Starting off small...

[fortebass1]

Greetings!

So I finally have my first glass gallon jug to start my wine making. I see a lot of retailers selling buckets as a primary fermenter. Can I use this gallon jug as a primary fermenter and a second gallon jug for the secondary? Or is it recommended to do primary fermentation in a bucket no matter what the batch size is?

I would like to start off just making 1 gallon batches until I am comfortable with it, but I also do not want to get into any bad habits. Also is there any difference between which vessel I ferment in? Does a container with a wide open mouth (bucket) ferment differently than a small mouth container (jug)?

Also, I see a lot more recipes for 5 gallon batches than 1 gallon batches. Can I just break down these recipes to make them 1 gallon (dividing by 5)? Or is it not that simple? Do some ingredients (yeast, campden tablets, etc) stay at the same amount no matter what batch size? Any info would be great!

 

[sly22guy]

First Welcome! As far as using a gallon jug, depends what you are making. I personally would use a bucket. If you have a harbor freight near by they have a 4 pot Stainless steel set for $25.00 or so. It has i think 1 gal, 1.5 gal 2 gal & 2.5 or 3 gal pots. these work great for primaries for smaller batches.

The main reason we use buckets for the primary ferment you will have alot of sediment. Can you imagine tryin to clean out 2" of sediment out of a 1 gal jug. Not to mention you will have to much head space when you rack to a secondary. So if you are making a 1 gal batch of wine you will start with 1.25-1.5 gal in the primary.

Get a hydrometer. you will use this to measure your sg and that will tell you how much sugar to add. There is also a calculator on here you can download i suggest doing so it works great. Yeast pretty much one sachet per batch 1-6 gal. Campden Tabs very by amount go by the labels.

Also you can find food grade buckets for free if you check around. Bakeries, Ice cream shops you just have to ask alot of times they will give them to you. Good Luck! Check out the recipe section i highly recommend the "Apfelwein" this is a great first time wine with a low investment, and then you can use the slurry to make a batch of Skeeter pee! 2 Batches of wine for less then $40.00!

 

[fortebass1]

Thanks for the advice! I will continue to collect the equipment and give this one a shot, especially since I wanted to start with something apple flavored. Hopefully I can find some of this stuff soon so I can get started! I'm sure I'll be posting back with issues I run into.

 

[docanddeb]

You could also use a soup pot for your primary, if making 1 gal batches. If you haven't already, check out Jack Keller's Winemaking site... lots of useful, basic information there. He also has a lot of 1 gal recipes!!

Have Fun!!

Debbie