must.

Good luck,