Secondary fermentation

[Chris in Lancs]

In the last two weeks I have racked off a melon wine and a peach wine in to 1 gallon demijohns however the fermtation process seems to have stopped completely. I waited for it to stop in the fermentation bucket as per the recipes I followed but they both state that they should continue to bubble once racked to the demijohns.

This is the first time I've tried making stuff from scratch rather than buying stuff in ready to drink in a week/month stuff so am curious about whether they should still be fermenting or not.

I have added some extra yeast/yeast nutrient to one of them to see if the fermentation process is stuck but it's still doing nothing.

Any ideas or am I better off just waiting a few months till they are meant to be finished?

(Thinking of trying the strawberry vimto that on the recipe pages as well :) )

Thanks
Chris

 

[Samarith]

What's the SG of these wines? It could be that they have fermented out.

 

[artyb]

if they had stopped fermenting in the bucket, then surely they cant carry on in the dj's.... :wha:

 

[Fally over oops]

Did the recipe include adding extra sugar to the DJs? If not then as already mentioned it won't keep fermenting, the yeast has used up all the sugar

Might be worth posting the recipe, sounds like it had some dodgy instructions. Have you got hydrometer readings and tried tasting it?

 

[Fally over oops]

Some quick thoughts....

1. Depending on the current alcohol content - and the yeast you've used - you may be able to add more sugar now to start it off again.
2. It may be they're ready to bottle as they are. Depending on conditions a batch could be ready to bottle in a week or a month according to the same recipe (temperature, campden tablets, OG, yeast etc.)
3. It might be a stuck fermentation, in which case I'll wait for a more experienced brewer to advise you. A quick google will give you a head start though: http://www.yobrew.co.uk/stuck.php

Keeping my fingers crossed for you :)

 

[Chris in Lancs]

Thanks for the replies.

if they had stopped fermenting in the bucket, then surely they cant carry on in the dj's.... :wha:

That thought had crossed my mind as well but the recipe states it will keep bubbling once racked off for about a month.

Did the recipe include adding extra sugar to the DJs? If not then as already mentioned it won't keep fermenting, the yeast has used up all the sugar

Might be worth posting the recipe, sounds like it had some dodgy instructions. Have you got hydrometer readings and tried tasting it?

No extra sugar to the DJ's.

I'll post the recipe later on when home but it's from a book purchased from Waterstones so hopefully it doesn't just contain loads of dodgy recipes!

 

[Chris in Lancs]

Right, here's the recipe I used for the peach wine.

1.5kg peaches
225g raisins
4.5ltrs water
2 campden tablets
1.1hg sugar
10ml citric acid
5ml tanin
1 sachet yeast +5ml yeast nutrient
5ml pectin destroying enzyme

Put peaches (cut in to halfs) in to fermentation bin and mash by hand. Add the rasins, 2.25ltrs wather and put in a campden tablet. Dissolve the sugar in 1.75ltrs of boiling water and when cooled add to pulp. Add the citric acid, tannin, yeast, yest nutrient and the pectin enzyme. Cover securely for the must to ferment stirring daily.

Strain through a fine mesh bag in to a fermentation jar and top up with water. Fit a fermentation lock and put the jar in a warm place to finish fermenting until it stops bubbling, beings to clear and the SG reaches 1.000.

When the must has finished fermenting and the wine clears rack it into a clean fermentation har and add another campden tablet. Rack the wine at intervals, unti no more sediment forms. Bottle when clear. Store for 6 to 9 months before drinking.




Now I'm only up to the bit where I've strained it through the mesh bag to a DJ but didn't need to top it up with water. No fermentation has occurred since the transfer and I haven't had time to test it with a hydrometer yet.

Just strange that the peach and melon wine have both been the same in that neither has continued fermenting after racking to the DJ's.