Making a cinnamon wine.. keeps getting stuck?

[Slowninja]

Hey all. Been fermenting a cinnamon wine for quite some time, it keeps getting stuck. I can stir it up, and it will bubble the airlock for a few hours and then quit again. Been fermenting for about a month and the gravity is about 1.030, SG was about 1.080.

Any ideas? I followed Jack Keller's recipe.

 

[Honda88]

how long does it quit?????? without stirring take a flashlight, shine it into the side of the carboy/top of bucket......if you see any bubbles coming to the top it is probably still going or offgassing. how long has it been at 1.030? When you stir the wine you are offgasing, if the wine does not create any co2 by itself and stays at 1.030 then your yeast are either dead or dormant. if this is the case then I would freeze distill it and start over with a different yeast and some nutrient...

 

[tryn2brew]

I've found that if I use Star-San in the airlock it is easy to tell if fermentation has stopped. Star-San will create bubbles even with slight fermentation occurring. I don't put it in during the first week, because it will make a tall column of bubbles that comes out of the little vent holes in a three piece airlock (hey, had to try it at least once). I have no suggestions on what to do if it has stopped however....

 

[cla]

I've found that if I use Star-San in the airlock it is easy to tell if fermentation has stopped. Star-San will create bubbles even with slight fermentation occurring. I don't put it in during the first week, because it will make a tall column of bubbles that comes out of the little vent holes in a three piece airlock (hey, had to try it at least once). I have no suggestions on what to do if it has stopped however....

Great idea. For this purpose do you use undiluted Star San or do you use the star san along with water per the instructions on the bottle?

 

[tryn2brew]

I use some of the diluted Star-San solution that I normally keep in a spray bottle. Seems to be plenty sensitive enough to bubble with the slightest activity.

 

[Slowninja]

Thanks everybody. Either it was going very very slowly or the occasional shaking continued the fermentation. It finally took off and hit 1.000 and stopped so I racked it off and stabilized it.

 

[Honda88]

in my experience if the wine stays at a specific gavity for 2 weeks or longer it is truly stuck or dormant. as long as you use preservative free must and do not go beyond the yeasts capabilities you should never have a stuck fermentation..