Age in Demi john or Bottle

[glove81]

Hi guys, recently tried Youngs cab sav six bottle extract kit after seeing it in the clearance aisle at tesco. It has finished fermenting and I've added the stabiliser and finings and transfered it into a fresh demijohn to clear. Is it better to leave it in this demijohn to age or should I bottle it asap?

 

[Moley]

A lot depends upon where you are going to be storing it. Ideally this should be somewhere cool but most importantly the temperature should be stable.

If you were lucky enough to have a cellar or could find somewhere else cool and stable, then to be honest it doesn't seem to matter a whole lot whether you bottle or leave in bulk.

If temperature is likely to fluctuate a bit, then you're better off leaving it in bulk, thermal mass makes it less susceptible to changes. However, your DJ must be topped up to the neck. With a Young's kit like yours, that could mean having to top up and thereby dilute an already thin bodied and relatively low alcohol brew, so on balance I'd say you're better off bottling when it has cleared properly.

 

[RobWalker]

graysalchemy swears by bulk ageing, and as he's such a cider nutcase, i'm inclined to believe him :thumb:

 

[stevie1556]

I've always wondered why people recommend bulk aging as well.

 

[RobWalker]

i know at least it's beneficial with brews that undergo malo lactic fermentation because if it catches on in there, the whole batch gets treated :thumb: