My first fail

[Sissy907]

So, my watermelon/peach batch has mold on the top of it this morning. I did everything the recipe called for so how does this happen? Does the campden tablets not kill off anything in the batch that could turn into mold? I sanitize everything like a freak as well. I am gutted. Help me make the next batch not do this (I am going to go get more watermelons today!).

~Alli

 

[lukebuz]

I hear that Watermelons are notorious for spoilage. Try Try Again?

 

[Yooper]

Mold can only grow in the presence of oxygen, so it usually can only grow in places where there is a lot of headspace, or when fermentation is very slow to start.

If you make sure to stir the wine for the first 5 days or so, then move it to a vessel with no headspace once fermentation slows and/or the wine is at 1.020 SG or lower, mold can't grow. Make sure to use a carboy with the wine at the narrowest part of the opening, maybe an inch or so.

 

[bernardsmith]

I wonder if the reason that watermelon has such a bad name when it comes to wine is precisely because it tends to spoil before there is enough alcohol in it to inhibit mold. Never tried to make a watermelon wine but if the problem is that the pH is too high (not enough acidity in the juice) you might consider a different approach and that is to add the juice to a secondary and/or make sure that there is sufficient acidity in the must to produce a pH of about 4.0 - certainly below 5.0

 

[Sissy907]

I wonder if the reason that watermelon has such a bad name when it comes to wine is precisely because it tends to spoil before there is enough alcohol in it to inhibit mold. Never tried to make a watermelon wine but if the problem is that the pH is too high (not enough acidity in the juice) you might consider a different approach and that is to add the juice to a secondary and/or make sure that there is sufficient acidity in the must to produce a pH of about 4.0 - certainly below 5.0

I don't know if it helped, but I added the juice of 6 limes to the batch. My hands hurt for hours afterwords (I've already bought a juicer for the future!).

~Alli

 

[Seattle2k]

um....take ph reading. dont just shoot in the dark.

 

[bernardsmith]

and you might want to increase the temperature of the must to ensure that the yeast dominate and don't allow any bacteria to gain a foothold. Aim for the higher end of the heat preferences of your yeast and and not the lower end.

 

[Sissy907]

Well the recipe called for the limes, so it wasn't really a crap shoot.

How would I increase the heat on the must? I have it in my kitchen tucked in a spot it won't get bumped. I used the Montrachet packet of yeast.

God I feel like I am so over my head right now!

~Alli

 

[bernardsmith]

Not over your head, Alli but wine from watermelon may be the most challenging wine to make in part because of the very little amount of flavor that watermelons have (ferment out all the sugar and you are left with a shadow of a flavor + alcohol) and in part because watermelon often goes 'bad' before it has a chance to ferment. My suggestion would be to go to your local supermarket and look for the bottles of pure fruit juice (not necessarily in the chiller section). There you are likely to find everything from pomegranate to apricot, from apple to mango and these fruits make good wines (not great , because you are not macerating the fruit on the skins, but good).
To increase the temperature what you might want to do is buy an aquarium heater and place your fermenter in a plastic dish washing bowl filled with water. You then attach the heater to the inside of the bowl These heaters are submersible and they will increase the temperature of the water to about 78 F.

The basic issue is that if the yeast are not sufficiently active in a watermelon must then bacteria will out-compete the yeast. You need to ensure that the yeast create an environment that best suits them and is hostile to competing bacteria and fungi. Higher temperatures (within reason) turbo charge the yeast.

 

[Sissy907]

Not over your head, Alli but wine from watermelon may be the most challenging wine to make in part because of the very little amount of flavor that watermelons have (ferment out all the sugar and you are left with a shadow of a flavor + alcohol) and in part because watermelon often goes 'bad' before it has a chance to ferment. My suggestion would be to go to your local supermarket and look for the bottles of pure fruit juice (not necessarily in the chiller section). There you are likely to find everything from pomegranate to apricot, from apple to mango and these fruits make good wines (not great , because you are not macerating the fruit on the skins, but good).
To increase the temperature what you might want to do is buy an aquarium heater and place your fermenter in a plastic dish washing bowl filled with water. You then attach the heater to the inside of the bowl These heaters are submersible and they will increase the temperature of the water to about 78 F.

The basic issue is that if the yeast are not sufficiently active in a watermelon must then bacteria will out-compete the yeast. You need to ensure that the yeast create an environment that best suits them and is hostile to competing bacteria and fungi. Higher temperatures (within reason) turbo charge the yeast.

