Posted on 07/27/2012 3:33:57 PM PDT by Red_Devil 232
Good afternoon/evening FReepers. Yep, it is Beer Thirty Time Once Again!
Happiness is a bubbling airlock!
BEER
Good evening/afternoon brewers and winemakers. I have a couple of different secondary 5 gallon Carboys - Glass, PET, and Buckets. I prefer to use the glass carboy but I do use the others from time to time and all have been used successfully. The glass carboy is heavy and difficult to move but the others are easier to use because they are lighter and have spigots for racking to the bottling bucket. I am beginning to wonder why I use the glass one. I know there are pros and cons on using these different types of secondary Carboys. I would like to hear your opinions.
I hope all of you and your Brews and Wines are doing well. Stop by and share what you are brewing or let us know what your favorite brew, wine or spirit is.
Yeah I rushed my Belgians and tried them way to early. It is hard for a newby to resist sampling a few which eventually eventually consumes the stash before their prime!
It's your penchant for the sweetness, no doubt, that adds so much time to your process.
I ferment my wines to complete dryness...my whites are ready to bottle in less than 6 months. I prefer to leave my reds in the barrel for at least a year; 18 months is better...and then bottle.
But since you like sweet wines: There is another way to get a sweeter wine: rack it (or press if it's a red) at around 3 Brix. Sulphite it to at least 50ppm free SO2, and fine-filter it with a #3 filter pad, to remove the yeast. Also chill it...what you don't want is for the fermentation to start up again; which is taken care of by the SO2 and the filtering. The chilling will also help arrest the fermentation, but it's not as crucial as the SO2 and filtering.
I have not purchased my brewing equipment yet, still in the setting aside funds mode. However, I did do a lot of research so far and I will be going the ported Better Bottle route. They are lighter and shatter resistant. There are way too many stories about glass carboys breaking and sending the brewer to the ER. Also I like the ported valve assembly that allows closed loop racking, less chance of contamination.
I wish I could find a brewing starter kit that was all Better Bottle. 6 gal. primary & 5 gal. secondary. Or, a kit of all the incidentals only.( Hydrometer, bottle capper, tubing, airlock, bottle filler, etc.) Then I could just add the Better Bottles that I want.
The closest I have found is the Midwest Intermediate kit w/ optional ported bottles. Then buy a 6 gal. ported BB for a primary. I guess I could use the buckets for sanitation. (Starsan) I know, I know . . . the bucket is supposed to be the primary. Well, some folks like to watch tropical fish swim in circles. I rather watch yeast blow bubbles. [grin] (yeah, I lead a boring life . . . )
I understand about watching the fermentation take place it is a wonderful sight! I also like the ported BB’s.
I like the ported clear Better Bottles (clear plastic) especially for a beginning brewer, They are much lighter than glass and you can see the miracle that the yeast preforms on the sugars on your brew as the initial fermentation process progresses, it is an amazing sight. Being able to see the process work is quite beneficial to a beginning brewer. I really enjoy watching the yeast do their work. The white buckets don’t let you see what is going on.
HomeBrewStuff.com has a flat rate shipping option of only $7.95, which is great and allowed me to get a glass carboy instead of PET. Every other supplier I looked at wanted $20-$30 for shipping on a carboy alone!
Now, if my book on meadmaking would just arrive, I could have this figured out before the supply order arrives. Hoping to do a muscadine infused batch.
How is your cranberry batch doing?
You have been added. My Cranberry Mead is sitting in bottles and is expected to be ready by November. Yum a Muscadine mead! That should be good. Just a little advice - freeze your Muscadines and lightly crush them before using. The freezing helps to break down the grape’s cell structure Releasing their flavor and juices. Good luck! Did you order a good wine yeast and the nutriments to feed the yeast during fermentation? Your book should give you some good info.
Thanks for stopping by.
Thanks for the tip on freezing the muscadines. I had been wondering about that and was waiting anxiously on the meadmaking book to answer the question. Now that you've said so, I will freeze some tomorrow.
I’m going to do my first batch with the D-47 yeast and use the 1118 for a non-infused dry mead. 1118 is a champagne yeast recommended by the supplier, and I came up with the 47 on my own research.
Here is a youtube video on making Muscadine wine. The procedures will be the same but you will using 12 to 13 lbs honey. I crushed my cranberries the same way this guy does in the video - Zip Lock bags and a rolling pin. Also note he used 30 lbs of Muscadines for a 5 gallon batch.
Thank you! I can pick way more muscadines than I’ll ever need. The vines are 75 yds. long x 2.
Your remarks here got me to try lacto-fermenting for the first time.
Packed some of my grated turnips in a brine and i was astonished at how good they were after a week. Neighbor loves them too.
Many thanks!
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