Initial primary ferment question (total newbie)

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wburns

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Ok, trying to figure this out on my own, read a bunch of books etc, but still have a totally stupid question...

I am starting my first run of wine. Not kit form, I sat last night and cleaned and mashed 17 lbs of strawberries in a strainer bag, got everything mixed and added yeast tonight. I am following the recipe from the EC kraus handbook for my first attempt.

My weird question, everything says to cover closely at the beginning of ferment (day 1 for me), because the yeast needs oxygen to multiply. Is a clean cotton towel over my primary, bungee corded in place acceptable for the first 5 days? Am I doing this wrong?


Thanks!
Will
 
That's fine as far as I know... All the oxygen is being eaten by the yeast, so as long as you've sanitized, oxygen is good.
I just leave the lid on loose, but I almost like the (sanitized) towel better
 
You can leave the towel on until the SG drops to around 1.01 with no worries. After that, get it into a carboy with an airlock.
 
I have a plastic 6 gallon carboy I bought, actually the stopper showed up today, so I can rack into that. I had originally bought the carboy just as a holding tank while I cleaned the fermenter. Once the fruit is off, is there any reason not to use the carboy?

Thanks!
Will
 
That is exactly what we use, a tea towel with a tight weave that no gnat could get thru and a bungie. Its more important what the gravity is at the end as to how long to keep it in the primary, you can rack it anytime after it gets to 1.02 or lower. Its saturated with CO2 in solution so its not going to oxidize with just a tea towel over it. WVMJ
 
It's definitely saturated with CO2 currently, yeast went in 1/23, 1/24 SG was 1.086 today (1/26) I am at 1.068, it is furiously bubbling though! Pulled the towel off to check SG and there was literally a head on the top of the liquid, I had to push it aside to check SG

Will
 
I'm down to 1.033 from 1.068 in 24 hours. Should I transfer into a carboy and air lock it? That would also involve pulling the fruit out (it's in a strainer bag)

I can air lock my primary with the fruit in still too, does that sound like a better option?

Thanks!
Will
 
Patience, you can wait until it gets to 1.02 or even down to 1.00 before you transfer to your carboy, keep a towel on top, keep stirring it, you can probably remove the fruit and adjust the volume if you lost to much now while it is still fermenting. WVMJ
 
Ok. I'll leave it as is for now. Most elementary question in the world. Should I use water to top up once I pull the fruit?
 
Does this look typical?

photo (1).jpg
 
I went to Walmart after work (only grocery store within 15 miles of my house). The purest white grape I could find was juicy juice brand. It contains as follows: apple juice from concentrate, white grape juice from concentrate, and "less than .5% of natural flavors, citric acid and acsorbic acid. Will this work for topping off?

Thanks for your patience with me guys!
Will
 
I went to Walmart after work (only grocery store within 15 miles of my house). The purest white grape I could find was juicy juice brand. It contains as follows: apple juice from concentrate, white grape juice from concentrate, and "less than .5% of natural flavors, citric acid and acsorbic acid. Will this work for topping off?

Thanks for your patience with me guys!
Will

I would check freezer section for the 11oz'ish cans of juice concentrate. You will find yourself keeping an assortment stashed in freezer. I have not used JJ, but it should be fine for topping up.
 
Looks just right. I can just dang near smell the yeasty fruit smell. Bet is smells like strawberry bread. Punch the fruit down a couple times a day and around day 5 rack to the carboy. Mike
 
Thank you everyone for the very helpful replies! I am totally new, but try to at least include relevant info in my questions. I appreciate your patience with me!
 
Checked my gravity today and it's already down to 1.000 (less than 1.003 at least, "head" around hydrometer). Did I screw something up? Yeast has been in 8 days
 
Checked my gravity today and it's already down to 1.000 (less than 1.003 at least, "head" around hydrometer). Did I screw something up? Yeast has been in 8 days

Nope, you are doing great. It is quite common for that to occur. Check it in another three days, to see if it drops below 1.000, as that is even more common. Some yeasts, as you will discover, are rapid fermenters, while others may take a month to drop the last ten-twenty points. So many variables like original gravity, nutrients and temp.
You may find it useful to keep a record of the yeast, the fruit, the starting SG and how many days until it hit a certain SG, along with must temperature and if you did something to control the temp(heater vs chiller). I even include the actual date because temperature deviation, if that occurs, can impact things, ie tracking based on seasons.
Keep up the good work, in the summer you should be sipping on strawberry wine!
 
