filtering must

[Blacksmith1]

before or during fermentation. I have a watermelon wine brewing that is taking on a smell that I had with a summer squash based wine. the only thing they have in common that none of my other brews have is suspended organic matter. I ran it thru a strainer before pitching but still have a lot.
So how do you guys deal with puree' and other fine particulate?
I'm going to run it thru a 75 micron bag into a fermenting bucket then back to it's carboy for now and hope some of the smell disapates.

 

[bernardsmith]

What's the smell like? If like rotten eggs then the problem is hydrogen sulfide and H2S is caused by stressed yeast. Some yeast strains are stressed by nature and they simply pump out H2S, but with other strains you have to stress the yeast before they return the favor (Yeast are very Karmic). Lack of nutrients and too high a fermenting temperature are common causes of stress. The fact that both wines are full of particulates is a coincidence rather than a cause.
The treatment for particulates is patience. Gravity tends to force particles to drop out of suspension but if the wine is saturated with CO2 then that gas acts to counter the effects of gravity. You might try de-gassing and then you might also try adding some fining agents. Not sure whether the particles from water-melon and/or squash are positive or negative but you want a fining product with the opposite electrical charge.

 

[Blacksmith1]

Not rhino farts, been there done that.
When I did the squash it just smelled bad. Like it was trying to rot? Maybe? I don't know how to describe it. This is starting to smell the same tho.

 

[bernardsmith]

If there is fruit (or vegetables) that fruit must be kept submerged if it is not to become moldy (rot) but if you are constantly stirring into the wine the cap that forms then I have run out of answers unless the problem is not H2S itself, but mercaptans which is when the H2S binds with the alcohol. Mercaptans smell a bit like rotting cabbage.

 

[Blacksmith1]

Don't know. At this point I have as much out as I can get for now. The dark red large bubbles are gone, and I'm hoping for the best.

 

[Vinman58]

Don't know. At this point I have as much out as I can get for now. The dark red large bubbles are gone, and I'm hoping for the best.

Good luck Blacksmith! Let us know how it ends up.