Did I do something wrong?

riff42 · Post by **riff42** » Thu Sep 14, 2006 5:00 pm

Yes, I READ THE SITE.
Thing is, there are 100's of ideas and specs.
here is mine:
2lbs sugar
1 gal of water
5g of K1V1116
15g of nutrients
10g of lemon juice.
1campden tablet.

dissolved everything, areated like crazy, pitched yeast, and put in the bucket with an airlock.

I followed the directions on the yeast packet.

I've heard fermenting might not START for a day or 2. Is this correct? Since mine isn't doing anything for 24hr. It IS a bit chilly, (they call for 75-80deg F, it's 73 in the evening)...I DO have a blanket around the bucket though, and getting an aquarium heater tomorrow.
So....should I wait? I read at one reciepe, that i should whisk it around for oxygen once a day. the one I'm using, just says let it go for 2 week before distilling, and nothing more.
SG is 1.090
I rather fix it at the begining, than start all over again.

junkyard dawg · Post by **junkyard dawg** » Thu Sep 14, 2006 5:11 pm

You don't need campden. It will kill your yeast if they are put in at the same time. and that sg may be a bit high... not all yeasts can get started on that much sugar. Give it a day or two for the campden to dissipate and pitch more yeast.

riff42 · Post by **riff42** » Thu Sep 14, 2006 5:25 pm

junkyard dawg wrote:You don't need campden. It will kill your yeast if they are put in at the same time. and that sg may be a bit high... not all yeasts can get started on that much sugar. Give it a day or two for the campden to dissipate and pitch more yeast.

Ah, that was another thing. Recipe said 10g of yeast, by my 5g packet said it was enough for 5gal.
But....hmm... I was wondering about the campden.

Should I watch for any change in SG before I deside to pitch more yeast? Or does fermenting "work or not"?

nanosleep · Post by **nanosleep** » Thu Sep 14, 2006 6:12 pm

For the ferment to change the SG much over a few days it will have to be REALLY bubbling. If you don't see some sign of bubbles within 24 hours you probably have dead yeast. 70-80 degrees F shouldn't hamper the activty. I usually ferment indoors with the air conditioning in the high 70s.
If you don't see activity go ahead and pitch more yeast. You can really never have too much.

junkyard dawg · Post by **junkyard dawg** » Thu Sep 14, 2006 6:35 pm

Campden is used to sterilize things like grape juice that may have wild yeast or bacteria. You can't use heat because it will change the color and taste and thats no good for wine.

5gm of yeast should be plenty in 2 gallons. If its fermenting it'll be pretty obvious... shouldn't need to check sg to tell.

riff42 · Post by **riff42** » Thu Sep 14, 2006 7:03 pm

junkyard dawg wrote:Campden is used to sterilize things like grape juice that may have wild yeast or bacteria. You can't use heat because it will change the color and taste and thats no good for wine.

5gm of yeast should be plenty in 2 gallons. If its fermenting it'll be pretty obvious... shouldn't need to check sg to tell.

yeah, i figured it should be foaming or at least bubbleing nonetheless.
grr.
I guess I'll try to wait a few days, and add more yeast, if the campden goes away.

riff42 · Post by **riff42** » Thu Sep 14, 2006 7:05 pm

nanosleep wrote:For the ferment to change the SG much over a few days it will have to be REALLY bubbling. If you don't see some sign of bubbles within 24 hours you probably have dead yeast. 70-80 degrees F shouldn't hamper the activty. I usually ferment indoors with the air conditioning in the high 70s.
If you don't see activity go ahead and pitch more yeast. You can really never have too much.

well, I'm glad that all the response I have gotten was not "he's dead jim....start over"
I shall see what happens tomorrow then.

OzarkWhiskey · Post by **OzarkWhiskey** » Thu Sep 14, 2006 8:09 pm

It is safe to add your yeast 24 hours after you add the campden tablet. But DO use the campten.

As for the temp keep at 68-75 (20-24 celsius) yeast thrives at these temps. So a heater is really not necessary unless it is cold there. And use only distillers yeast.

As for whisking every day, the more you open the airlock the more chance of contaminating your mash. Do not open more than necessary.

You can use to much yeast, it will smell and taste like yeast. I know people who swear by using more yeast thinking it will make more alcohol, it wont. Most packets of yeast treat 5gal up to 15% vol., any suger left over is just suger. I think 15% is good enough for most folks.

As for starting over..... I would,

"Stride for Prefection not Progress" Take your time and get it right.

riff42 · Post by **riff42** » Fri Sep 15, 2006 8:55 am

OzarkWhiskey wrote:It is safe to add your yeast 24 hours after you add the campden tablet. But DO use the campten.

As for the temp keep at 68-75 (20-24 celsius) yeast thrives at these temps. So a heater is really not necessary unless it is cold there. And use only distillers yeast.

As for whisking every day, the more you open the airlock the more chance of contaminating your mash. Do not open more than necessary.

You can use to much yeast, it will smell and taste like yeast. I know people who swear by using more yeast thinking it will make more alcohol, it wont. Most packets of yeast treat 5gal up to 15% vol., any suger left over is just suger. I think 15% is good enough for most folks.