Sara, thank you again for your help and optimism! My air lock is starting to slow down, good signs of things to come! If my first real attempt is successful I will be way more motivated to try something else!

Will
 
Ok, so a few more random questions, figure I'll post here instead of making a new thread.

The strawberry is now in an airlocked carboy. Slowly bubbling still (maybe once every 30-45 seconds). I want to check the SG, but I am afraid to pull the airlock, as it's going to take a while to build up enough CO2 to purge the air out.

Am I being too careful?

How long should I leave it in the carboy (plastic...)? Should I get a glass carboy? (finally found a fairly close home brew shop that has glass and better bottles)?

Sorry for the elementary questions, but thank you for the help!

Will
 
After a couple more batches this stuff will be natural. Is your carboy topped up to near the top? If it is when you take off the airlock to take a SG reading there will be plenty of CO2 to fill the space, dont worry about that because right now your wine is supersaturated with CO2. Go to your brewshop and buy everything they have right now, it will save you gas money running down there and getting everything they have in lots of little trips! Always try to save gas. WVMJ
 
After a couple more batches this stuff will be natural. Is your carboy topped up to near the top? If it is when you take off the airlock to take a SG reading there will be plenty of CO2 to fill the space, dont worry about that because right now your wine is supersaturated with CO2.

Yep, that's right. But I can't think of a single reason right now to check the SG anyway.

When the wine is done, it'll stop activity and then start to clear. And even then, you just let it sit.

Rack it in about 45-60 days, to get it off of the lees. And top it up with water or a nice white commercial wwine, and then airlock it. When you rack, you can take the SG then.
 
Ok, so a few more random questions, figure I'll post here instead of making a new thread.

The strawberry is now in an airlocked carboy. Slowly bubbling still (maybe once every 30-45 seconds). I want to check the SG, but I am afraid to pull the airlock, as it's going to take a while to build up enough CO2 to purge the air out.

Am I being too careful?

How long should I leave it in the carboy (plastic...)? Should I get a glass carboy? (finally found a fairly close home brew shop that has glass and better bottles)?

Sorry for the elementary questions, but thank you for the help!

Will

No, being careful is good, its makes a better product!

Plastic or glass, they both have benefits.
Plastic= light weight, low cost
Glass = durability, longevity

Leave it in the carboy till fermentation is finished, then rack it a few times over the next few weeks/months to clear out sediment. :)
 
I think it's up high enough, looks kinda disgusting in the wonderful iPhone flash, didn't think it necessary to break out the big camera for this LOL

When I swapped from my primary to the carboy, I topped off with preservative free white grape juice. It's at the bottom of the neck, I think it's high enough?

Thank you for the great advice guys!

Will

photo (2).jpg
 
Plenty high enough! I don't usually go that high.

Oh, and just fyi, if you don't plan to carbonate, a grape juice WITH preservatives in it would be fine for topping off. :)
 
Once fermentation slows totally, I top up to the narrowest part of the carboy- so just a wee bit higher than yours. Since it's still active, though, you're fine where you are.
 
My air lock hasn't shown activity for a week or so, is this normal? Should I just keep it airlocked and let it settle out?

Thank you!
Will
 
Any thoughts on best choice for a commercial wine to top off with? I'm ready to rack, 78 days in so far

Thanks
Will
 
At 95 days in I finally racked it this weekend and took a taste. It's drinkable but kinda bitter... SG is .995 it cleared down pretty decent so far. What can I do at this point? I was thinking about bottling this weekend as its not gassy at all

Thanks!
Will
 
Well, if you want to sweeten it, add sulfites and sorbate, then let it sit for a day or so and then sweeten with whatever works best for you.

Or, you could bottle it and let it age as is. The bitterness will fade over time, so think about what you taste behind the bitterness. If those tastes seem good, then just bottling would be the way to go.
 
Well, if you want to sweeten it, add sulfites and sorbate, then let it sit for a day or so and then sweeten with whatever works best for you.

Or, you could bottle it and let it age as is. The bitterness will fade over time, so think about what you taste behind the bitterness. If those tastes seem good, then just bottling would be the way to go.

That's all true. But since it's only 3 months old, and not totally clear, I'd top up and let it sit in the carboy for at least another 60 days. If there are lees present in the bottom after 60 days, it's not ready to bottle. Otherwise, all the sediment that drops out will be in your bottle and get stirred up when you pour the wine.

Rushing a wine to bottle if it isn't clear doesn't make a very good product in the end.
 
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