I prematurely stopped fermentation at about 3 BRIX by using potassium
sorbate and potassium metabisulfite. I'm making apple wine and
accidentally added to much sugar up front. I was planning for 3%
residual sugar anyway so I fugure stopping the fermentation at 3 BRIX
keeps the wine from being too hot and also gives me the desired sugar
without having to add sugar after fermenation. The wine has now
clarified nicely and I was planning to bottle sometime in the next
month. However, I'm noticing very slight movement in the airlock and
I'm concerned about bottling if there's something undesirable going
on. It takes about 10-15 minutes to form a single bubble at the
current rate. My sulfite levels seem to be up to par (based on
titration tests) and I don't smell or taste any off odorsor flavors
YET. What could this be???

- ML? Not likely at 55ppm SO2 @ pH = 3.55
- REALLY SLOW FERMENTATION? Checking BRIX from last week to this week
should no noticable change on the hydrometer (3%).
- Hydrogen Sulfide created by stressed out "still living but highly
sulfited" yeast cells? Maybe...
- Aliens? Possible...

Any ideas???


Thanks,
Charles
Huntsville, AL

Charles,
It could be your temperature is rising, dissolved CO2 or it could be
fermentation. See if there is any dissolved CO2 by pulling a sample
with a syringe. If you get a lot of foaming in the syringe and the
wine is clear, stir the wine vigorously let it sit, do it again several
times. Then repeat the test.

Sorbate doesn't stop fermentation, it keeps yeast from reproducing.
Can you chill this and rack it again? You don't necessarily have to
rack it cold although I prefer to do that. That way your yeast will go
dormant if in there and maybe settle out to be racked off.

It could be aliens, but start with the normal stuff first... )

Joe


> - ML? Not likely at 55ppm SO2 @ pH = 3.55
> - REALLY SLOW FERMENTATION? Checking BRIX from last week to this week
> should no noticable change on the hydrometer (3%).
> - Hydrogen Sulfide created by stressed out "still living but highly
> sulfited" yeast cells? Maybe...
> - Aliens? Possible...
>
> Any ideas???
>
>
> Thanks,
> Charles
> Huntsville, AL

I tried the syringe and I didn't see any foam. You're probably right
on with the fermentation. It must be moving INCREDIBLY slowly. I'm
heading to Walmart right now to pick up a couple plastic garbage bins
and a few bags of ice. I'll submerge my carboys in ice water. How cold
does the wine need to get down to and how long should the low temp be
maintained to guarantee the yeast are dormant and have settled before
racking? FYI, I have 2 full 6.5 gallon carboys.

Thanks for the great advice!

Charles


On 4 Dec 2005 03:35:21 -0800, "Joe Sallustio" >
wrote:

>Charles,
>It could be your temperature is rising, dissolved CO2 or it could be
>fermentation. See if there is any dissolved CO2 by pulling a sample
>with a syringe. If you get a lot of foaming in the syringe and the
>wine is clear, stir the wine vigorously let it sit, do it again several
>times. Then repeat the test.
>
>Sorbate doesn't stop fermentation, it keeps yeast from reproducing.
>Can you chill this and rack it again? You don't necessarily have to
>rack it cold although I prefer to do that. That way your yeast will go
>dormant if in there and maybe settle out to be racked off.
>
>It could be aliens, but start with the normal stuff first... )
>
>Joe
>
>
>> - ML? Not likely at 55ppm SO2 @ pH = 3.55
>> - REALLY SLOW FERMENTATION? Checking BRIX from last week to this week
>> should no noticable change on the hydrometer (3%).
>> - Hydrogen Sulfide created by stressed out "still living but highly
>> sulfited" yeast cells? Maybe...
>> - Aliens? Possible...
>>
>> Any ideas???
>>
>>
>> Thanks,
>> Charles
>> Huntsville, AL

That's difficult to say, a few days at least. I leave mine at 25 F for
a few weeks. Is the wine very clear: IE if you shine a flashlight
through it do you see particles in suspension in the beam? If so, you
may want to consider renting a filter; I'm just not sure the ice trick
will work well enough. You can get one a wine shop pretty cheap, I
have a Buon Vino Mini-jet and the sterile filter gets wine pretty
clean. It's not a true sterile filter, but it will do a pretty good
job.

