Can I open my fermentation bucket?

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Grahammcp

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Hi everyone!

I started my first batch of wine last night (Apfelwein recipe from this site) in a fermentation bucket. I see a lot of people say things like "it's still bubbling away". Even after several hours, I don't hear or see any bubbling. Should I open the bucket to check things out, or will this hurt?

I used 1 packet of Montrachet. I should also note that I needed to use 4lbs of corn sugar to get the specific gravity up to 1.084. Can too much sugar hurt the process?

Any help would be much appreciated!
 
Grahammcp said:
Hi everyone!

I started my first batch of wine last night (Apfelwein recipe from this site) in a fermentation bucket. I see a lot of people say things like "it's still bubbling away". Even after several hours, I don't hear or see any bubbling. Should I open the bucket to check things out, or will this hurt?

I used 1 packet of Montrachet. I should also note that I needed to use 4lbs of corn sugar to get the specific gravity up to 1.084. Can too much sugar hurt the process?

Any help would be much appreciated!
Click to expand...

It'll be fine. Keep in mind that it often takes several days (not hours!) for fermentation show obvious signs.
 
Leave it alone. It can take a few days. If there is a lot of headspace in your bucket or if there is a leak somewhere you might see very little bubbles in the airlock but the CO2 will protect your wine from O2, unless you open it!
 
Could be there is a leak, in the seal, that would be my guess. Give it a few days, take a peak if nothings happening just to make sure if you really want.
 
MarkKF said:
Leave it alone. It can take a few days. If there is a lot of headspace in your bucket or if there is a leak somewhere you might see very little bubbles in the airlock but the CO2 will protect your wine from O2, unless you open it!
Click to expand...

As long as you open it slowly, you won't disturb the CO2 blanket overly much. And early in the process, O2 isn't really a problem.

After primary fermentation is over, it pays to be more careful.
 
Let us know if you get a lot of hydrogen sulfide smell from the Montrachet. Last time I used it I did, and haven't used it since.
 
Thank you everyone for the reassurance...sure enough, it started bubbling away after about 24 hours.

For the 1st 24 hours the smell was very sweet. Now, at 36 hours I do smell the sulfur with my nose next to the air lock.

Thanks again!
 

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