Hard Seltzer stuck fermentation

[CoreysOasis]

Taking a shot at brewing hard seltzer (1 gallon small batch) and after 3 days of fermentation there was no activity and I saw sugar and presumably the yeast nutrient collecting at the bottom of the carboy.

Out of desperation, I boiled up a small pot of water, sugar, and more nutrient, put it into the carboy, shook the hell out of it, and I immediately have active fermentation within a couple hours (yeast count shouldn’t be an issue) with krausen and bubbling.

My question: what issues or off flavors might I have because of this? I will plan to add some extra mango natural flavor extract when I go to prime and bottle.

 

[Husker71]

Curious what became of this? I'm doing my first seltzer and having the same issue on day 3. I just took off the lid, added some more nutrient and stirred it vigorously. If I don't get movement from the water lock, I might try adding some boiled sugar water.

 

[CoreysOasis]

It was definitely an issue with the nutrient that I was provided. When I dissolved my other nutrient and added to fermenter I got active fermentation. Unfortunately this mishap resulted is some bad odor and slightly off flavor. Lesson learned: buy good nutrient and make sure it gets fully dissolved.

 

[Husker71]

thanks for the response. How much yeast nutrient did you use? The directions included (1/2 tsp) were quite different than the special label (1tsp per gallon) stuck on the package. I'm thinking this is where my problem lies.

 

[CoreysOasis]

Depends how many gallons you’re making but agreed I think that is the issue. I don’t recall what I used originally based on recipe instructions, however I then used my Wyeast which is “1/2 tsp per 5 gallons of wort.” The issue there is seltzer starts with no nutrients unlike wort so I suspect you would need more. I will be sure to find a better recipe next time.

 

[Cookin’chickens]

Hello,

I pitched 1-pack Lallemand’s CBC-1 yeast into 6-gallons of ~82-degrees Fahrenheit water with 4-lbs powdered sugar dissolved into the water. Just water, sugar, and yeast. Any problems with doing it this way? I noticed 12-hours after pitching yeast the seltzer wort is not actively fermenting like a lager would. The liquid has a cloudy white/yellow-ish color and some tiny gas bubbles are very slowly forming at the top of carboy. Temperature of room is 64-degrees Fahrenheit.

 

[CoreysOasis]

Did you use yeast nutrient? Unlike wort, there are no nutrients in sugar water. Also it’s typically advised to pitch yeast at the low end of fermentation temperature range so they don’t get shocked or go dormant.

 

[Cookin’chickens]

I just bought some Fermax Yeast Nutrient. Heating up some water to make Star San ... cleaned up my tools and added 1-tsp/gal of the Fermax and whisked up the hard seltzer wort with the cordless stirring stick attachment and sealed the carboy with blowout preventer. I noticed 15% more CO2 production immediately.

 

[Cookin’chickens]

Did you use yeast nutrient? Unlike wort, there are no nutrients in sugar water. Also it’s typically advised to pitch yeast at the low end of fermentation temperature range so they don’t get shocked or go dormant.

@CoreysOasis

Thank you for the reply! I just bought some Fermax Yeast Nutrient. Heating up some water to make Star San ... cleaned up my tools and added 1-tsp/gal of the Fermax and whisked up the hard seltzer wort with the cordless stirring stick attachment and sealed the carboy with blowout preventer. I noticed 15% more CO2 production immediately.