When it comes to brewing beer I have never had a need for yeast nutrient. I used some last time I made wine with grapes and I may have used some for dandelion wine also. More recently I used it with my Watermelon Strawberry experiment. During primary fermentation I noticed a strong ammonia type smell. I am used to strong smells during primary fermentation and I am used to my wife not liking them sometimes, but this was definitely not a good smell.
This led me to check my yeast nutrient, and I discovered it had gotten moist and clumpy and it smelled just like the bad smells I picked up from the fermentation. I just racked that off it's yeast and the smell has gotten calmer but it is still there. I think the wine is great (if you hold your nose while you sip) so I don't think it's a bad recipe and I expect to try it again. Has anyone else had a similar experience?
I added some extra sugars (dextrose) when I racked it. I am hoping the yeast will get back to work and maybe eliminate whatever that odor is and maybe I can salvage this wine. Moving forward I have purchased a new yeast nutrient with a screw cap that I can tighten. It is a mead yeast nutrient that has no urea and I keep the screw cap bottle in a zip lock bag that also contains some silica gel to absorb moisture. I am told as long as it is dry the nutrient really will not expire.
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