A question from a newb

[TheWP]

Edit: Can't believe I forgot to say Hello! Hello everyone!

My friend found a yeast that is apparently a 24-hour yeast, done fermenting in 24 hours. Is that legit? Has anyone here had experience with this yeast? It's by Alcotec, if that helps... They also have a 48-hour yeast.

My friend and I are going to take on this new hobby together, learning from each other and this site (love this forum so far, so helpful!) I plan to make a couple batches from juice first, to make sure I understand the parts of the process that would include. Then I'll move on to actual fruit of some sort.

So far my list of equipment I'm going to need includes:
1 - 2 gallon Fermenter
2 - 1 gallon Carboys
2 - Stoppers, drilled
1 - S-type Airlocks
1 - 3 Piece Airlock
Racking Cane
Tubing for Racking Cane
Hydrometer
Hydrometer Test Jar
Funnel
Yeasts
Pectic Enzyme
Campden Tablets
Potassium Sorbate
Tannin
Yeast Nutrient
Yeast energizer
Acid blend
Citric Acid

Am I missing anything important? Besides fruit of course

 

[Thig]

I have heard of these yeast but I thought they were used mostly by the distilling crowd and not wine makers. You have the basics here, I am sure your chemistry set will grow (tannin, yeast nutrient, yeast energizer, acid blend, citric acid, etc.)

Why rush the fermentation, sometimes slow and steady yields a much better wine.

 

[TheWP]

Why rush the fermentation, sometimes slow and steady yields a much better wine.

That's what I was thinking, but I wanted a bit of confirmation, thank you! Just in case, I'm gonna add those other things to the list, the acid blend and whatnot. Can't be too careful, better to have it and not need it, than need it and not have it.

 

[djrockinsteve]

I wouldn't rush a fermentation. 6-7 days is fast enough.

 

[cintipam]

I notice you specify the Stype airlock. In the early stages you really need a 3 piece airlock instead. The S's are great for later when the fermentation is basically over and you have it in place just to help your aging wine adjust to temp or barometric changes.

And like everyone told me, might as well get the stuff to do larger batches. You won't stay happy long making stuff a gallon at a time. They were right. I have 70+ gallons aging right now, and plans for another 20 or so in a month.

Pam in cinti

 

[bkisel]

Welcome to the forum!

I went the safe route and started with kits before doing a fruit wine.

 

[Thig]

Pam, why do you not recommend the S type airlock? Personally I don't use an airlock of any kind until it is down to around 1.000 SG.

 

[cintipam]

If you make larger batches you should get Potassium metabisulphite instead of campden tablets. It gets to be a pain to crush those tabs up, and the other stuff is a powder. It is also uselful to make a sanitizing solution you'll need every single time you do any step in winemaking.

Pam in cinti

 

[wildvines]

Well congrats for all your hard work


Sent from my iPhone using Wine Making

 

[cintipam]

I agree you shouldn't use an airlock during the first stage of fermentation. But around 1.010 I rack it to a carboy and put the 3 piece airlock on it. The folks here taught me that when the fermentation has reached that point there isn't enough gas to form a protective layer over the wine, so to protect it you need the airlock. At 1.020 I've even had a few 3 piece airlocks blown off the carboy. S types don't seem to handle the gas as quickly as 3 piece, so I bet they'd blow off a lot more often.

Everybody has their own way. I admit I do it this way because the folks who advised that seemed to really know what they were talking about and threw enough science into the discussion that it made sense to me.

Pam in cinti

 

[TheWP]

Hmm, I'll get a 3 piece and an S-type, test em both. Unfortunately I don't have the capital to invest right now for the equipment AND a kit, Just equipment and some juice. And probably not all the equipment, that may have to come a bit piecemeal, as well.

 

[garymc]

You can collect the additional stuff as you need it. I have only 3 piece airlocks. But it sounds like a good idea to have some of each just to see the difference.

 

[sour_grapes]

Welcome to WMT!

I totally agree that speed is not the important criterion. Many of us experiment with different strains of wine yeast to tweak the flavor profile, so the strain does seem to be important.

(I've never had any problems with an S-type, and I used to use the airlock for the full fermentation of a 6-gallon batch.)

 

[Duster]

No mention of bottles,corks, and corker?
Your going to eventually want acid test kit, ph meter, thermometer, and so on.
This is a great hobby unfortunately it's like fishing, no matter if the lure catches fish or not, once you see it and know it exists you gotta have it in the tackle box just incase.


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[Turock]

Don't forget to have calcium carbonate on hand for raising PH. You'll use alot of it in fruit wine making. I would also suggest a PH meter. It's important to check and adjust PH as needed and you should always do this before beginning a ferment so that you don't have problems post ferment that you need to fix. Also, knowing your PH is important for knowing how much sulfite a wine needs for preservation. It's a very good idea to learn good practices from the start so that you have less trial and error type of learning, which can get discouraging for new winemakers.

 

[Vertumnus]

There are a couple of reasons I don't use the S-type airlocks. First, they're almost impossible to clean and empty. You get a little overflow or a stain in the chambers, fuggedaboutit. Secondly, I know, even by my limited experience, that these are very prone to pop off if they're not bone dry. The one advantage I see to them is that the bubbling action is very evident and serves as a good bellwether of how fermentation is coming along.

 

[TheWP]

The only thing keeping me from getting the equipment for larger batches is lack of space. I live in a small apartment, I can probably only fit a couple batches at a time around here. There seems to be so much to learn, and I just keep finding new things to buy and to try! I'm gonna love this hobby. Once I have a paycheck I can use on things other than rent -.-

 

[vernsgal]

Welcome to the forum.
IMO the only thing I have against the airlock is cleaning it. I used to love to watch the water perk through the s lock. ( I use a towel know through primary and I guess it's called the 3 piece in secondary.( note : I never had a problem with the s lock other than as mentioned).
I was also in apartment and extreme confined space. You do what you can and enjoy the outcome!