New Pineapple Wine

[DarkLoki357]

Just started a new pineapple wine, well pitch the yeast about 8pm 08/02/16 as of right now it is still not doing anything. I still have until 8am 08/04/16 before it has been 36hours. The date on the outside of the wyeast was 03/08/16. Now if is still is not doing anything by morning what then?

 

[gitano]

For what it's worth, I have never made a wine, (and only a few beers), whose fermentation started when it was 'supposed to'. The first wine I made, I ruined because it didn't start fermentation when it was 'supposed to', and I kept adding yeast. (Beautiful stuff that tasted terrible!) Since then I have learned to be patient. The last batch of wine I have started (rhubarb-ginger, see here: https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?t=585999) didn't start visible fermentation for 84 hours after the yeast was pitched.

My advice, again for what it's worth, is "be patient". Biology works. Sometimes not in the time frame it is "supposed" to.

Paul

PS - I have heard that some yeasts get 'shocked' if all of the sugar is added at the beginning. However, in the most recent batch I mentioned above, I did not add all of the sugar at once, and it still took 84 hours to start visible fermentation.

Paul

 

[bernardsmith]

Typically dry yeast has a short lag time and liquid yeast tends to have a long lag time. What was the temperature of the must when you pitched the yeast? Do you know the pH? Sometimes a must with a low pH will inhibit the work of the yeast.

 

[DarkLoki357]

Pomona's Blessings

Fermentable:
4lb Apple/Orange/pineapple juice (ppg=6)
4lb Pineapple/Orange/Guava juice (ppg=6)
1.25lb Pineapple juice(Drained off canned fruit) (ppg=2)
12lb Apple/Orange/pineapple juice (ppg=46)

Yeast:
Wyeast(4184) Sweet Mead

Other Stuff:
4.5 Gal Poland Springs
2lb of Chunk Pineapple (Secondary)
3lb of Crushed Pineapple (Secondary)
1/4 tsp of Potassium Metabisulfite
3 tsp of Potassium Sorbate
1 pkg of Super-Kleer

Action:
After 2 week rack off over fruit, and leave for month and 2 weeks. Add Potassium Metabisulfite and Potassium Sorbate, then add clearing agent as directed, I use Super-Kleer.
Leave to clear (week or two) When clear back-sweeten if you want to before Bottling.

 

[DarkLoki357]

Thanks for the help, time was the problem, it is going strong now.

 

[gitano]

:rockin:

Paul

 

[DarkLoki357]

****Update****

Wine just went to the Secondary over the fruit. It went in with a gravity of 1.040. the fun thing is when you think your secondary is 6.5 gallons only to find out it is not and you are left with basically a gallon left and no balloons, and end up going Ghetto style with a condom.

 

[bernardsmith]

But why did you rack when the gravity was as high as 1.040? Racking is likely to remove a very percentage of the active yeast so you are slowing the fermentation down. Was there a reason for this? Typically you should wait until the gravity drops to about 1.010 or even 1.005 and if you are fermenting in a primary with a bung and airlock, then I would think you could even wait until the gravity drops to about 1.000...

 

[DarkLoki357]

I jumped the gun due all the stuff at the bottom

 

[gitano]

It'll be fine, I think. There's still plenty of active yeast 'in there'. It may take a day or two (or three) for things to get cookin' again, but just try to STOP it fermenting and you'll quickly see how "not finished" it is!

Paul

 

[DarkLoki357]

even though I screwed up lol, it seems now to have more action in it then it did before I racked it, I got lucky there.

 

[DarkLoki357]

*update*

Well I bottled a couple of days ago, it seems yeast died at a FG of 1030 that could have been thanks to my jumping the gin when I racked, but now I seem to have an odd off taste it is to hard to describe it. I just don't know it I degassed it to hard, or if it is the Super-kleer I used, I know I also have to work on this recipes pH level it is almost like instead heartburn for me, I get heartburn pretty easy so it might be fine for others.