Water Quality?

Maybe if they use a lot of chloramine to treat the water. Did you use nutrient?

Don't know what it is, but it ain't the water.

I'd guess dead yeast.

Yes, used nutrient

I hydrated some and it looked ok. Put it in the must and after about 24 hrs saw a few bubbles, but 12 hrs later there was nothing. It was EC1118 yeast and it had an experation date of 2008.

Think I'll try boiling must, let it settle, then rack and see if I can get a gallon to ferment. What do you think?

If you boil it, it will cook the juice which can set the pectin and give the wine a jammy flavor.

What is the pH?

Steve

Thanks for the info. Went to get a gallon to play with and now the stuff is fermenting like gang busters. Beats me what's going on

That's really weird. Is the temp too low?? I've been fermenting juice for over a year now and have never had that problem. And I use the same yeast over and over. In fact I use the excess sludge to make bread. All from one package of yeast over a year ago!! If the sugar level is there it should just take off. Even if most of the yeast was dead you should still get fermentation from the remaining yeast which will reproduce anyway. Maybe if you aerate the mixture the added oxygen will help the living yeast reproduce.

I can't believe it, but the thing just took off. The day before I did go mix the heck out out. Don't know if that did it, but it looks fine at the moment. Miracles never ceast.

Probably a lot of the initial yeast was dead so it just took a while for the remaning to reproduce and start eating sugar etc.