After all the tinkering and Teflon taping and worrying about the sampling port installation on the FastFerment, I loaded it up with Cellar Craft Argentine Malbec. I put the grape skins in the hop basket and squooshed them daily. Toward the end of the 8-week secondary fermentation, I sampled it and found it very cloudy. I "racked" it (closed the valve and emptied the collection ball); when I reattached the ball nothing flowed in; after a few pokes with the pointy end of my drill mixer, it filled up again; the oak cubes were probably clogging it. I added k-meta and left it alone for the better part of a week. I again sampled it yesterday; it was still cloudy. I decided to pour the cloudy stuff into a gallon jug and let it settle; to my surprise, only a few drops came out cloudy and then it became clear; it was very funny! I filled 27 bottles, corked them, labeled them, and enjoyed one with hubs last night. Success! I have a second FastFerment with an even crankier sampling port (put in a substitute; it leaked about one drop per day for a few days and has now stopped) bubbling away with an Amarone. I have kombucha on top of the fridge that should be ready for secondary today or tomorrow. I have had an awful cold and a sinus infection over the holidays; this is making me feel much better!
