Air lock stopped Bubbling

[jackie j]

The air lock on my elderflower has stopped does this mean its ready for racking into a second demijohn or is it too soon.

[Hilary B]

You can rack as soon as there is something to remove it from (sediment in the bottom of the demijohn) whether still fermenting or not. If it has definitely stopped, that is a good time to rack.

[scarey55]

When did you start it Jackie?

Mine is still going albeit quite slowly. Is it warm enough? Try putting it somewhere warmer for a couple of days to see if it starts again. As Hilary says, If the sediment has all gone to the bottom and the wine is clear, it might be ready for its first racking.

[shirlthegirl43]

Measure the SG and if the reading is the same for 2 days then it has stopped fermenting

[jackie j]

When did you start it Jackie?

I started it on the 14th July. There is a lot of sediment at the bottom

Measure the SG and if the reading is the same for 2 days then it has stopped fermenting

Will have to get a measure tomorrow and see.

Thanks all of you.

[rustylady]

Rack it off into a clean demijohn, refit the airlock and wait for it to clear right down before you bottle it

[ohbeary]

Elderflower is usually a fairly quick wine to make, but it can still suprise you, allow it a month or two after final racking when all is clear, so that any secondary fermentation eventhough it may be slight can have its way, sometimes a little accidental sparkle can be a pleasant suprise, but not when it catches you by! suprise and blows the cork across the room sending the cat up the curtains!! and soaking the vicar!!.

[Two_Sheds]

Neither of my 2 batches are bubbling through the air-locks

1) Cherry Plum Teatowel wine: something is happening, because bits of plum are swirling up through the liquid, and there are millions of teeny tiny bubbles at the surface

2) Elderberry wine: went in DJ yesterday, and no blub-blub-blub noises, but again there are millions of teeny tiny bubbles fizzing away at the liquid's surface. I didn't drop a tea towel in this one, so it should be OK

[shirlthegirl43]

It can take a couple of days for the ferment to start throwing off enough gas for bubbling in the airlock T_S - if you are seeing activity it shouldn't be long till you enjoy the blup blup sound

[Two_Sheds]

The Cherry Plum Teatowel brew has been in the DJ for ten days now. It blupped the first day, then stopped.

I took the airlock off to "have a look/sniff" and then it blupped again. Then nothing.

Shall I be shaking it?

[shirlthegirl43]

If you can see bubbles don't worry about it. Are you sure the bung is tight and have you got the airlock half full of water?

[Two_Sheds]

The bung is a screw top lid on a 5 litre water bottle, so yes it's tight.

The airlock is half full - of sterilising solution (to kill any nasty vinegar flies that fall in)

[shirlthegirl43]

LOL, water does that job too

It could be that the water bottle is flexible enough to take up the gas expansion without needing the airlock. Don't worry about it until you can't see any activity any more, then check the SG every day. When it measures the same for 2-3 days in a row, follow the next step.

[Two_Sheds]

It could be that the water bottle is flexible enough to take up the gas expansion without needing the airlock.

I thought it must have something to do with the bottle being plastic. Every time I've used a glass demijohn, I get the blup blups, so I know (kind of) that I'm doing it right.

Thanks for the expert advice Shirl, as always

[rustylady]

I think the problem is that plastic expands, so you get less blub blubs than you would do with a glass demijohn.