Did I Goof On My Mango Wine?

[Dave_E]

Hi All,

It’s been 48 hours since I pitched the yeast on my gallon batch of Mango wine and not one hint of fermentation start. Here’s where I think I might have goofed. The original recipe included a campden tablet and waiting 24 hours before pitching the yeast. However, the recipe was for FRESH fruit. I used organic frozen fruit (that was maybe pasteurized). Is it possible the campden tablet wiped out the yeast I pitched?

Dave

 

[fluketamer]

i think it is unlikely. i think wine yeast are pretty tolerant of sulfur unlike wild yeast.

but we def need the recipe if you want more help. did you add nutrient what and how much yeast did you pitch etc. what the temp?

i think it is prolly lagging from lack of nutrient. wine yeast like to ferment grapes not mangos. lol

also how do you know its not fermentng . did you check gravity thats really the only true way to tell if it started. it can take a while to visually "see" fermentation.

 

[Dave_E]

1/2 tsp each: Acid Blend, Yeast nutrient (Fermaid O), Pectic enzyme, Wine tannin, (1) Campden tablet.

2lbs of sugar, 4 lbs of frozen mango chucks (thawed of course).

Initially let stand for 24 hours, then sprinkled 1/2 packet of Lalvin D-47 on top of must (fruit was in a strainer bag).

Have the must in a 2 gallon pail with a lid and an airlock.

 

[waynetempro]

Its possible that there was some residual SO2 that knocked out your yeast. You can add a little more yeast to try to jumpstart fermentation. FYI, one packet of yeast is good for 5 gallons, so you only need about 1/4 packet for a 1 gallon batch.

 

[Dave_E]

Made a new batch of yeast, (per the instructions), pitched it last night at 5 PM, this morning…. Nothing. I’ll give it to this afternoon and then chuck the whole thing as it will have been sitting in the fermenting bucket for 5 days and chalk it up to learning. I am really getting tired of chasing these YouTube brewers and having failures.

 

[Miraculix]

Made a new batch of yeast, (per the instructions), pitched it last night at 5 PM, this morning…. Nothing. I’ll give it to this afternoon and then chuck the whole thing as it will have been sitting in the fermenting bucket for 5 days and chalk it up to learning. I am really getting tired of chasing these YouTube brewers and having failures.

Don't dump it. Have you measured starting gravity and compared it to a current measurement?

 

[Closet Fermenter]

I did a batch from mango nectar juice awhile back. I seem to recall that it was a little slow starting. Does not hurt anything to just give it a little more time.

I posted the following link in another thread when I had an extremely slow start with my Mexican lager.

.Nothing!

 

[Dave_E]

Ok, just got home, checked the SG. Started at 1.072, it’s at 1.050 now. Still tastes like mango flavored sugar water. I’ll give it till tomorrow. After 7 days, with no alcohol being made, it’s got to be getting nasty.

 

[Yooper]

Ok, just got home, checked the SG. Started at 1.072, it’s at 1.050 now. Still tastes like mango flavored sugar water. I’ll give it till tomorrow. After 7 days, with no alcohol being made, it’s got to be getting nasty.

If it's dropped 22 points, it's fermenting. Give it more time, a good stir with a sanitized spoon, and wait it out. Generally, I use a full packet of wine yeast for most wines, even if they aren't 5 gallons. My procedure is to mix the must and add the sulfite (campden). Then, 12 hours later add pectic enzyme and then 12 hours later I add the yeast. After that, I stir twice a day until the wine reaches 1.010 or so, and then don't stir anymore.

 

[Dave_E]

Happy Fathers day to all you dads out there!

Well it kicked off… finally. Very active fermentation as shown in my 3 piece airlock. I just hope the must that sat there for almost 6 whole days was/is ok. Will keep you advised.

Dave

 

[Dave_E]

Happy Hump Day All,

Update. Sunday I took the airlock off the bucket lid and after a”punching” of the fruit strainer bag, I just set the top back on the bucket (not snapping it down to be air tight) and twice a day I have “punched” the bag a bit. I took a reading this morning… down to 1.016 and actually tasting like wine and not sugar water. Pleasantly surprised with the taste! I’m leaning more towards the “dryer is better” but we’ll see. I watch lots of videos and most do some back sweetening. Matter of preference me thinks. I'll leave it in this state until I see at least 1.000 (or wherever it stops) and rack into the carboy for secondary time.

Dave

 

[Dave_E]

Good Morning All,

Update time. SG is down to .996! The wine is VERY dry. As it sits right now, ABV is 10.11 % +-. I’m understanding why back sweetening might be desirable. I’m racking today.

Dave

 

[Dave_E]

Another update, this one is perplexing. The gallon and a half of juice that I got when I racked (yes I did squeeze the fruit bag to get all of it) is now bubbling like crazy. What gives? There was virtually no activity in the 2 gallon pail and the SG was .998, now I have all kind of activity.

Dave

 

[lumpher]

How long after racking did it start bubbling and how long did it continue? Did you stir the wine while it was fermenting? It could have been off-gassing.

 

[Dave_E]

Started bubbling within a couple hours (that’s when I first check it). But the rate it’s going now, I wouldn’t have even thought about racking, but in the bucket I had no movement and the SG was negative. I did degas with the wand on a drill motor and didn’t get any great amounts of gas or bubbles and since I had already taken the SG reading, I thought we were done.

 

[Closet Fermenter]

Another update, this one is perplexing. The gallon and a half of juice that I got when I racked (yes I did squeeze the fruit bag to get all of it) is now bubbling like crazy. What gives? There was virtually no activity in the 2 gallon pail and the SG was .998, now I have all kind of activity.

Dave

Just so I understand; the fruit bag has been in there the whole time?
If so, there may have been some sugars back in the middle of your sack that the yeast couldn’t get to. Your squeezing it out just rang the dinner bell.

 

[Dave_E]

I’ll go with that hypothesis!