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adatesman
climber
philadelphia, pa
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Roughster- been so long since I've done wine I'm going to punt on when to use the bentonite. That said I kinda recall doing 3 stage fermentation, with the clarifying agent (bentonite in your case, I prefer inisglass) being used between the 2nd and 3rd fermenter. Don't quote me on that though, as it's been years. (cheap yet decent South American wine coming to the market put an end to my winemaking, as it ended up costing the same and took no effort on my part)
Also with only 1 packet of yeast it might take a day or two to get going. Don't worry about it; there's no point in steering now so just let it do its thing. If you're /really/ worried and there's a brew shop local, dropping another packet or three of yeast into it might move it along faster. No real harm in doing that by the way, and frankly with dry yeast I usually use 2 or 3 packets per 5 gallons anyway.
Keep us updated!
:)
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mechrist
Gym climber
South of Heaven
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I brewed a lot from 1992-1999... the only way to get good beer in Utah, especially for the first 3 years when I was under age. Once I realized I can't do gluten I gave up. I did some experiments with wine but I'm no expert. This is from memory and probably of little use...
Didn't dissolve yeast in 100-105 degree water water before adding.
Should still kick in, it will just be delayed. But you kind of want a quick start to purge any air with the CO2 the yeast produces. Plus (I think) highly active yeast early on prevents the unwanted critters from fermenting and giving you off flavors.
Immediately airlocked after pitching yeast. Removed about 2 hours later.
Removing may introduce contamination = off flavors.
Having a hard time keeping the wort warm enough. Of course we get a cold snap over the last few days!
Maybe put it in a bath tub full of warm water?
Started with too much liquid / too big of batch. As previously mentioned, I feel I am a little close too the top of my 6 gallon carboy.
Make sure you have it in a place where it is okay for it to blow its top!
Is rocking the bottle to create a swirl daily a good or bad idea?
Bad. You want the air (oxygen) away from the liquid ASAP. With delicate brews I used to purge my carboy with CO2 from my tank immediately after pitching.
Should I get a paddle and gently stir instead?
I wouldn't. If you do, just make sure it is VERY clean.
This book was just recommended to us the other day. Waiting for it to arrive.
http://www.wildfermentation.com/wild-fermentation/
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Roughster
Sport climber
Vacaville, CA
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Topic Author's Reply - Apr 9, 2013 - 03:26pm PT
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Thanks for the info guys. I have read conflicting ideas related to airlocking and mixing, which is why I was concerned with them. One site said only airlock after primary fermentation is done, the other said airlock immediately. I am going to stick with the no airlock till I see bubbling then air lock it. Not sure if that will let in the baddies, but eh this is my first time and it is all from fruit in my back yard so I am really only out the cost of 10 lbs of sugar and the yeast packet :)
So far I like the at home science piece of this whole thing. Looking forward to making my second batch already and my first hasn't even started fermenting yet, LOL!
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mechrist
Gym climber
South of Heaven
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One site said only airlock after primary fermentation is done, the other said airlock immediately.
Only reason NOT to lock it is to prevent blowing the top and making a mess when your yeast kicks into primary fermentation. Of course the off flavors from unwanted critters (fungus/yeast) is the reason to lock it.
for super messy batches (unfiltered grains, tons of hops, etc) we did something like this for the primary fermentation. It would burp out tons of fibrous crap... don't do it on your mom's carpet!
As a rule of thumb, we always under filled our carboys to prevent wasteful explosions.
"Better to fill the cup half way than to fill to the brim and risk overflowing." Some Zen guy
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Roughster
Sport climber
Vacaville, CA
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Topic Author's Reply - Apr 9, 2013 - 03:54pm PT
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Thats a nice setup Wes! My carboy is about the same head space / volume at the top as the ones in your pictures above, so maybe there is hope (room) after all!
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mechrist
Gym climber
South of Heaven
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Not my set up... but we had something similar.
In the end, as I recall...
4 @ 5 gallon glass carboys
4 @ 5 gallon stainless steel kegs
1 @ 10 lb CO2 canister
1 dedicated fridge
20 @ 1 gallon glass jugs for smaller experiments
etc
(Heard my old brewing partner on the radio (Marketplace) the other day. Strange to lose touch and then recognize his voice on the radio after almost 20 years.)
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Roughster
Sport climber
Vacaville, CA
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Topic Author's Reply - Apr 9, 2013 - 10:45pm PT
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Wooohooo we got bubbles!! Its on now!
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Captain...or Skully
climber
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Apr 10, 2013 - 12:36am PT
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That Sir Loin of Leisure knows fermenting. He makes this stuff he calls Grog.
It's pretty good, but watch out. It CAN kick you in the head.
Grog Power, man.
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Roughster
Sport climber
Vacaville, CA
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Topic Author's Reply - Apr 10, 2013 - 01:14am PT
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My readings tonight were spg 1.080 / 1.93 Brix. Tasted orangey sweet with hint of carbonation. No tastes other than orange that I could detect. Bubbling is strong, but small rapid bubbles and not violent at all. No real "frothing" to report. All seems well contained in the carboy.
Seems to be on track!
EDIT: Correction that should be 19.3 Brix.
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GuapoVino
Trad climber
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Apr 10, 2013 - 09:19am PT
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What do you mean by 1.93 brix? Brix is the percent of sugar (actually soluable solids) in fruit juice. 1.93 brix would be 1.93% sugar content, or almost fully fermented. Usually it's measured with a refractometer but would also do larger vineyard samples in the lab with a hydrometer.
Once fermentation starts you can't go by any kind of a brix reading or use a refractometer because you have two different substances present, ethyl alcohol which has a SG <1.00 and fruit juice which has a SG >1.00.
