NorthernWinos
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wadewade said:
Yes....but I can live with it....maybe someday it will just work again....?
Newbie apple wine question
- Thread starter CajunTim
- Start date
Help Support Winemaking Talk - Winemaking Forum:
Yes....but I can live with it....maybe someday it will just work again....?
Thanks kutya, The apple wine is setting in the bucket now. Can’t tell that it is doing much just from looking at it. I do stir it twice a day and it makes a lot of bubbles and makes a neat hissing sound, so I am guessing it is doing what it’s supposed to do.
Hi all,
Well today is day 4, and I have been stirring my apple juice twice every day. The SGhas gone from 1.100 to 1.024. The recipe I am using says to stir twice a day for 10 days but does notgive a SG to look for. What do you think would be a good SG todo my first racking to glass? Thanks all.
Well today is day 4, and I have been stirring my apple juice twice every day. The SGhas gone from 1.100 to 1.024. The recipe I am using says to stir twice a day for 10 days but does notgive a SG to look for. What do you think would be a good SG todo my first racking to glass? Thanks all.
Tim,
A good target SG for transferring to glass and stop stirring is 1.010 to 1.020 which sounds like it will be very soon. Getting it into a carboy under an airlock will force the yeast to stop multiplying and concentrate on consuming the remaining sugar and converting to alcohol and CO2 since you are eliminating the oxygen.
A good target SG for transferring to glass and stop stirring is 1.010 to 1.020 which sounds like it will be very soon. Getting it into a carboy under an airlock will force the yeast to stop multiplying and concentrate on consuming the remaining sugar and converting to alcohol and CO2 since you are eliminating the oxygen.
Ok masta, What you have said made me wonder a few things.
Obviously yeast does need some oxygen... But I doubt they are like little turtles that need to swim to the top to gulp a few swallows of air and swim back down for a sugar feast and reproduce, but if the top of a carboy is deficient of O2, do they take oxygen from the water?
I've always used a bucket with an air tight lid and water lock, I figure there is no (limited) oxygen in there after a few days of fermenting. Typically I wait until it is done fermenting, then rack. Do you think this changes the wine in anyway?
I kind of assumed the idea was to get the wine off the gross lees to prevent spoilage from the pulp that is typically settled at the bottom, not really to prevent air from getting to the wine (though, I would conceed that is an added advantage and left after fermenting you are risking air getting into the container).
Obviously yeast does need some oxygen... But I doubt they are like little turtles that need to swim to the top to gulp a few swallows of air and swim back down for a sugar feast and reproduce, but if the top of a carboy is deficient of O2, do they take oxygen from the water?
I've always used a bucket with an air tight lid and water lock, I figure there is no (limited) oxygen in there after a few days of fermenting. Typically I wait until it is done fermenting, then rack. Do you think this changes the wine in anyway?
I kind of assumed the idea was to get the wine off the gross lees to prevent spoilage from the pulp that is typically settled at the bottom, not really to prevent air from getting to the wine (though, I would conceed that is an added advantage and left after fermenting you are risking air getting into the container).
Have you been seeing action at the airlock, if not I would get rid of
the little rubber O-Ring around the airlock, drill it out with a 1"
forstner drill bit and put in a 1" rubber bung. I had this problem with
2 primary buckets that were brand new. I was wondering what was going
on when nothing was going on but my SG was going down. Turns out they
were leaking right there the whole time.
the little rubber O-Ring around the airlock, drill it out with a 1"
forstner drill bit and put in a 1" rubber bung. I had this problem with
2 primary buckets that were brand new. I was wondering what was going
on when nothing was going on but my SG was going down. Turns out they
were leaking right there the whole time.
rshosted said:Ok masta, What you have said made me wonder a few things.
Obviously yeast does need some oxygen... But I doubt they are like little turtles that need to swim to the top to gulp a few swallows of air and swim back down for a sugar feast and reproduce, but if the top of a carboy is deficient of O2, do they take oxygen from the water?
I've always used a bucket with an air tight lid and water lock, I figure there is no (limited) oxygen in there after a few days of fermenting. Typically I wait until it is done fermenting, then rack. Do you think this changes the wine in anyway?
I kind of assumed the idea was to get the wine off the gross lees to prevent spoilage from the pulp that is typically settled at the bottom, not really to prevent air from getting to the wine (though, I would conceed that is an added advantage and left after fermenting you are risking air getting into the container).
I also ferment almost all my kit wines in a sealed primary with airlock.The water added to your must does contain some dissolved oxygen and when you stir the must it adds more (another reason to stir the must well in addition to mixing the viscous concentrate completely with the water). I believe the amount of oxygen available for the pitched yeast to reach a healthy colony in a sealed primary that has been stirred well is more than enough for a completion and problem free fermentation.
Boiling water as done when making beer drives off oxygen so stirring the wort is even more critical to make sure there is enough oxygen for the yeast to get started.
Another factor toremember is that grape juice is the perfect fermentation medium since it contains all the proper nutrients, amino acids and other goodies the yeast thrive on.
