Too much sugar for my yeast

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Bud

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Hi all.

If you put in too much sugar for the yeast you are using will fermentation stop just about at once,or will it continue to ferment for say a few days before running out of "energy"and give up.
I had calculated I put in too much sugar, maybe = to about 18 % in my fruit red wine made using berries, grape juice, sugar and honey but it is still fermenting strongly after a couple of days in secondary.
It s youngs wine yeast just the normal general yeast.
Is it likely to not ferment to dry and stop sweet?
 
Yes the yeast will continue to ferment until the environment becomes to toxic for it to survive, i.e. a higher alcohol percentage than it is able to tolerate, so you will end up with a strong sweet wine.
 
Not what I wanted to here but thanks snake.
Could I wait till it's finished and then split and add some more yeast, if indeed I did add too much. May thin it down but just a thought. Better that than too sweet to be honest.
 
If you split it before it has finished you would not need to add any more yeast, that is how the French vineyards used to keep the same yeast culture from one year to another by keeping it in a weak solution to keep it alive and cool to slow fermentation as much as possible.
What you would dilute it with I do not know the standard thing seems to be white grape juice but that brings its own sugar into the equation
 
Hi snake. Interesting about the French vineyards, thanks. Just took a reading on my wine and it has fermented to dry. I must have miscalculated my sugar content and therefore all is good at present. I will now leave it for a week or so, back sweeten and then hopefully have a decent red Christmas 2015. Thanks for your help, it may come in handy if I get over extravagant with the fruit or Tate and Lyle in the future.
 

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