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JAO never cleared, can I recover?

Barrel Char Wood Products

magius231

NewBee
Registered Member
Sep 25, 2007
16
0
1
Winston-Salem, NC
i recently made my second batch of JAO, however the store didn't have regular clover honey, all they had was a much darker Mountain something Raw clover honey 9still clover though) no bee parts so not too raw :) I made a batch and it never cleared. I figured it was because of the darkness of the honey I started with, so i waited almost a month later, then bottled it (no I didn't think about checking SG :BangHead: ) its been in the fridge, I pulled one out and tasted it - strong honey flavor, as if it never finished fermenting. Can I recover it somehow? pour it back in a jug and kick off the fermentation again? Or is this just "lesson learned" and throw it out?
 

ehanuise

NewBee
Registered Member
Sep 11, 2007
172
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54
First, is it any good ? If it's good and not too sugary, well ... :cheers:

Now, if it's too sugary, maybe it's possible to restart fermentation. If you did not use any sulfites, a healty starter should restart.
However you'll have to make sure of why fermentation stopped in the first place.
- did you cold-shock it ? fermentation should be resume-able
- was alcohol level too high for the yeasties ? then you'll need a different strain, because pitching the same yeast strain will result in booze-dead yeasties again
- was there someting else such as PH, lack of nutrients, or 'something' ? then you'll need to figure out what happened or you're bound to encounter the same condition.

Please post your exact recipe and process followed, and as much detail as you remember on how/when fermentation stopped.
 

magius231

NewBee
Registered Member
Sep 25, 2007
16
0
1
Winston-Salem, NC

butterlily5

NewBee
Registered Member
Jan 23, 2008
122
0
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50
Somewhere in Sacramento...
Keep in mind, magius, that cold-shocking is meant to STOP fermentation, not restart it. If, during the first month, the temp dropped a little too far on your JAO, that may have stopped it. If you're confident that isn't the problem, then... From your description, it doesn't sound like it went too far. My very humble advice is to check gravity, make sure your pH isn't too low, and if you're absolutely sure your stuff is clean and sanitary, make yourself a starter and re-pitch with nutrients. I figure, if you won't drink it as is, this can't hurt.

Good luck! :wave:
 

beachfrontmeadman

NewBee
Registered Member
Feb 15, 2008
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www.myspace.com
i'm siding with lilly on this one, it sounds like your batch never finished fermenting, or still in the process but has slowed to a crawl
i'd do everything lilly suggested
 

Medsen Fey

Fuselier since 2007
Premium Patron
Hello magius,

Rather than try to re-ferment this batch, you might just use it for blending with other batches that are dry and need more sweetening - being careful of course that the sugar in this batch could be fermented by the yeast in another batch depending on alcohol tolerance. It might also be useful for topping off other batches you make in the future. These are just a couple of other possibilities.

Your problem does highlight one of the reasons it is very useful to check hydrometer readings.

Medsen
 

David Baldwin

NewBee
Registered Member
Jun 29, 2004
860
1
0
Grand Rapids, MI
I've had a couple of batches stop with a stuck fermentation. Neither batch ever restarted, and I did everything from nutrients to repitching the yeast.

I'd second the opinion on using it to blend. Try making a dry batch and then blending the two.

My other suggestion is Waffles. My very sweet stuck batch made a fine waffle syrup!


David
 
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