Headspace...oops.

[Nivlaek]

I just transferred "about" 5 gallons of pear primary from my fermenter pail to a glass carboy. But my carboy I received from my nephew is a 6.5 gallon. Between the pear mash waste in the nylon bag and the lees in the bottom of the bucket, I don't have enough (maybe 5 gallons) of wine to fill the carboy. As I understand, that is WAY too much air space. What do I do? I read online to pour some sweet white wine or blush in to fill space. It is still lightly fermenting.

1. Won't adding more alcohol kill the still fermenting yeast?


What to do?

Thanks!
Niv

 

[StoneArcher]

Personally, I would get a 5 gallon carboy. I sure that's probably not what you wanted to hear though.

Other options would be to top up with pear/white grape/apple juice, wine that would match or blend nicely, ballast, or make the wine gods absolutely furious and dump water in that wonderful wine; diluting all your work.

My distant second choice would be pear juice, and add sugar to your OG. Mixing in a separate container, then adding when the OG is reached. 1.5 gallons in a 6'er is a lot to top off.

More alcohol will not kill the yeast. Well, until a point. Yeast can survive up to a certain percent alcohol content. It's different per strain.

 

[butterpants]

I've made quite a few batches in 'the wrong size carboy' and had no ill effects from oxygenation even after 2 months.

I'm talking like 1.5 gal of headspace too.

 

[pumpkinman2012]

Butterpants,
You are very lucky, but you are playing with "fire", that much head space is a recipe for disaster.
I highly recommend topping it off or racking it into an appropriate size carboy.

 

[butterpants]

It was certainly not ideal nor engineered that way.... bad planning on my part. Now I just don't secondary

 

[Nivlaek]

I filled up the space with fresh pear juice. It is fermenting a bit more.

Thanks for the help. Brainfart on my part.

 

[Yooper]

It was certainly not ideal nor engineered that way.... bad planning on my part. Now I just don't secondary

That's really uncommon for wine, as it takes quite a long time to be completely clear and usually requires several rackings.

 

[Apple_Jacker]

I've read up on people adding sterilized marbles into the carboy until the volume of the marbles displaces the volume of your headspace.

 

[LoneTreeFarms]

+1 on the marbles, I had to do that once

 

[butterpants]

That's really uncommon for wine, as it takes quite a long time to be completely clear and usually requires several rackings.

You're right and I do that with mead. Sometimes I forget what subthread we're in.

 

[Nivlaek]

Brilliant idea. I will give it a whirl.