Elderberry goo

[Ernest T Bass]

I have just finished making 2 ea 5 gallon and 1 ea 3 gallon elderberry wines. I waited until all were finished before I posted this. I found that if I used a paint paddel stirer, the kind you get at wal-mart, lowes and homedepot, and they are free. The goo from the elderberries did not stick to the paddel, all I had to do was rinse it off and nothing stuck to it. Before, it was a pain to clean the goo off two or three times a day after stiring the must. It worked for me, hope it works for you.
Semper Fi

 

[Deezil]

You're talking about the wooden ones........ Right?

 

[tonyandkory]

I just put a batch in secondary.... snap the primary lid on and rock it in a circular motion to slosh it around. it worked pretty well.

mine didn't goo up too terribly much. only maybe took 2 min to clean the bucket. but then I use rehydrate elderberries. Don't know if this makes a difference.

if your stir sticks are wood I would think they could carry contaminants between the grain strands.

 

[Deezil]

if your stir sticks are wood I would think they could carry contaminants between the grain strands.

This is true, but its really no different than plastics and their grooves/scratches harboring nasties.. Which is why its important to have a proper sanitation procedure for anything that makes contact with your wine.

 

[tonyandkory]

uh ya I didn't think about scratches ...

 

[Ernest T Bass]

You're talking about the wooden ones........ Right?

Right, the wooden one. For me it's a real mess, I have to clean the spoon each time I use it, I may stir 3 or 4 times a day. With the wooden one I rinse good with very hot water and spray with k-meta. The primary bucket is usually a real mess, lots of paper towels and vegatable oil. I would like to find a way to keep the primary bucket that clean. I've heard that you can put a white plastic garbage bag in the bucket first, then add your elderberries. The only reason I haven't tried the garbage bag tick is that I'm not sure if it is suitable for making wine.
Simper Fi

 

[grapeman]

If you dry the wood after washing it, wood itself has some anti-microbial properties. It is only if they remain wet that it can act as a breeding ground.

 

[Boyd]

Midwest Supply reccomended PBW to clean theelderberry .

I tried it, 1 tablespoon and a gallon of water in a 15 gallon carboy.

Sloshed it around and the stuff cleaned right up.

 

[Ernest T Bass]

I'll have some of PBW before fall. Sounds great to have something to clean goo.
Semper Fi

 

[saramc]

Vegetable oil is the easiest elderberry goo remover. It will cut right thru the goo. I actually put the vegetable oil and water in a spray/mist bottle and Voila! the easiest cleanup. I then wipe and/or rinse away the goo, repeat as needed and do a final clean-up with PBW and then sanitize.

You CAN use food grade can liners for your wine making....the key is "food grade". Almost every restaurant supply house carries them, and you can find them online. I have read that many people like to use the food grade liners specifically with fresh elderberries because the majority of the goo tends to "stick" to the liner.

I have worked with elderberry concentrate & dried/de-stemmed elderberries and have not experienced the goo. But, I have definitely experienced it with fresh berries and I have more goo from S. nigra (European) versus S. Canadensis (American).

 

[WVMountaineerJack]

I dont like green goo. I also dont try to clean it off of the stirring spoon, just rinse good with hot water, dip it in some KMeta before putting into the must the next time and keep repeating. Only clean it after wine transferred to carboy. Got some PBW to try this year vs oil. We have done the food grade liners, works really good, no cleanup of your primary, you just have to be careful when you stir not to be to crazy and poke a hole in the bag, its very nice to just chuck it all out but it can be hard to find for less then 30 gallon drums. Cracked Cork