Is there anything wrong with ageing the wine in 5 gal plastic food grade pails? I do not have enough glass carboys to put up over 4 at one time. I'd like to use thoseto work the wine thru to the ageing stage and then age in plastic. All that I have do have sealing lids that can be removed for racking on a 60-90 day basis. These things are cheap, easy to store and readily obtainable. Thoughts?
Ageing Container
- Thread starter Jerry1
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I suspect this is a bad idea. The objective of the carboy is that the air contact is minimized. In the bucket you have a 13-14" diameter that is all in contact with the air. Once in the carboy you have 2-3" diameter. While the yeast is working (in primary) you have a cloud of CO2 gas above the wine and it stops oxygen from hitting the wine and contaminating it.
Jerry,
I would definitely advise against aging in a plastic pail. They can be sealedwell enough with an airlock for fermentation but I would not trust them for aging. I think if carboys are the issue, try to buy or borrow some and if you can't, I would bottle the wine and let it bottle age. The risk of spoiling your whole batch is very high.
I would definitely advise against aging in a plastic pail. They can be sealedwell enough with an airlock for fermentation but I would not trust them for aging. I think if carboys are the issue, try to buy or borrow some and if you can't, I would bottle the wine and let it bottle age. The risk of spoiling your whole batch is very high.
The reason I brought this up is the pails I have came from food service places. Each pail has a compressible rubber ring in the lid. This has to be air tight when the lid is snapped down. Isn't this the same as putting the wine in a barrel for aging? The whole object is to let the wine set and mature not be exposed to the air or sunlight. Is my rationale way off? Sorry,I know this is a newbie question, but I'm sure I'm not the only one that has had this thought.
Its all about headspace my friend.
Carboys are filled to within an inch or two from the top, barrels are filled to the top and refilled weekly. If your bucket is filled to the very top and you have almost or no headspace then yes it would be the same but if you are (as I suspect) 3-6 inches down from the top then you have a large amount of headspace full of O2 which the wine will more than happily react with and oxidize your precious wine in a matter of weeks.
Get another carboy or rack it down to a smaller vessel. You can't use this for long term storage of wine.
Carboys are filled to within an inch or two from the top, barrels are filled to the top and refilled weekly. If your bucket is filled to the very top and you have almost or no headspace then yes it would be the same but if you are (as I suspect) 3-6 inches down from the top then you have a large amount of headspace full of O2 which the wine will more than happily react with and oxidize your precious wine in a matter of weeks.
Get another carboy or rack it down to a smaller vessel. You can't use this for long term storage of wine.
Jerry, as beguiling as this idea may seem, it is fraught with danger. I seldom tell a person what to do but inthis case I am making an exception: Don't do it! You arevirtually assured of losing the whole batch.
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