Is my latest brew too acidic or did I mess up somewhere?

[Tom128]

Looking for advice on what to do, if anything. Tried a recipe that I think may have just been too acidic for the yeast to ferment but I've seen other lemonades so I may have done something wrong.

[Strawberry Lemonade]
2x can lemonade concentrate
1x can Welches Strawberry Breeze concentrate
2 cup white sugar
1tbs yeast nutrient
1tbs yeast energizer
1/2 packet of Montrachete
OG: 1.120

Let concentrates thaw completely and poured into primary. Rinsed the cans a bit with a few swirls of water and added to primary.

Boiled about a liter of water and mixed the sugar into it as it cooled, then added the nutrient and energizer when it was 80F, poured that into the primary and then enough water to leave enough space for the yeast and a bit of head space so I could shake oxygen into it.

Put half of the packet (2.5g) of yeast into a bowl with some warm water, 1 tbs of sugar and a syringe worth of the primary into a glass bowl and stirred off and on for a few hours until I got a vigorous fizzing response. Pitched that into the primary, capped it and gave it a good shake. Removed the cap and put a paper towel over it with a rubberband.

I did the capping and shaking repeatedly every time I walked by it for three days to keep giving it more oxygen with little effect. I did start to see some bubbling the third day but it was not strong at all. I thought perhaps since it was a hard ferment to help with more oxygen. I sanitized a wide 2 gallon mixing bowl and dumped it into that last night, and got a moderate fizz that told me the yeast was hanging in there.

This morning there were little white patches that I thought may have been bacteria but looking close they were more like islands of bubbles so I think that's okay. I gave the must a stir and the liquid is completely still, I am not getting a fizzing response like I expecting and was getting last night. So I think my yeast has gone the way of the parrot (anyone ?).

So any thoughts? This isn't my first brew but I am still very new, and this is probably the hardest ingredients I have tried to ferment. Only thing I can think of is (1) to wait a bit longer, (2) try to make a big yeast starter. I have only activated dry yeast so far, but this may be a case that I need to give it way more yeast? (3) boil to make sure it's not infected and re-pitch hoping I have spartan yeast this time?

 

[Yooper]

You only used a total of 1/2 package of yeast? If so, make a starter like the first one you did with the rest of the yeast, adding more and more must to it to make sure you have enough active yeast.

A yeast package is good for "1-6" gallons, and especially with an OG of 1.120 you should have used it all and should have kept it going well before pitching with such an acidic must.

 

[Tom128]

Yep only a half packet most of the 1gallon recipes I've read say to use 1gram of yeast so I thought using 2.5grams was plenty. I also didn't know the OG could make it a harder ferment, I thought that just effected potential alcohol. Learned something new!

I started up a new thing of yeast, I will try and grow it for a few days before pitching this time. Thanks for the input!

 

[Vikings]

I just did a batch of skeeter pee (hard lemonade) which some people have trouble with due to acidity. I held the lemon juice for 48 hours and let the yeast munch on the sugar and nutrients without the stress of all that acid. I then added the lemon juice over about 3 days. Just an idea for the future.
As far as the sugar concentration goes, it had to do with osmotic pressure. This is why pure sugar/syrup doesn't go bad. The sugar in solution will pull the water out of the cytoplasm of the yeast, killing them. Kind of like of you've ever made a dry rub for ribs, you can see the sugar and spices pull the water out if the ribs. Mmmmm...ribs. You can make a large starter or step feed your sugar to get around this (keep records of gravity readings so you can keep track of your target OG.)

 

[oogaboogachiefwalkingdeer]

That is how I make skeeter pee too. Mix up sugar water and nutrients and yeast. Only difference is after it is going good I add all three bottles of juice at once. Very easy. Never could see what all the fuss was getting this to start.