scott.campion
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- Sep 20, 2021
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My neighbor and I got access to a press this year so decided to step up our game from 5-gallon carboys to a 55-gallon plastic barrel (plus a few carboys on the side). Any tips or landmines I should watch out for?
My first concern is whether to rack. Previously I've racked the cider off the lees after about 3 weeks, then aged in the carboy for another month or three before bottling (with great results). With the barrel I'm concerned about the increased head space (I've got 50 gallons in the 55-gallon barrel) and surface area. If I rack it I'm starting over with my air, and worried the ongoing fermentation may not generate enough CO2 to drive the O2 out of ~7 gallons of head space.
My first concern is whether to rack. Previously I've racked the cider off the lees after about 3 weeks, then aged in the carboy for another month or three before bottling (with great results). With the barrel I'm concerned about the increased head space (I've got 50 gallons in the 55-gallon barrel) and surface area. If I rack it I'm starting over with my air, and worried the ongoing fermentation may not generate enough CO2 to drive the O2 out of ~7 gallons of head space.
Pros | Cons | |
Rack then age |
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Age in fermentor |
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Just bottle it now |
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