Xanthan Gum

[gazngoz]

Folks,

As I said in an earlier post I was in search of tinned lychees to give Rich's lychee wine a go. Sadly I couldn't find any ( still struggle with the concept of tinned fruit being seasonal ) but did find some lychee juice drink at 86p a litre in tesco. It didn't seem to contain any nasties so I made up a batch of number 1 using that and wgj. After a slow start fermntation kicked in large but I am struggling with it foaming. I couldn't keep it in a DJ once fermentation had started so put it in a primary, left it there for a week, the SG had dropped to 1.020 so it went back into a DJ. It has now had a fresh spurt and once again foam is spewing out of the top of the DJ - I haven't got around to topping up yet it is still at the shoulder.

The starting SG was 1080 ish and I used a GP yeast. I noticed this morning that the juice drink contained xanthan gum as a stabiliser. Is it this that is causing the foaming? Is this a lost cause ?

Thanks,

Gaz

[lockwood1956]

The excess foaming is caused by

a) good fermenting conditions

b) GP yeast, although there is nothing wrong with GP yeast I find it foams too much and it also leaves fluffier sediment than I would like.

It is a favourite for winemakers because a tub of it is quite cheap, and so is seen as cost effective, however if you follow the advice in the yeast starters tutorial, you can buy one sachet (maybe 2) of a top notch yeast and make it last right through this winemaking season. You would need another batch for next year, made fresh in the spring.

Once you use a quality yeast, you will never go back, Lalvin K1v-1116 is a very low foamer, and sometimes all you get is a gentle fizzing at the surface, but your wine will retain more of its fruitiness and the sediment is so firm you can just pour the wine out leaving the sediment behind (well not quite, but almost)

try a 2nd batch using it and see for yourself.

see here

http://www.winesathome.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?t=908

hope this helps
regards
Bob

[gazngoz]

Bob,

thanks for that - cant be many folk that have complained that their wine is fermenting too well

Next time I am in the HBS I shall be sure to purchase some Lalvin K1v-1116.

Your patience is appreciated.

Aye,

Gaz

[goldseal]

You may find some tinned Lychees at Tesco now. They have reapeared on the Tesco website, and Mrs. Goldseal has just grabbed some from our local branch.

[Rich]

I got some from Tesco up here last night, 63p a tin.

[gazngoz]

excellent, I'll have to see what the present Mrs Gaz can find next time she plunders tescos.

Ta muchly

Gaz

[ms67]

re xanthum gum: it has a variety of food additive uses as it can bind, thicken and add 'stickiness' amongst other things. Given this my guess is that it stabilises a foam to some extent ... so the foam will grow and grow (a bit like the kid's story of the magic porridge pan) rather more than if it were not there and the bubbles burst quickly. According to wikipedia a shake should temporarily reverse its properties, but it is very temporary and not a solution to your problem.

[gazngoz]

update

Peeps,

thanks for all the responses on this - after more than three weeks the foaming has finally subsided ( I assume it is as fermentation comes to an end ). I haven't checked the sg this week but the airlock is showing very little activity and even when I topped up the dj vesuvius stayed within the jar. A result as far as the present Mrs G is concerned

Still smells very lychee like - not sure if that is a good or a bad thing ! It had better taste good after all the withering looks from Mrs G as it poured out of the top of the airlock again !!

Back to the recipe pages - still haven't got hold of any tinned lychees

Regards to all

G

[fatbloke]

Peeps,

thanks for all the responses on this - after more than three weeks the foaming has finally subsided ( I assume it is as fermentation comes to an end ). I haven't checked the sg this week but the airlock is showing very little activity and even when I topped up the dj vesuvius stayed within the jar. A result as far as the present Mrs G is concerned

Still smells very lychee like - not sure if that is a good or a bad thing ! It had better taste good after all the withering looks from Mrs G as it poured out of the top of the airlock again !!

Back to the recipe pages - still haven't got hold of any tinned lychees

Regards to all

G

handy tip gaz, try doing the top ups with the DJ in the sink, then Mrs Gaz won't fly off the handle with wine must all over the place....

Then once the initial top up foam has subsided, sit the DJ on a tray somewhere....... it's easier to remove the foam/liquid from a tray than a carpet......

regards

jtfb

[gazngoz]

John,

wise words ......... sounds very much like they were learnt from bitter experience

G

[fatbloke]

John,

wise words ......... sounds very much like they were learnt from bitter experience

G

Not really, I've only ever had one batch of mead foam like hell, and that was the recent "mixed fruit melomel". Which just foamed in the bucket that I used for primary and pushed a bit of foam out the airlock - nothing drastic.

regards

jtfb

[elleks]

Try an oriental food store if there's one near you, gaz. My local one has all sorts of weirdies, like jackfruit (and lychees of course)