Newb Primary Fermentation Question

Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum

Help Support Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

Retrofit

Supporting Member
HBT Supporter
Joined
Jan 25, 2010
Messages
780
Reaction score
18
Location
Aurora
Long time brewer, first time wine guy.

My father in law bought me a wine kit, he actually got me two.

The directions tell me to ferment a 6 gallon batch in an 8 gallon container.

I have a Sanke Keg (15.5 gallons) that I've converted to a fermenter.

Can I dump both those kits into the Sanke keg, or do I need that extra half gallon of space for fermentation?

My guess is I'm fine, but I don't want a mess on my hand or to explain to my Father-in-law that I'm as good a brewer as I say I am.

Any advice is appreciated.
 
I hadn't considered that. I was going to use an uncut Sanke that I use to ferment beer, but I could use my keggle instead (a cut sanke).

So wine needs that wide open top for oxygen to feed the yeast. Interesting Primary beer fermentation is typically done in a carboy (narrow top). I've got the keggle, so I could use that instead.
 
Ok, you got me reading. I had no idea how different the primary fermentation process is. What I'm going to do is use my keggle (open) and when primary is done, I will transfer to two 6 gallon carboys. I'm glad I asked! I would screwed up before I finished fermentation!
 
Retrofit said:
Ok, you got me reading. I had no idea how different the primary fermentation process is. What I'm going to do is use my keggle (open) and when primary is done, I will transfer to two 6 gallon carboys. I'm glad I asked! I would screwed up before I finished fermentation!

By open, we mean breathable. Cover your fermenter with a clean towel and secure with a rubber band or bungie cords. This keeps the dust, bugs, and kids out.
 
Retrofit said:
Got it, I'm glad I didn't jump into this with my brewer assumptions!

If you were to put on a lid with airlock, it probably would have been fine. Worst that could happen is the airlock would foam over or blow out.

Most of us use a towel or loose lid to make stirring more convenient.
 
You would have been fine, it may have taken a bit longer to primary or you would have a H2S smell or nothing would have happened. Seems wine is way more forgiving than beer.

I would guess that open-to-air primary is what most of us do.
 
Back
Top