How soon can you add Sparkalloid?

I'm making a 15 gallon batch of strawberry wine. I racked it once already. After about a month I added Sparkalloid to it. It is still fermenting. The wine is clearing. How soon can or should you add Sparkalloid? The picture was taking right after the initial racking.

That is a sweet fermenter !

joeybeer said:

That is a sweet fermenter !

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Was going to post the same thing. That's a really, really nice carboy.

It's a demijohn

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carboy#Brewing

"In brewing, a carboy is also known as a demijohn.

"Demijohn" is an old word that formerly referred to any glass vessel with a large body and small neck, enclosed in wickerwork. According to The Oxford English Dictionary the word comes from the French dame-jeanne, literally "Lady Jane", as a popular appellation. This is in accordance with the historical evidence at present known, since the word occurred initially in France in the 17th century, and no earlier trace of it has been found elsewhere."

Sigh...

From the exact same article you just linked to:

"The term carboy itself usually refers to a 19 L carboy, unless otherwise noted. A 4.5 litre carboy is usually called a jug. A 57 L carboy is usually called a demijohn."

Usually. The terms are interchangable and simply mean "Large [glass] vessel with a thin neck"

They also have different exact meanings in different places. For example, in Swedish, damejeanne refers to any large glass jug.

Thanks for the info on carboys and demijohns. For the record, the brew shop I bought it from referred to it as a demijohn. Can anyone help me on the Sparkalloid issue?

Sparkalloid turned this into that in three days.

Tubba said:

Usually. The terms are interchangable and simply mean "Large [glass] vessel with a thin neck"

They also have different exact meanings in different places. For example, in Swedish, damejeanne refers to any large glass jug.

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Okay... you seem to have gotten the wrong idea. I wasn't trying to correct your use of the word carboy. I was simply trying to help you and joeybeer out.

Your mutual fascination with the vessel (both quotes provided below, unedited and in full), indicated that neither of you were very familiar with 15gal/57L demijohns, since much like carboys, they're pretty much all identical, and if you've seen one, you've seen them all. So I figured one or both of you guys might appreciate a bit more info on them.

And because HBT posters and even homebrew stores virtually always refer to these particular vessels as demijohns, (to differentiate them from the smaller/cylindrical "carboys", as your Wikipedia link pointed out), I specifically called it a demijohn as well, because it is much more useful to anybody interested in more information on them or possibly even buying one.

So yeah... I really wasn't being pedantic in the least, and I apologize for apparently not being clear enough. My ONLY intention was to provide a helpful starting point for you guys, considering the posts you made (quoted below).

You both said:

joeybeer said:

That is a sweet fermenter !

Click to expand...

Tubba said:

Was going to post the same thing. That's a really, really nice carboy.

Click to expand...

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Op I think you can add sparkeloid as soon as you have a consistant fg reading.

Sorry to continue the ... this will be the last time, though.

Had I had actually been trying to correct you, I could have - and would have - done it in one of two different ways that wouldn't have had *any* ambiguity whatsoever.

And so just for kicks (and also to hopefully demonstrate my intentions were good)... those two examples, separated by a row of underscores, are as follows:

_________________

Tubba said:

Was going to post the same thing. That's a really, really nice carboy.

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Demijohn*

_________________

Tubba said:

Was going to post the same thing. That's a really, really nice demijohn.

Click to expand...

FTFY

I add sparkloid at the end when the sg has remained the same for at least two weeks. I normally just wait for them to clear on their own but sometimes I get impatient or one just won't clear well despite being racked at least three times.

I believe you need to wait for fermentation to stop, either naturally, or by additive (sorbate/sulfite), before you add sparkolloid, otherwise the yeasties just keep on doing their thing (and becoming suspended).

What will be come suspended? The yeast or the sparkalliod. How will this affect my wine? I have sampled it and it tastes fine. Pretty strong right now, around 18.5% via vinometer. The wine is still fementing. I used dextrose monohydrate as my sugar. It tends to ferment pretty cleanly. I'm not having any problems with my wine thus far. Just tryn to get more info on sparkalliod. I've tried Super-Kleer, Egg Whites, and Sparkalliod. Seems sparkalliod is very efficient. I've used it a few times and my best guess is u need to wait around two to three weeks after adding to bottle. I've had a few bottles with a little haze at the bottom from bottling to soon. At the time the wine looked pretty damn clear to me.

got that haze b4 as well. my lhbs owner say it was cause i rushed it. I had racked off of lees and into bottling bucket. he said i should have racked off lees and then w8ted another 2 weeks and if no more lees then bottle.

Brewerone said:

What will be come suspended? The yeast or the sparkalliod. How will this affect my wine?

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The yeast. It won't affect your wine except for the cloudiness. And if the ferment isn't quite done you'll get some additional pressure.

huesmann said:

The yeast. It won't affect your wine except for the cloudiness. And if the ferment isn't quite done you'll get some additional pressure.

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I also have a Bon Vino mini jet filter. Will this remove the suspended yeast?

emjay said:

Okay... you seem to have gotten the wrong idea. I wasn't trying to correct your use of the word carboy. I was simply trying to help you and joeybeer out.

Your mutual fascination with the vessel (both quotes provided below, unedited and in full), indicated that neither of you were very familiar with 15gal/57L demijohns, since much like carboys, they're pretty much all identical, and if you've seen one, you've seen them all. So I figured one or both of you guys might appreciate a bit more info on them.

And because HBT posters and even homebrew stores virtually always refer to these particular vessels as demijohns, (to differentiate them from the smaller/cylindrical "carboys", as your Wikipedia link pointed out), I specifically called it a demijohn as well, because it is much more useful to anybody interested in more information on them or possibly even buying one.

So yeah... I really wasn't being pedantic in the least, and I apologize for apparently not being clear enough. My ONLY intention was to provide a helpful starting point for you guys, considering the posts you made (quoted below).

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Oh, no worries, thanks for clarifying.

Like others have sid wait for the yeast to finish doing it's thing then add in the Sarkaloid. It takes about a good month for everything to drop out at that point but it does a great job.