Was going to syphon some blackberry wine. After I moved it up to the table I noticed it started to make a few bubbles again. Is it common for a wine to start fermenting again once it is moved? I am wondering if I should lightly shake it up to make sure all the yeast are going to finish their work before bottling. I use no sulfite, so want it to be pretty done when it is bottled. It was made last July / Aug with natural yeast and lots of sugar.
Moving wine gets fermentaion going?
- Thread starter keepitlow
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Stirring/swirling during fermentation helps for a variety of reasons, getting yeast back up into suspension is the main one.
What you saw was more likely degassing - meads can take a very long time to degass (one of mine took almost a year, and that was with plenty of stirring as encouragement).
As to whether yours will be safe to bottle (you don't want it "pretty done" you want it "done"!) we can't give you any real information without more details. Specifically your starting gravity and final gravity.
If you're going to bottle something that didn't ferment to dryness, without stabilizing with sulphite and sorbate, you'll want to make sure that the gravity does not change for a very, very long time before bottling.
Bubbles are pretty much meaningless in regards to figuring out whether it's continuing to ferment or not - you need gravity readings. Bottling something non-dry without having a wealth of gravity reading data over an extended period of time is very risky business, especially with a completely unpredictable yeast such as "wild" yeast, as you have no real way to predict it's behaviour.
Let's get some gravity information please, and we'll figure out whether you can bottle this without risking bodily harm!
What you saw was more likely degassing - meads can take a very long time to degass (one of mine took almost a year, and that was with plenty of stirring as encouragement).
As to whether yours will be safe to bottle (you don't want it "pretty done" you want it "done"!) we can't give you any real information without more details. Specifically your starting gravity and final gravity.
If you're going to bottle something that didn't ferment to dryness, without stabilizing with sulphite and sorbate, you'll want to make sure that the gravity does not change for a very, very long time before bottling.
Bubbles are pretty much meaningless in regards to figuring out whether it's continuing to ferment or not - you need gravity readings. Bottling something non-dry without having a wealth of gravity reading data over an extended period of time is very risky business, especially with a completely unpredictable yeast such as "wild" yeast, as you have no real way to predict it's behaviour.
Let's get some gravity information please, and we'll figure out whether you can bottle this without risking bodily harm!
Even if the gravity isn't dropping, it may not be done. If you don't use sulfites, the berries will also have lactic acid bacteria which can metabolize malic acid, citric acid, and some sugars that the yeast leave behind. You can have a lot of little bubbles and little or no change in gravity if they are working on malic acid turning it into lactic acid. It is common for cold to stop the bacteria only to have them wake up again in the spring when it warms up. You definitely don't want to bottle it if that is happening.
I'd wait until it is through with bubbling before bottling, but definitely make sure the gravity is not slowly dropping.
I'd wait until it is through with bubbling before bottling, but definitely make sure the gravity is not slowly dropping.
During primary I stir between 3 and 5 times a day on average. After primary is finished I stir/swirl on many different schedules depending on exactly what I'm trying to accomplish.
Now, the "when the bubbles stop for 3 weeks it's safe to bottle" thing... Whoever told you that is someone who has fairly limited knowledge of what is going on. Seriously - Hydrometer readings are the ONLY safe way to opperate, bubbles are meaningless. (not totally meaningless obviously, but they aren't an even remotely accurate way of operating)
If you don't have hydrometer readings then you really need to go buy one and take a reading right away, then another after another month has passed. That will give you some actual data to work with.
Hydrometers cost something like 10 dollars. If you're fermenting stuff without owning one you're probably throwing away money by the bucketload and are risking serious injury (not kidding about the seriousness of bottle bombs. If you bottle something and it starts back up in the bottle, or hasn't finished yet, those glass shards can rip clean through drywall, that's how powerful an explosion we're talking about. Even if they're just corked, sometimes the glass will blow before the cork pops).
Trying to make good mead (or even safe mead) without a hydrometer is like trying to paint a masterpiece with a blindfold on. It could in theory still occur, but your chances are pretty slim!
Sorry if it seems like I'm coming down on you a bit hard here, but you've been on this site for a long time, and we talk about bottle bombs and the importance of getting a hydrometer pretty much constantly. That you aren't using one is shocking to me.
I'm not hard on you because I'm upset, I am literally just worried about your safety! (especially since the advice you're getting from elsewhere is so dangerous. Plus, a hydrometer is an important tool in making good mead, rather than shooting blind and probably making very sub-par mead!).
Now, the "when the bubbles stop for 3 weeks it's safe to bottle" thing... Whoever told you that is someone who has fairly limited knowledge of what is going on. Seriously - Hydrometer readings are the ONLY safe way to opperate, bubbles are meaningless. (not totally meaningless obviously, but they aren't an even remotely accurate way of operating)
If you don't have hydrometer readings then you really need to go buy one and take a reading right away, then another after another month has passed. That will give you some actual data to work with.
Hydrometers cost something like 10 dollars. If you're fermenting stuff without owning one you're probably throwing away money by the bucketload and are risking serious injury (not kidding about the seriousness of bottle bombs. If you bottle something and it starts back up in the bottle, or hasn't finished yet, those glass shards can rip clean through drywall, that's how powerful an explosion we're talking about. Even if they're just corked, sometimes the glass will blow before the cork pops).
Trying to make good mead (or even safe mead) without a hydrometer is like trying to paint a masterpiece with a blindfold on. It could in theory still occur, but your chances are pretty slim!
Sorry if it seems like I'm coming down on you a bit hard here, but you've been on this site for a long time, and we talk about bottle bombs and the importance of getting a hydrometer pretty much constantly. That you aren't using one is shocking to me.
I'm not hard on you because I'm upset, I am literally just worried about your safety! (especially since the advice you're getting from elsewhere is so dangerous. Plus, a hydrometer is an important tool in making good mead, rather than shooting blind and probably making very sub-par mead!).