During fermentation you have to use only a hydrometer and measure SG. Any sugar present would be known as residual sugar and usually isn't measured unless you're bottling a wine with a certain percentage of residual sugar, which can be technically challenging. The best way to measure RS is with a clini-tab.
Sorry to get all wine-geeky.
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Ghost
climber
A long way from where I started
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Apr 10, 2013 - 09:58am PT
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What do you mean by 1.93 brix?
Probably 19.3
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Roughster
Sport climber
Vacaville, CA
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Topic Author's Reply - Apr 10, 2013 - 10:27am PT
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Sorry about the typo, yes Brix was 19.3. I was just reading the SPG / Brix reading on the hydrometer. Still bubbling away this morning. Making the upstairs smell orangey!
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darkmagus
Mountain climber
San Diego, CA
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Apr 10, 2013 - 01:12pm PT
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Not beer-related, but definitely in the fermentation category:
I'm a master brewer of KOMBUCHA. I wrote a how-to guide awhile back, it covers everything from starting a culture (aka 'SCOBY') to secondary fermentation of the finished product. If anyone wants it, send me a message and it's yours!
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curt wohlgemuth
Social climber
Bay Area, California
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Apr 10, 2013 - 02:35pm PT
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Coincidentally, I brewed last night after work -- a 5g batch of a double IPA.
The number one rule of brewing is: have patience. Don't sweat it. Don't bother taking any gravity readings for at least 2 weeks after brewing; all you'll do is risk contamination.
I've had brews that I was sure I screwed up (boiled off too much; heated grains too high) which ended up as tasty, tasty beer.
BTW, you can get all your homebrew questions answered very nicely over at http://www.homebrewtalk.com/forum.php .
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OlympicMtnBoy
climber
Seattle
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Apr 11, 2013 - 01:24am PT
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Looks like fun, I've made a bunch of beer and a bunch of different fruit wines (rhubarb, blackberry, elderberry, apple, dandelion, sage, carrot, raisin, etc) but never orange.
I'd say if you see signs of fermentation (bubbles) and your SG has dropped, just leave it for a week or so. As mentioned, the air lock is meant to let the excess CO2 out and keep the bugs (big and tiny) from getting in. A blow-off tube is essentially a really large airlock that won't get clogged, but still provides a one-way exit for the CO2 through the bucket of water or whatever the end of the tube is in. You always want something covering the carboy or bucket to prevent the stray fruit flies or whatever, especially before fermentation takes off and provides some extra CO2 pressure.
I've never used bentonite and my wines come out pretty clear, but I haven't tried to compete or anything. My understanding is you put it in at the final racking and let it sit until you are ready to bottle. Patience is key to wine (and beer). After primary fermentation (~1 week) I rack off the lees and let it sit a month, then rack again, sit a month, then rack again till I get around to bottling it (3-5 months from when I started). Then let it sit in the bottle for at least 6 months. You'd be surprised at how much some homemade wines improve after a year or two. That's the fun part about home brewing though, you can taste along the way at each step.
With that starting SG you're going to finish pretty sweet, but I bet it'll be tasty with the oranges and bannanas!
What's next? You have to have something new going while you wait on this one, eventually you get a pipeline and always have something almost ready!
Just bottled:
Belgian Brown Ale
Cascadian Dark Ale
Rhubarb Wine
Waiting to be bottled:
Elderberry-Grape Wine
Long term aging in secondary:
Flanders Red Sour Ale
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Roughster
Sport climber
Vacaville, CA
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Topic Author's Reply - Apr 11, 2013 - 10:37am PT
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OMB: Yeah I wanted a sweet wine and given the taste last night it, will be one. Reading was SPG 1.060. Still very active fermentation with the airlock bubbling just a little quicker than 1/second. Lots of churn of the sediments inside the carboy.
I was thinking about maybe doing a batch of beer next go. As usual, I want to jump right into to something over my head and do an all grain batch. Thinking about doing this recipe given summer is almost here:
http://www.homebrewtalk.com/f70/lemon-lime-hefe-weizen-255659/
The only problem is though, I am not sure exactly what a lot of the instruction exactly mean, lol. If anyone wants to take a stab at converting the recipe to English / Lay-mans terms, that would be killer!
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Ghost
climber
A long way from where I started
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Apr 11, 2013 - 11:04am PT
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If anyone wants to take a stab at converting the recipe to English / Lay-mans terms, that would be killer!
I'll be happy to do that for you, but note that to make six gallons of beer from grain requires equipment on a scale you don't currently have (judging from your comments upthread). You'll need a mash tun capable of handling 11.25 pounds of grain plus at least 5 gallons of water, a ten gallon pot (i.e. big enough to handle 7+ gallons of liquid at a full rolling boil), a heat source capable of generating that boil (no, your kitchen stove isn't really suitable) and a fermenting vessel with enough headspace for the kind of vigorous primary fermentation you're going to see.
Edit: PM me if you want to follow this up
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Roughster
Sport climber
Vacaville, CA
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Topic Author's Reply - Apr 11, 2013 - 12:19pm PT
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PM sent! Thanks for the offer and as I said in the PM, if we can arrange some time, I'll get some of the brew in your hands!
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Roughster
Sport climber
Vacaville, CA
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Topic Author's Reply - Apr 14, 2013 - 11:59pm PT
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Started another batch of fermentation. This time it is Apfelwein:
http://www.homebrewtalk.com/f25/man-i-love-apfelwein-14860/
It is bubbling like mad in the bath tub right now. SUPER psyched to try it. Starting specific gravity was 1.060 which was pretty much right on track.
Next up will be Ghost's translation of the Summer Ale. Thank's man!
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