A more detailed explanation of the life cycle of yeast:
1) Respiration -- the first stage in the life cycle is aerobic. When
yeast is added to an unfermented nutrient broth (called wort in brewing,
or must in winemaking), it utilizes free oxygen in the solution. No
alcohol is produced in this stage, and CO2 production is low. During
respiration, yeast stores energy in various chemical forms to be used
later during reproduction and fermentation. Aerobic respiration will
generally continue until most of the dissolved oxygen is exhausted.
2) Fermentation -- this is the stage during which most CO2 is
produced. When no oxygen is available, yeast will switch to an
alternate metabolic pathway utilizing sugars for energy and producing,
primarily, CO2 and ethanol. Yeast divides rapidly in this phase,
reaching its carrying capacity (about 50 million cells/ml) in the wort
or must, and remains suspended in solution in order to expose maximum
surface area to nutrients. Assuming no oxygen is added back to the
fermenting wort, yeast will continue fermentation until one of two
things happens; either alcohol concentration will exceed tolerance, or
the yeast run out of food.
3) Sedimentation -- once conditions are no longer amicable to
fermentation, yeast will stop dividing and start storing energy in the
form of glycogen, a polysaccharide. Yeast will flocculate and fall out
of solution, creating a cake of sludge on the bottom of your
fermentation vessel. At this point, the yeast are no longer
metabolically active, and await better conditions in a state of
dormancy.
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OK, I just transferred my apple wine to glass at an SP of 1.010.
Let’s see what happens next. I took a taste and it seemed ok. I will post pic in the am when I get back to work.
amespace prefix = o ns = "urnchemas-microsoft-comfficeffice" />OK, I just transferred my apple wine to glass at an SP of 1.010.
Thanks Wade,
Hey, did you notice the bung on the gallon jug? I almost had a bobo. When I went to put it in the jug, it keep wanting to pop back out. Sooooo I pushed hard and it almost went right in the jug.
I used a pick and pulled it out and then placed it back in very carefully. Question is, this is a #8 bung and the jug is 1.5” on top. What size bung should I use?
Hey, did you notice the bung on the gallon jug? I almost had a bobo. When I went to put it in the jug, it keep wanting to pop back out. Sooooo I pushed hard and it almost went right in the jug.
Tim,
An #6 bung works well with gallon jug and here is chart to help you determine which bung to use.
http://www.finevinewines.com/Bung_Sizing_Chart.htm
An #6 bung works well with gallon jug and here is chart to help you determine which bung to use.
http://www.finevinewines.com/Bung_Sizing_Chart.htm
Cajun I knocked one all the way in once. It was very fun getting it
out. It was the proper size although I was in a hurry and tried to put
the airlock in without pulling the bung out. Bloop, in it went. Had to
use a coat hanger and about 10 minutes to get it out.
out. It was the proper size although I was in a hurry and tried to put
the airlock in without pulling the bung out. Bloop, in it went. Had to
use a coat hanger and about 10 minutes to get it out.
WW
I've never really trusted the whole bucket/airlock thing myself either. Had the exact thing happen to me so I abandoned it altogether. There are some buckets out there that have screw on caps with a gasket and a decent grommet system. I think that would be my choice if I went that direction. Years ago I made 1 rack beer in a bucket that had good action at the airlock, but when you're fermenting five gallons of beer, it's hard not to. The other problem was that I'm kind of nosy, I like to look at my wine a lot, this entails opening the top. To keep from prying the top off repeatedly, I just lay it on there, no lock,and put a clean towel over it. That way Ican look easy enough and no chance of spillage. If I had the problems of fruit flies some members have had, I'd probably go your route.
LT
I've never really trusted the whole bucket/airlock thing myself either. Had the exact thing happen to me so I abandoned it altogether. There are some buckets out there that have screw on caps with a gasket and a decent grommet system. I think that would be my choice if I went that direction. Years ago I made 1 rack beer in a bucket that had good action at the airlock, but when you're fermenting five gallons of beer, it's hard not to. The other problem was that I'm kind of nosy, I like to look at my wine a lot, this entails opening the top. To keep from prying the top off repeatedly, I just lay it on there, no lock,and put a clean towel over it. That way Ican look easy enough and no chance of spillage. If I had the problems of fruit flies some members have had, I'd probably go your route.
LT
CajunTim,
One thing I have found out with the rubber bungs is that they sometimes will work themselves out if they are wet. I had a five gal carboy #7 bung work it's way loose over a few minutes. I was taking them right from the sterilant solution, shaking them off and installing them, but now I dry them and an inch of the the neckwith a paper towel. Seems to work.
LT
One thing I have found out with the rubber bungs is that they sometimes will work themselves out if they are wet. I had a five gal carboy #7 bung work it's way loose over a few minutes. I was taking them right from the sterilant solution, shaking them off and installing them, but now I dry them and an inch of the the neckwith a paper towel. Seems to work.
LT
Wade, Yea I was happy that it did not go in. But I guess that's what being a newbie is all about. Live and learn.
OGray, that's what happen. it was still wet, and I would push it in and "POP" right back out. Worked a little better when I dried it. Should be lots better with the right size bung.
OGray, that's what happen. it was still wet, and I would push it in and "POP" right back out. Worked a little better when I dried it. Should be lots better with the right size bung.
