To stir or not to stir???

[Loweface]

I've made a simple peach wine in which I diced the peaches. Now that it's bubbling away the CO2 is getting trapped among the mass of peach dices and causeing them to float like a big yellow iceberg...

I gave the demijohn a good swirl to dislodge most of the bubbles and I reckon it may have prevented a blowoff tonight... My question is should I stir / swirl the must everyday to keep the peaches submerged?

This is my first fruit wine...
Opinions? (Thanks)

 

[BierMuncher]

Instead of stirring, just give the fermenter a good rocking back and forth everyday to agitate and de-gas the fruit.

 

[Loweface]

Thanks Biermuncher,

I think thats what I wll be doing. I'm just after having to do it again, only a few hours after doing it the first time.... Morning and evening for the first few days I suppose...

EDIT UPDATE: 30min later and I rechecked before htting the hay... Wine just reaching airlock... Another swirl and the level dropped considerably... I've no choice to accept this is going to blow off over night (nothing to rig a blow-off tube...) I've put it in a bucket and I am hopeing for the best. Wish me/it luck...

 

[chowdan]

Hey rmck1,

I'm new here but i've made fruit wines quite a bit. I always stir/swirl my wash every day for about a week. Making sure the yeast or what ever is stuck on the bottom is disturbed. It always seems to give me a positive result. I have been told it helps the brewing process keeping the yeast throughout the wash.

 

[BigKahuna]

Welcome....FIJI...Are you trying to show off or what?

 

[Loweface]

Nice... I love how far afield you can get advice...

Chowdan, how long would you let a wine sit on the fruit?

 

[chowdan]

Lol. I was actually born in cali but moved to Fiji at a young age. Fijian's make a home brew of just sugar, water, yeast and a slice of fruit.....tastes awful!

But i usually let it stand for about 1-3 months. Depending on how it looks. After about 3 weeks i usually start to add in sugar allowing it to show signs of the yeast being active. I usually don't rack it, but if its cloudy then i'll rack it once.

My favorite flavor is pineapple. Haven't really experimented at all but this batch i am going to start.

 

[yaeyama]

Lol. I was actually born in cali but moved to Fiji at a young age. Fijian's make a home brew of just sugar, water, yeast and a slice of fruit.....tastes awful!

Sorry to hijack the thread, but what area of Fiji do you live? I've been there once and loved it. Actually I've been dreaming of living on an island since I was a kid...however making it happen is slightly more difficult because of immigration restrictions...not to mention lack of IT jobs.

BTW, since you are able to get free reign of as many green coconuts as you want there, have you ever tried making wine with coconut water? What about coconut toddy? Ever try it? If I lived where you live, sir, that would be one of the first things I would have tried making.

 

[chowdan]

but what area of Fiji do you live? I've been there once and loved it.

BTW, since you are able to get free reign of as many green coconuts as you want there, have you ever tried making wine with coconut water? What about coconut toddy? Ever try it? If I lived where you live, sir, that would be one of the first things I would have tried making.

I live on the main island near pacific harbor. What part did you go to???its a nice place.

I have tried to make coconut toddy about 5 times and each time it all fails. I have no clue how to make it. I love the taste though. Would you happen to know how to make it?

 

[yaeyama]

I went to Viti Levu and stayed at the Outrigger on the Gold Coast near Sigatoka. We also spent a week on Mana Island. Absolutely fantastic!

Coconut toddy is actually fermented sap from the flower of the coconut palm. From a google search:

"IN the manufacture of coconut toddy the sap is drawn from an unopened flower
spathe of the coconut palm and collected in an earthenware vessel, which is placed
over the end of the spathe. Tapping is usually carried out twice daily, and at
each visit the chatty is emptied, a thin shaving is removed from the end of the
spathe, and the earthenware vessel is replaced. The sap rapidly becomes infected
with bacteria and yeasts, and the sugar present is soon converted into alcohol and
acetic acid."

For coconut wine, you should be able to ferment coconut water (not coconut milk which contains too much oil) to make wine. Perhaps adding some sugar would be required. Not sure!

Have you tried asking locals about these beverages? Surely you should be able to find somebody in the know.

 

[Smogre]

Is this coconut drink the same as Lambanog?

 

[Yooper]

I don't airlock my primary for my fruit wines, and I stir daily until I reach 1.020-1.010 or so and then I rack to secondary and airlock. I usually remove the fruit after about 5 days, so often that's when I rack for the first time.

If you have a "cap" especially with fruit wines, make sure you stir to submerge that so it can't grow mold or dry out.

 

[yaeyama]

Is this coconut drink the same as Lambanog?

Hi, I googled it, and yes, Lambanog appears to be coconut toddy! It is also called Coconut Arrack. Looks like a lot of locals distill it into something even more potent, but I think it would be tasty enough as a wine (and not quite as illegal )

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arrack

I've been to several islands in the south pacific, and I haven't managed to try any of these yet. Next time I =WILL= track it down.

 

[chowdan]

I am going to have to start asking more about making a coconut wine(using the water).

Mana Island is very nice. I went out there for a site inspection and was surprised. I also like outrigger. I used to go there a lot. My parents own a travel company so I've been to most of the resorts in Fiji. Good reason to get out of the office and visit the resorts for "work"

After i rack this batch I will have to experiment more with coconut wines.