First ever batch!

[razelegendz]

Hey guys! This my first post here and my first batch of wine ever!

I just used fruit cocktail and canned peaches blended together, sugar, and Premier Cuvée yeast. It made about 50oz of liquid, so I put it in a 64oz plastic bottle.

It's been 6 hrs since I pitched it, and there's already a 1 inch layer of thick, pale yellow, krausen, even without nutrient. I'm assuming because of the Cuvée being fast acting yeast, and me putting a bit much.

There's a couple of thin white spotchs on top, each about 1 cm in diameter. I'm not worried, as I doubt it would be an infection this early on. My theory is that it's a yeast colony, as I shook it right after pitching, and so some yeast got on the top part of the bottle.

I'm hoping since it's going so fast, it'll be ready before Christmas.

That's all for now, I'll keep you guys posted!

Update #1: I learned that it might not krausen on top, but instead a "cap" as mentioned here: www.winemakingtalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=10512
Or simply just foam.
Since I've never done this, I don't know what any of them look like, so I'll post a picture ASAP

Update #2: I've transfered the must to another container to continue AF and to prevent a giant mess. Day 2 and starting to smell heavily like alcohol already! I'll post a hydrometer reading tomorrow.

Update #3: I've racked it over to a plastic jug for secondary fermentation at a gravity of 1.020
Not sure if it's safe to taste. Still a little bit of pulp. I'll rack in 1-2 weeks.

 

[Arne]

First off, welcome to the forum. Giving you a little advice whether you want it or not. With a bottle that full, I would set it in a sink. Might keep you from having to clean up a big mess. As the ferment takes off and goes on the must will most likely grow. If it does and you have it in a bottle it can give you what we call a wine volcano. If you have a cap on the bottle, that will make it much worse. When the yeast eats the sugar in your must, it produces co2 and alcohol. A lid on the bottle turns it into a small bomb. It will probably be done fermenting before Christmas, but if you wait and let it clear and age some it will taste much better. Arne.

 

[razelegendz]

Giving you a little advice whether you want it or not. With a bottle that full, I would set it in a sink. Might keep you from having to clean up a big mess. As the ferment takes off and goes on the must will most likely grow. If it does and you have it in a bottle it can give you what we call a wine volcano. If you have a cap on the bottle, that will make it much worse. When the yeast eats the sugar in your must, it produces co2 and alcohol. A lid on the bottle turns it into a small bomb.

Hey Arne!
Thanks for the tip!
My bottle does have have a cap on it, but it's open ever so slightly, and I've taped a few coins on it. This way it'll be heavy enough to keep it airtight, and still be able to release Co2 with enough pressure. Should I still be worried and take the extra precaution?

Also, I'll be giving the wine away on Christmas to family members, so they'll be fine if I ask them to age them a bit, as we have mini fridge dedicated to wine and such.

 

[Stressbaby]

I'll be giving the wine away on Christmas to family members

Christmas 2017, right?

Seriously, that early, it is more likely just foam, and not a cap. You don't have half a gallon of must there. Save yourself the cleanup trouble, put the must in a pot or food grade bucket and let the primary fermentation finish up. You don't want it airtight. When it is finished or nearly finished, you can rack it off of the lees into the bottle.

If you haven't done so already, read up on degassing and the other basic winemaking steps. Jack Keller's web site a good place to start.

 

[bkisel]

Welcome to the forum!

 

[razelegendz]

Christmas 2017, right?

Seriously, that early, it is more likely just foam, and not a cap. You don't have half a gallon of must there. Save yourself the cleanup trouble, put the must in a pot or food grade bucket and let the primary fermentation finish up. You don't want it airtight. When it is finished or nearly finished, you can rack it off of the lees into the bottle.

If you haven't done so already, read up on degassing and the other basic winemaking steps. Jack Keller's web site a good place to start.

Hey Stressbaby, like I said, this is my first attempt at making any sort of homemade alcoholic beverage, so I'm just testing the waters. Thanks for the advice, and I'll defininately check that website out.