I didn't even know these kinds of juice exist. I know this sounds incredibly dim, but the reason is about 7 years ago I had gastric bypass surgery as I was incredibly sick and it was the fastest, safest way for me to get better quick. Ever since I have stayed as far away from the center of the grocery store as I could. I try my hardest to shop around the perimeter where the whole foods are located rather than the processed foods. I don't ever want to get to where I've been, again.
I temporarily wrapped the fermenter in towels to help hold the temp up. My house is fairly warmer than most peoples as I am always cold. It is set at 76 pretty much year round. Is that warm enough or should I go get the heater? Its been bubbling away since about an hour after I pitched the yeast...

 

[jgmillr1]

I wonder if the reason that watermelon has such a bad name when it comes to wine is precisely because it tends to spoil before there is enough alcohol in it to inhibit mold. Never tried to make a watermelon wine but if the problem is that the pH is too high (not enough acidity in the juice) you might consider a different approach and that is to add the juice to a secondary and/or make sure that there is sufficient acidity in the must to produce a pH of about 4.0 - certainly below 5.0

I agree that this is likely the issue. You'll want to buy a pH meter ($80-100) and some $3 calibration standards so you know where your must stands. Note that the sulfites are much less effective at a higher pH so you need to increase the dose to have them control the wild fungal and bacterial pressure.

Recipes are more of a guideline and can't be followed blindly. Good wine making practices and note taking will let you be successful with any batch you make. Mistakes and problems are valuable learning experiences and will guide you to make better wine for your next round. Brew on!

 

[Mainer]

I've read that peaches can be hard to work with, too, because the fuzz can hold microbes and make them difficult to sanitize. Did you skin and sanitize before juicing?

(Particularly interested because I'm strongly considering adding peach to a beer I just brewed.)

 

[bernardsmith]

I agree that this is likely the issue. You'll want to buy a pH meter ($80-100) and some $3 calibration standards so you know where your must stands. Note that the sulfites are much less effective at a higher pH so you need to increase the dose to have them control the wild fungal and bacterial pressure.

Recipes are more of a guideline and can't be followed blindly. Good wine making practices and note taking will let you be successful with any batch you make. Mistakes and problems are valuable learning experiences and will guide you to make better wine for your next round. Brew on!

All good points, IMO, but if Alli is simply making a gallon batch of watermelon wine and other wines will be from berries or fruits with pits or from juices sold commercially I am not sure how important a pH meter is for a novice wine maker. People have been making folk wines for thousands of years - certainly hundreds without using pH meters and if Alli's focus is on country wines (non grape wines) the cost of raw materials is so minimal that spending $100 on a meter may not make a great deal of sense. Full disclosure: I have a pH meter but I use it so very occasionally in wine making - And for $100 I can make about 10 - 15 gallons (50 -75 bottles ) of mead.

 

[bernardsmith]

I've read that peaches can be hard to work with, too, because the fuzz can hold microbes and make them difficult to sanitize. Did you skin and sanitize before juicing?

(Particularly interested because I'm strongly considering adding peach to a beer I just brewed.)

Wine makers use K-meta to sanitize their must. Fuzz is no problem. K-meta produces SO2 and sulfur dioxide is a standard bactericide. But you need to apply the K-meta 24 hours before you pitch your yeast AND you need to allow the SO2 to evaporate from the must - so don't think about sealing a carboy with a bung and airlock - use a bucket loosely covered with a towel from the minute you make the must until the active fermentation is coming to a near halt (a gravity close to 1.005).. But if you are adding the fruit to the beer and allowing the beer to ferment the fruit, then I cannot help you. I'm out of my depth. The pH of beer is high and it's risk of souring is strong, my knowledge of brewing is basic and my experience is less.

 

[Mainer]

Wine makers use K-meta to sanitize their must. Fuzz is no problem. K-meta produces SO2 and sulfur dioxide is a standard bactericide. But you need to apply the K-meta 24 hours before you pitch your yeast AND you need to allow the SO2 to evaporate from the must - so don't think about sealing a carboy with a bung and airlock - use a bucket loosely covered with a towel from the minute you make the must until the active fermentation is coming to a near halt (a gravity close to 1.005).. But if you are adding the fruit to the beer and allowing the beer to ferment the fruit, then I cannot help you. I'm out of my depth. The pH of beer is high and it's risk of souring is strong, my knowledge of brewing is basic and my experience is less.

With most fruit, I just give it a soak in a high-proof liquor (rum, vodka, whisky, gin) for a few days to kill off any bacteria before adding it to secondary. But I'm not sure whether peaches present additional problems. I read one recipe that recommends boiling the peaches, but that sounds like a good way to kill flavor and release unwanted pectins.