Oops my bag opened

[Jennifer Patterson]

SO I have a batch of grapes in my primary, they were pressed, the juice put into the primary and the crushed pulp put into a bag, then into the primary. I pitched my yeast yesterday, today I see the bag opened up and the pulp is floating. I am assuming this is OK for now, but when It comes time to transfer to the secondary, what is the easiest way to strain it? Just a colander with cheesecloth or something? Like jelly?

 

[Scooter68]

If you have another fermentation bucket to use OR a large funnel that would hold a strainer, you could use that and strain the juice into the bucket or through the strainer sitting in the funnel and into the carboy. Depending on how much as gotten loose you may not have to stop the flow once you start racking it. IF you do have to stop and empty the strainer - plan ahead and either have a clamp that will allow you to have hand free to empty the strainer OR someone to empty the strainer while you clamp the flexible tube shut. Cheesecloth will work too but perhaps a bit messier that a strainer.

Just remember that as a general rule exposure to Oxygen is not considered a good thing once a wine has fermented but a limited time like this is not an issue.

 

[BigH]

What kind of vessel are you using for your primary? You could try to strain on the transfer, but you only have so many hands.

A lot of fruit wine makers use cheesecloth or paint strainer bags for this purpose. If you are fermenting in a bucket, you could try to force the cloth down into the bucket and push the solids out of the way. Rack from the clean side of the cloth. You could also try to collect as much of the solids with a sieve now.

Another option is to make an intermediate transfer to a bucket that is lined with cheese cloth or a paint strainer. Rack immediately a second time from the clean side into your secondary. I would use the first option if your primary fermentation is in an open bucket with lots of room, and the liquids are not too close to the top.

H

 

[dralarms]

I for one never ferment in a bag. Let it run loose, keep it punched down, and then separate it after it’s extracted most of the flavor it can.

 

[Jennifer Patterson]

I for one never ferment in a bag. Let it run loose, keep it punched down, and then separate it after it’s extracted most of the flavor it can.

How do you separate the juice from the pulp? And do you press the pulp after to extract all the juice you can?

 

[dralarms]

How do you separate the juice from the pulp? And do you press the pulp after to extract all the juice you can?

I use a contraption I got from allinonewinepump.com ,to Get most of the juice, then I dump what’s left into a bag and hand press it until it’s mostly dry. Allinonewinepump.com has a vacuum press setup that works good that I use sometimes but most of the time I just squeeze it out manually.

 

[Scooter68]

Using a strainer I find that the majority of the juice will drip out. ( I have some 7-8" diameter stainless steel strainers.) When everything is in the bag you can squeeze out of the bag by hand. The harder you squeeze the more pulp will tend to get through the mesh so you have to reach a happy medium. I would strain what you need to and the rest in the bag - squeeze. I normally start by twisting the bag.

 

[oppyland]

How do you separate the juice from the pulp? And do you press the pulp after to extract all the juice you can?

I was wondering the same thing, as I had a batch of pear pulp must that needed to be separated. I used one of these to scoop the big chunks out of the primary into a 5 gallon pail with a nylon bag type paint strainer. I let that drain for a while, hand squeezed the pulp in the strainer bag a bit to extract most of the juice, dumped the pulp and poured the rest of the must through the paint strainer. It got most of the large pulp, but I will need to filter it again at some point.

 

[Scooter68]

I actually use these* for straining AND I have a large funnel** with a removable filter that I use as well the filter on the funnel gets clogged up quickly so I generally don't use it much and just set my largest strainer inside the funnel and run the juice through there.
If you make your batches large enough your first racking will leave you with some extra wine. (This can be both first racking during fermentation OR first racking AFTER fermentation) I take the extra wine and put it into an appropriate size glass bottle then put that into the fridge,. That speeds the settling of the fine pulp and debris.
Just remember if your fermentation is completed, be sure to have a little k-meta to treat that extra juice in the smaller bottles. (I have several sizes. 16 oz, 20 oz, 1.5 liter, 1/2 gallon all glass and the standard screw caps for airlocks fit all of these so I can airlock down to a 16 oz bottle.)
By having that extra wine I have some extra for topping off when I do the next racking.

Just don't forget it - it needs the same care and attention as that carboy full of wine.


* Stainless steel strainer set
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B007TUQF9O/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

** Plastic Funnel with filter

https://www.midwestsupplies.com/10-funnel-with-strainer

 

[oppyland]

Update - I ended up picking up one of these, and it worked pretty slick for removing the coarse pulp from my pear wine must. Definitely worth a shot!