Ribena Blooper

[brewcot]

Hi all. Last week I had a couple of empty DJs, so I thought I would try some Ribena experiments after reading some posts here.

I made one with Strawberry, and one with Blackcurrant, both to the same recipe.

1L Ribena Cordial (simmered for 20 minutes to chase off those pesky preservatives)
1.5L Red Grape juice
500g Sugar
Topped up to neck of DJ with springwater

In my haste to get the brew on, I didn't use any yeast nutrient because I didn't have any at the time, and the only yeast I had in the house was Safale S-04.

The Blackcurrant Ribena was the 'No Added Sugar' version (I wanted to retain some sweetness after the ferment had finished), and after a slow start, it is now going ballistic and has fired pink froth out of the airlock twice!
O.G. was 1.065, so I'm hoping the yeasties won't die of alcoholism before they finish their important work. I'm also hoping the pronounced 'fart' smell will subside before I drink it.

The Strawberry Ribena was the 'full fat' version, and the O.G was a lot higher than I was expecting at 1.110! In my limited experience, the yeasties will be wiped out before the sugar has fermented out - such a waste of their little lives.
The brew is fermenting, but very slowly, so I think I need to take action. I have been out and got a sachet of High Alcohol/ Desert wine yeast, but what would be the best way to go about it?

Should I make a starter with the yeast, then add it to the Ribena after I have racked it to a clean DJ? Or should I just tip it in and hope for the best? I also got a tub of nutrient, will it hurt to add it so late?

Any feedback would be very welcome.

[awalker]

The high alcohol wine yeast should finish the job.

Just make sure it is finished if you are going to bottle it.
The most dramatic explosion I have ever seen, was a result of me not finishing a ferment of a ribean wine and bottling it.