Cran-blackberry wine issues

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Pendragon524

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A few days ago I turned to ferment Oceanspray Cran-blackberry juice with Sarfale S-04 yeast. I took a gravity reading and the OG was 1.120. The ingredients are filtered water, cranberry juice, sugar, blackberry juice, natural flavor, citric acid, vegetable concentrate for color, and ascorbic acid. However, it's been two days and there hasn't been any activity in the airlock. One possibility is that the cranberry juice is too acidic for the yeast to ferment. But the bottle is labeled as only 15% juice, and yeast can tolerate a wide range of ph values, so I'm not convinced that that's the issue. Is there a problem with the yeast itself? Is it a temperature issue? My room sits at about 67-69 degrees.

Let me know if you have any wisdom that could save my must!
 
Have you checked the gravity again? That might help figure this out. Perhaps fermentation is started but not apparent.
Also, that gravity seems really high for bottled juice... I would expect more in the 1.040-1.050 range. Did you add sugar to the juice?
 
Have you checked the gravity again? That might help figure this out. Perhaps fermentation is started but not apparent.
Also, that gravity seems really high for bottled juice... I would expect more in the 1.040-1.050 range. Did you add sugar to the juice?
I'll check the gravity again to make sure the fermentation hasn't started. I did add lots of sugar to the must. I love sweet wine!
 
I do this and other cran/other juice mixes. The one thing I have learned is to dilute the cran whatever by a minimum of one third. As in 2 gals of water, 4 gallons of juice. I get my best results for fermentation and flavor at a 50-50 mix.
 
Might try bumping up the ambient temperature for the must. When I make juice wines, I've found that they like to start fermenting at around 73-75 F.

Right now, I'm working on an Ocean Spray Cran-Peach wine. It's 1 gallon of juice, 3.5 pounds of sugar added (to get to 12% PA), then added acid blend, tannin, nutrient, and pectic enzyme. No water for dilution. After 24 hours, added the yeast, and it's been bubbling away merrily since.
 
Mine turn out very acidic, and strong flavor wise if I don't dilute them. Let me know how your cran peach turns out.
 
Interestingly, when I added Red Star Premier Classique, it’s been fermenting well for over two weeks now. I’ll take a reading today to check it’s progress, but I’m confident it’ll be about 13%. I’ll report back on what it tastes like as well, because I didn’t dilute it.
 
Might try bumping up the ambient temperature for the must. When I make juice wines, I've found that they like to start fermenting at around 73-75 F.

Right now, I'm working on an Ocean Spray Cran-Peach wine. It's 1 gallon of juice, 3.5 pounds of sugar added (to get to 12% PA), then added acid blend, tannin, nutrient, and pectic enzyme. No water for dilution. After 24 hours, added the yeast, and it's been bubbling away merrily since.
My roommate is fermenting that exact juice! He racked it last week and it tastes alright; it’s funny just how much flavor gets lost in fermentation. That’s probably the #1 thing I’ve learned lately.
 
Wine isn’t suppose to taste like grape juice with alcohol added. It’s a different flavor profile altogether. I couldn’t stand the taste of black currant juice, but loved the smell. After making a mead with it, I love it!
 
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