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TOP 10 REASONS
FOR FERMENTATION FAILURE
Reason #2
Adding Too Much Sugar At The Beginning Of Fermentation:
When a fermentation occurs what is really happening is
the yeast
is consuming sugar and turning it into alcohol. So the
amount of
sugar that is available to the yeast controls how much
alcohol
that can be made. But contrary to reason, it is possible
to have
too much sugar in a fermentation.
If the sugar concentration level of the must becomes too
high at
any given point--either at the beginning or during the
fermentation--it starts to have an inhibiting effect on
the
yeast's ability to produce alcohol. In other words, the
higher
sugar concentration starts to act as a preservative
effecting the
fermentation in a negative way.
Before you add sugar to a batch, it is necessary to know
how much
sugar is already being provided by the fruit. This can
vary
dramatically from one fruit to the next. For example, in
the case
of most California grown grapes, no sugar is required at
all to
produce a wine with a reasonable level of alcohol--say
10 to 13
percent--but when making berry wines a considerable
amount of
sugar is required to obtain those same levels.
If you have a good recipe from a reliable source, such
as a book
on winemaking, you can normally depend on the amount of
sugar the
recipe is calling for. Or certainly if you are following
directions that were provided with a wine making kit,
your sugar
level should be no issue whatsoever, just follow the
directions.
But if you have a recipe from a questionable source or
you are
going it alone, it is strongly recommended that you
control your
sugar levels with the aid of a hydrometer.
The hydrometer can tell you how much sugar is already in
the must
as well has how much sugar to add to end up with a
potential
alcohol level that is desirable.
It does this with a scale that is called "Potential
Alcohol." The
more sugar that is in the must, the higher the
percentage reading
will be on the Potential Alcohol scale.
For more information about the hydrometer and its use,
see the
following article on our web site:
"Getting
To Know Your Hydrometer"
At the beginning of fermentation having "Potential
Alcohol"
readings higher than 13% will usually interfere with the
yeast's
ability to start fermenting. Realize that most all wines
you buy
commercially are between 10% and 13%, so this is really
no big
issue.
But there are some of you out there--and you know who
you are--
that seek to drive the alcohol as high as possible. This
is okay,
but it is necessary to feed some of the sugar throughout
the
fermentation instead of adding all of it to the must up
front.
By feeding sugar in this way you will be able to achieve
higher
alcohol without getting your sugar concentration levels
too high.
You are giving some of the original sugars time to turn
into
alcohol. This in turn will make room for the additional
sugars
you are feeding.
If you do not feed sugar in this way when attempting to
achieve
higher alcohol levels, you will be setting yourself up
for
potential fermentation problems.
- For more information about making high alcohol wines,
see the
following article listed on our web site:
"Making High Alcohol Wines"
- For more information about the hydrometers we offer,
go to the
following link on our web site:
Wine Making
Hydrometers
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10 Reasons For Fermentation Failure
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E. C. Kraus
Home Wine & Beer Making Supplies
Address: 733 S. Northern
Blvd. - P. O. Box 7850 - Independence, MO 64053
Phone:(816) 254-7448
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