In the future when you make a dry wine the following is the procedure
to measure dryness with clinitest tablets; most pharmacies don't stock
them but can get them. (Any pharmacy supplied by McKesson can get
them, we stock them.) These tablets can be used to determine if there
is any residual sugar left in your wine.

What you do is:
For sweet wines, follow the instructions.

For dry:
* Ignore the instructions that came with it:
* Place 10 drops of wine in the test tube:
* Using the '2 drop' chart determine RS by matching the color change
and dividing the result by 5.

They sell a test kit which include the test tube, eye dropper and a
small bottle of tablets, they also sell bottles of 100 and foil packs
of 100. I can only get the 100 tab bottle now, it's a Bayer product,
PN 2126.

Hope that helps,
Joe
If the RS is 0.2% or less the wine is dry

The wine is crystal clear at this point. I can see no particles in
suspension. Would a filter serve the purpose of removing live yeast
cells? If so, would a filter small enough to filter yeast cells also
strip the body of delicate apple wine? Since it's an apple wine, I was
looking to get 3% sugar out of the finished product. That's another
reason I stopped fermentation at approximately 3 BRIX. My hydrometer
conirms I'm actually at 3% sugar so I'm right where I want to be if I
can just keep it there.

I put the wine on ice water tonight. I'm not sure how cold it will
get. Is the idea to make the yeast cells go dormant and then they
settle to the bottom when inactive?Then rack off the dormant yeast
cells? Also, how do you achieve 25F?

Thanks!
Charles

On 5 Dec 2005 02:38:48 -0800, "Joe Sallustio" >
wrote:

>That's difficult to say, a few days at least. I leave mine at 25 F for
>a few weeks. Is the wine very clear: IE if you shine a flashlight
>through it do you see particles in suspension in the beam? If so, you
>may want to consider renting a filter; I'm just not sure the ice trick
>will work well enough. You can get one a wine shop pretty cheap, I
>have a Buon Vino Mini-jet and the sterile filter gets wine pretty
>clean. It's not a true sterile filter, but it will do a pretty good
>job.
>
>In the future when you make a dry wine the following is the procedure
>to measure dryness with clinitest tablets; most pharmacies don't stock
>them but can get them. (Any pharmacy supplied by McKesson can get
>them, we stock them.) These tablets can be used to determine if there
>is any residual sugar left in your wine.
>
>What you do is:
>For sweet wines, follow the instructions.
>
>For dry:
>* Ignore the instructions that came with it:
>* Place 10 drops of wine in the test tube:
>* Using the '2 drop' chart determine RS by matching the color change
>and dividing the result by 5.
>
>They sell a test kit which include the test tube, eye dropper and a
>small bottle of tablets, they also sell bottles of 100 and foil packs
>of 100. I can only get the 100 tab bottle now, it's a Bayer product,
>PN 2126.
>
>Hope that helps,
>Joe
>If the RS is 0.2% or less the wine is dry

Charles E wrote:
> The wine is crystal clear at this point. I can see no particles in
> suspension. Would a filter serve the purpose of removing live yeast
> cells?

With the correct pads, yes.

> If so, would a filter small enough to filter yeast cells also
> strip the body of delicate apple wine?

Maybe but probably not much. Most of the apples like flavor comes from
the malic acid which is in solution.

> Since it's an apple wine, I was
> looking to get 3% sugar out of the finished product. That's another
> reason I stopped fermentation at approximately 3 BRIX. My hydrometer
> conirms I'm actually at 3% sugar so I'm right where I want to be if I
> can just keep it there.

If your hydrometer says your at 3 brix, your probably closer to 5 in
reality due to the opposite effect alcohol will have.

>
> I put the wine on ice water tonight. I'm not sure how cold it will
> get. Is the idea to make the yeast cells go dormant and then they
> settle to the bottom when inactive?Then rack off the dormant yeast
> cells?

Yes. Then either filter or use the Sorbate/Sulfite method.

>Also, how do you achieve 25F?

Freezer. But you have to be careful.

Andy