As for starting over..... I would,

"Stride for Prefection not Progress" Take your time and get it right.

I'm not sure what I did wrong though. Ah, unless I didn't WAIT long enough till I added the campden....that wouuld make sence. My wine receipe told me to wait 24hr.

Eh, luckily I have another bucket laying around

Thanks for the info.

junkyard dawg · Post by **junkyard dawg** » Fri Sep 15, 2006 10:58 am

Don't waste that wash while your still learning how to do things... Try diluting it to a sg of 1.07 and pitch more yeast.

maybe this part wasn't very clear... wait 24 hours after adding Campden to add the yeast. Campden goes in first, the yeast goes in 24 hours later. Better yet, don't add campden. It really has no place in a sugar wash. The way I do it: boil a small portion of the 2 gallons of water. add the sugar to this part and stir till you have a clear syrup. Then add the rest of the water (cool water) and nutrients to the syrup. This will cool it down so you can pitch the yeast quickly. no need for campden or other sanitizing methods. The boiling takes care of any nasties.

riff42 · Post by **riff42** » Fri Sep 15, 2006 4:47 pm

junkyard dawg wrote:Don't waste that wash while your still learning how to do things... Try diluting it to a sg of 1.07 and pitch more yeast.

maybe this part wasn't very clear... wait 24 hours after adding Campden to add the yeast. Campden goes in first, the yeast goes in 24 hours later. Better yet, don't add campden. It really has no place in a sugar wash. The way I do it: boil a small portion of the 2 gallons of water. add the sugar to this part and stir till you have a clear syrup. Then add the rest of the water (cool water) and nutrients to the syrup. This will cool it down so you can pitch the yeast quickly. no need for campden or other sanitizing methods. The boiling takes care of any nasties.

I shall try that as well

Thanks!

AllanD · Post by **AllanD** » Fri Sep 15, 2006 10:20 pm

Campden tablets are intended to supress "wild yeasts" and other "infection" bacteria when there is a likelyhood of contamination.

fresh fruit etc.

And most of those "infections" take hold AFTER primary fermentation is completed... but in distilling when primary fermentation is done (or slightly before) you are going to distill it anyway.

Another issue with Using Campden is in it's chemical characteristics.

Campden is Potassium Meta-bisulfite, with just enough corn starch to allow it to be pressed into tablet form...

Potassium meta-bisulfite when dissolved in water disassociates into
potassium ions and Sulfur Dioxide.

Sulfur Dioxide forms the weak mineral acid sulfurous acid (not to be confused with sulfuric acid) and any chemical bonds it forms are weak ones.

It is a very effective "non persistant" Fungicide and bactericidal agent.

Any "free sulfur dioxide" and most of the "bound" sulfurous acid
salts formed are not thermally stable and along with the free SO2 are released during the boiling of distillation and the problem with that it is this... Sulfur Dioxide unlike CO2 or other gasses is very soluble in ethanol as well as water, so it will not only come through in the
distillation but be concentrated from the usual relatively low concentration in fermenting washes to an objectionally strong concentration in the distillate.

THERE IS a way of dealing with it, but it's simpler chemically to not use Campden in the first place.

If you have "Failed" wine that you have distilled and it's "sulfurey"
make a post asking about the problem and I'll explain the process (quite simple actually) of getting rid of it... or search down the forums, because I have explained it here before... but I thin it's burried back in a reply...

AllanD

muckanic · Post by **muckanic** » Sun Sep 17, 2006 5:06 pm

Metabisulphite is an anti-oxidant, and will consequently chew up any dissolved oxygen in the brew. Aerating at the same time as adding the yeast will not only benefit yeast growth but will also help to dissipate the sulphur, the rest should be scrubbed out during the primary ferment.

Post by **Grayson_Stewart** » Sun Sep 17, 2006 5:22 pm

I didn't realize that....I was wondering why it was so difficult to get yeast to start up in a batch of grapes that I used campden tablets in.

Rebel_Yell · Post by **Rebel_Yell** » Sun Sep 17, 2006 5:54 pm

Thanks for the discourse Guys. This is great for my learning.

riff42 · Post by **riff42** » Mon Sep 18, 2006 6:00 am

muckanic wrote:Metabisulphite is an anti-oxidant, and will consequently chew up any dissolved oxygen in the brew. Aerating at the same time as adding the yeast will not only benefit yeast growth but will also help to dissipate the sulphur, the rest should be scrubbed out during the primary ferment.

Well I'm glad I did that at least!

So, lay off the campden eh?

junkyard dawg · Post by **junkyard dawg** » Mon Sep 18, 2006 6:13 am

did that wash ever start fermenting?

riff42 · Post by **riff42** » Tue Sep 19, 2006 4:01 am

junkyard dawg wrote:did that wash ever start fermenting?

I redid the wash, waited 24, then added the yeast, and yes, sligthly. I think there my bucket isn't overly sealed well, so the airlock isn';t going crazy....but it is. I'm afraid to touch it now