Help! Banana Wine Worries!

[DeeWino]

Hi! So this is our first ever wine (why did we try bananas first lol) okay so I have a few questions and concerns:

1. So it’s day 5 and no bubbling from the airlock, I can hear it bubbling when I have my ear next to it. It’s 18-20 Celsius in the fermenter.

2. It smells like strong rotting banana which duh I guess it is but should I be worried?

3. We made a 25 Litre Fermenter and the wine only uses 1/6 of it, should I be worried that the excess space will be too much air (causing oxidisation) or not easy enough for the c02 to escape?

I’m sorry if they’re dumb questions, I thought I had done my research but I’m still really clueless!

Thanks in advance!

 

[Dtsyukfan]

If you're fermenting in a bucket, check the lid seal. If the CO2 can escape from a bad lid seal, your airlock won't bubble.

 

[DeeWino]

If you're fermenting in a bucket, check the lid seal. If the CO2 can escape from a bad lid seal, your airlock won't bubble.

What would happen to the wine if that’s the case? I’m worried it’s ruined already.
Also it’s a screw top that I tightened a lot, I’ll attach a photo

 

[Dtsyukfan]

I'm pretty new at the hobby, so my advice is worth about what you paid, but I think if it's fermenting well and has only been a few days, your wine is probably ok. Where is your airlock on that container?

My first mead was a micro batch in a quart mason jar. It was fermenting away like crazy for a little while, but my airlock wasn't bubbling. It turned out the the hole I had put in the metal lid was a poor seal against the bung. I wound up making a flour paste to seal it up, then my airlock started bubbling. The mead turned out to be pretty good.

 

[DeeWino]

I

 

[DeeWino]

I'm pretty new at the hobby, so my advice is worth about what you paid, but I think if it's fermenting well and has only been a few days, your wine is probably ok. Where is your airlock on that container?

My first mead was a micro batch in a quart mason jar. It was fermenting away like crazy for a little while, but my airlock wasn't bubbling. It turned out the the hole I had put in the metal lid was a poor seal against the bung. I wound up making a flour paste to seal it up, then my airlock started bubbling. The mead turned out to be pretty good.

Ahh okay, thank you! The flour paste is interesting!

We actually drilled a hole into the lid and used a Gromit with an S lock.

I took your advice and duck taped like crazy around the lid and air lock, hopefully that helps lol!

 

[Dtsyukfan]

It wasn't pretty, and it began leaking again a few days after, so I added more. I ordered some fermentation lids and swapped when they arrived and I had a chance to clean and sanitize them.

 

[DeeWino]

View attachment 688928
It wasn't pretty, and it began leaking again a few days after, so I added more. I ordered some fermentation lids and swapped when they arrived and I had a chance to clean and sanitize them.

Wow that’s so cool! I would have never thought to do something like that! How clever!

 

[Dtsyukfan]

I can't take credit for it. I read somewhere that it's an old moonshiner's trick. They had to be pretty inventive back in the day. Lol

 

[Dtsyukfan]

Good luck with your banana wine.