Back with more info.
The 71B is definitely the yeast I like for this. I think it enhances the fruitiness of the lemon juice, and it tolerates the temps found in most homes. It's not as strong a starter as the Montrachet or Champagne yeasts. I also don't often have the time/planning ability to create a batch before my batch. So, I wanted a good way to use 71B without pitching from a previous batch.
I did several batches where I rehydrated the 71B with Go-Ferm. I used two packets to start with. I had to aerate daily to get/keep it going and often I had to re-pitch. While the Narbonne is not often known for producing sulfur smells, I think the combination of the heavy sulfites used in the juice and the tough-to-start/ferment environment left some residual sulfur smells. I started racking with a copper racking cane which took care of most of those issues.
Still, I was reacting to what was going on, instead of knowing what would happen. I wanted a more prescriptive method that was easily reproduced. The face that heavy aeration and sometimes additional pitching was needed were my clues.
I obtained an aquarium pump, some tubing, a stainless steel 2 micron diffusion stone, an inline HEPA filter and an old racking cane. Add in a couple brass fittings to adapt the aquarium tubing to the 3/16" tubing and I had a workable aeration setup.
We all know the juice is loaded up with sulfites. The SkeeterPee.com website recipe recommends letting the must "breathe" for 24-48 hours. My experience was that it was still loaded up with sulfites after that time.
I prepared the must and instead of the yeast energizer and nutrient combo I used 1 gram/gallon of FermAid K. I used the aeration setup for 24 hours to blow off the sulfites and the next morning the must smelled quite a bit better. This was not just oxygenation, and I don't think straight O2 would work as well (and it would be ridiculously expensive). This was air stripping the sulfites out of solution.
Next, I rehydrated 3 packets (15 grams) of 71B with Go-Ferm according to the instructions ... 18.75g of Go-Ferm in to 375ml of 110 F water, let cool to 104 F, then add the 15 grams of yeast. Let sit for 20 mins then gradually add 375 ml of the must over 5 minutes. By the time the yeast starter dropped to within 10 F of the must it was sizzling happily.
I pitched the yeast starter and then left the aeration going 12 more hours. After that time I could tell by the smell things were going well. I sealed things up and within an hour or so, the airlock showed activity. After 4 hours I was getting a happy 1 bubble/sec.
Since I started at exactly 1.070 and I know when the fermentation is happy I get about 0.010 points drop every 24 hours I checked at approximately 48 hours after fermentation started. I was rewarded by an almost exact 1.050 reading. I added another 1g/gallon Fermaid K, the last lemon juice bottle, whisked lightly, and sealed it back up.
Now, 4 days later, the airlock activity is slowing and not once during the fermentation did I get rhino farts. I ALWAYS got some rhino farts previously. The airlock throughout the process smelled like clean yeast, lemons, and alcohol (likely because of the Everclear). I'm thrilled at the results and pretty sure I will be able to either rack to a secondary or just filter and keg in a day or so.
So, this was not me babying a batch that was not willing to start, it was not me having to time two batches, it was not me having to use a yeast other than the one I like. It was a completely prescriptive process that I believe will guarantee me success going forward. Granted it's only one time, but I've done enough batches of SP to know how it works. I feel pretty good about this.
here is to a batch you will be more happy with.
