Fermentation begins again just before bottling

[Ansa.H]

Hi All,

I was just ready to bottle a 1 gallon batch of strawberry wine, which was completely finished, when i noticed the air lock bubbling again and bubbles rising up in the wine itself. It tastes great but its got a fizz due to this restarted fermentation. I first assumed it was escaping Co2 due to the rise in climate temperature, but its been 5 days since i saw this happening and its still going strong. I should also mention that as a precaution, i added a small dose of Sodium Metabisulphite. What should i do? Wait it out, rack it again or go straight to bottling?

Any help/guidance would be appreciated.

Thanks
Ansa.H

 

[RPh_Guy]

Are you monitoring the s.g?

Definitely don't bottle right now it if it's still fermenting.

 

[Ansa.H]

Are you monitoring the s.g?

Definitely don't bottle right now it if it's still fermenting.

Sadly i can't monitor it as my hydrometer broke and due to the lockdown, i can't order another one. So im working a little in the dark for now and going by instinct and sight.

 

[RPh_Guy]

In that case just leave it alone and be patient. You don't want uncontrolled fermentation in a closed bottle because it might explode.

Welcome to HBT!

 

[Seamonkey84]

Has it completely cleared? Has the temp of the room started to rise? Warmer temps will allow more trapped co2 to be released. If it’s still fermenting it won’t be clear.

 

[Ansa.H]

It is clear. and the temperature is definitely rising. lows of 22 and highs of 38 during the day. even though the carboy is in a cool dark corner, the activity is going steady and showing no signs of stopping. This is the 2nd time this has happened to me. In a previous batch the same thing happened but stopped in a couple of days and i was able to bottle it. But thank you guys for the advice and help. Ill definitely just wait it out. I just hope i don't lose any flavour or body.

 

[Seamonkey84]

I’d recommend taking a gravity reading and see if it is dropping at all over a week or two. That’s the only way to know for sure. Or if it’s already completely dry, then you’re probably seeing it releasing CO2 from the warming temp. If it’s stored below 60F, CO2 could be in there for months and months without doing anything. Even when it comes to degassing with a wine whip before bottling, it takes a long time at 70F.
http://winemakersacademy.com/degas-wine/

 

[RPh_Guy]

I’d recommend taking a gravity reading

...

Sadly i can't monitor it as my hydrometer broke and due to the lockdown, i can't order another one.

 

[Seamonkey84]

D’OH! I knew I missed something lol

 

[Coffee49]

Hi All,

I was just ready to bottle a 1 gallon batch of strawberry wine, which was completely finished, when i noticed the air lock bubbling again and bubbles rising up in the wine itself. It tastes great but its got a fizz due to this restarted fermentation. I first assumed it was escaping Co2 due to the rise in climate temperature, but its been 5 days since i saw this happening and its still going strong. I should also mention that as a precaution, i added a small dose of Sodium Metabisulphite. What should i do? Wait it out, rack it again or go straight to bottling?

Any help/guidance would be appreciated.

Thanks
Ansa.H

The risk of bottling even after a degassing of this gallon could be cork popping. I believe adding 1tsp of sorbets stir lightly and let set for 30 days. That should settle it down.

 

[bernardsmith]

Hi Ansa - and welcome. Let's assume worst case scenario and the wine you thought had finished fermenting had simply "stalled" and was now refermenting. What you might do is taste the wine and see if it still has the mouthfeel and perceived sweetness that you are looking for (the more unfermented sugar remaining the more viscous the wine will be - all other things being equal). If it is (though still very "green") much to your liking then you might simply transfer this batch to your fridge for a few days to help force the yeast to drop out of solution. Then you rack the wine off the lees that will form. Let that stand for a few days and see if the bubbles re-appear. If they do (or even if they don't) you could return the wine to the fridge and repeat the process: what you are doing is removing the wine from the yeast. Repeating this a couple or three times should result in a carboy with very few yeast cells and if you have sorbate and K-meta you should be able to kill the fermentation. But as others have said, the most effective way of knowing what is happening is to be able to measure any changes in gravity.

 

[Ansa.H]

Thank you everyone for the great advice! Much appreciated.

As for my Strawberry batch, I waited it out and the bubbling slowed down till it eventually finished off completely. i waited a few days on top of this and then finally bottled. Im quite happy with the results. As for putting wines in the fridge, Im definitely going to try this technique as i live in an extremely hot country and temperatures in the summer normally go up to 47/48, and im expecting the heat to mess with some of my other batches.

 

[jonkneg]

Hi All,

I was just ready to bottle a 1 gallon batch of strawberry wine, which was completely finished, when i noticed the air lock bubbling again and bubbles rising up in the wine itself. It tastes great but its got a fizz due to this restarted fermentation. I first assumed it was escaping Co2 due to the rise in climate temperature, but its been 5 days since i saw this happening and its still going strong. I should also mention that as a precaution, i added a small dose of Sodium Metabisulphite. What should i do? Wait it out, rack it again or go straight to bottling?

Any help/guidance would be appreciated.

Thanks
Ansa.H

I have the same issue with a recent batch I have never had this happen before It affected only about forty percent of my total finished product

 

[RPh_Guy]

I have the same issue with a recent batch I have never had this happen before It affected only about forty percent of my total finished product

Welcome to HBT!

Can you explain what happened (with punctuation, please)?