 

[razelegendz]

Welcome to the forum!

Thanks for the welcome!

 

[Stressbaby]

Hey Stressbaby, like I said, this is my first attempt at making any sort of homemade alcoholic beverage, so I'm just testing the waters. Thanks for the advice, and I'll defininately check that website out.

Sure I get it, we all start somewhere. @Arne and I are just trying to keep your "waters" from spraying all over the room.

 

[razelegendz]

Sure I get it, we all start somewhere. @Arne and I are just trying to keep your "waters" from spraying all over the room.

Okay then. I have a small question. If I DO use a pot for fermentatation process, won't it get oxidized? Also, should I use a pot for both primary and secondary fermentation?

 

[Stressbaby]

During alcoholic fermentation (AF), your must is actively producing CO2. That CO2 will protect the wine against oxidation during that time. AF is generally called primary fermentation. When AF is done, you will no longer have a layer of CO2 to protect the wine and at that point it is prone to oxidation. It is at that time that you would take measures such as moving to carboy or bottle, reducing headspace, Kmeta, and even blanketing or sparging with inert gas. At this point you can't have it airtight. The yeast may not be producing CO2, but there is still lots of CO2 dissolved in the liquid. That CO2 essentially means the wine is carbonated and tastes "fizzy." That CO2 needs to come out of solution, and that is "degassing." Degassing is helpful not only in getting rid of the fizzy taste but in clearing the wine.

So what most of us do is AF in a bucket, loosely covered. After 3-10 days (depending on lots of factors), when AF is done or nearly done, move the wine to a carboy or bottle, reduce the headspace, and put an airlock on it. The CO2 will come off naturally with time or there are several things that you can do that will speed up the degassing.

 

[razelegendz]

To reduce headspace, should I just add water, or something like a vodka mixture?

 

[Stressbaby]

Again, you don't need to eliminate headspace until AF is done. Most people use a similar wine. I wouldn't use water.

 

[brewbush]

With this type of wine/fermentation I wouldn't worry too much about topping up.

You can taste it after fermentation is done, if it is to your liking I would let it sit a couple more weeks to clear and then just bottle from there being careful not to disturb the settled junk.

If you want to sweeten it. Rack the finished product into a similar size container along with Potassium metabisulphite and sorbate, sweeten it with juice concentrate or sugar syrup. If you sweeten, you will be adding additional volume and should bring you back up the top of the container.

Let sit a few more weeks and then bottle.

 

[razelegendz]

Seriously, that early, it is more likely just foam, and not a cap. You don't have half a gallon of must there. Save yourself the cleanup trouble, put the must in a pot or food grade bucket and let the primary fermentation finish up. You don't want it airtight. When it is finished or nearly finished, you can rack it off of the lees into the bottle.

Hey Stressbaby, I've changed the container of he must, and I can confirm that it was in fact a cap, that had all the larger chunks of fruit.

 

[Arne]

When you go to rack it off the fruit it is a lot easier if you put the fruit in some kind of ferment bag.. You can use a bag from a brew store, a leg off of clean panty hose, a paint strainer bag from a paint store. The way you are doing it is just fine, the mesh bags just make it easier as you finish up. Arne.

 

[razelegendz]

Thanks for the advice Arne! I'll try it out next time, as right now I'm trying to do it as minimalistically as possible. I don't understand how putting in a ferment bag will make it easier, could you explain it to me?

Also, would a coffee filter work?

 

[Amanda660]

Welcome! Look forward to reading about your progress!

 

[Stressbaby]

Thanks for the advice Arne! I'll try it out next time, as right now I'm trying to do it as minimalistically as possible. I don't understand how putting in a ferment bag will make it easier, could you explain it to me?

Also, would a coffee filter work?

It might work but it will take a long time in my experience. I use paint strainer bags, use once and pitch. Very easy. When removing the fruit, just pull the bag and give it a gentle squeeze. 5 gal for most projects.