She who dares wins, Rodney!Well this could be interesting... how much pressure can my kit take... gulp
Aiming for a Prosecco style sparkling wine, aiming for 6 vols of CO2 and my garage is at 8 deg C so that's about 55psi
OK, joints and all seem to be holding fast for now, rather dreading a big bang during the evening, fingers crossed
View attachment 42489
Ah... I have a cunning plan for bottling this... and a new toy
Oh I hope it works once you get it inside
I would have done that. 80C is the absolute maximum temperature for the hop stand before the volatile components which give the hop aroma are driven off. I cool rapidly to 75C before doing my hopstand and then let it cool naturally overnight or leave it for half an hour before continuing with the cooling.
Yeah , that is what I do. fire the chiller on it shoots down to 80ish in no time and then off dump hops in and try and leave it for 30 mins !!
Morning, the starter seems ok, a fair bit of surface foam which is probably all I'd expect on a stir plate, I think it was the right thing to do but I do feel a bit weary this morning. I've several dried ale yeasts I could use at a push, but no hazy/NEIPA dried yeast. I'll see what it looks like when it comes to pitching.
Thanks, yes that does seem a much better idea. Given the starter situation is not as if I'm in a rush, so I think I might leave it to passively cool with the lid on for a bit - at least half an hour. Just really hoping I can do a bit better this time.
Does your bottle filler pressure the bottle up as it fills? Is that specifically a wine one? Dont think my one does that..... I havent used it yet?Hmm... that was interesting. Short version, don't ease out the rubber cork on a counter pressure bottle filler till you've relieved the pressure first...
I'm covered in sparkling wine, as is the ceiling of the garage. I'm going for a shower and will write this up properly later. As for the yeast starter, it certainly seemed really happy and had generated quite a bit of heat in the short time it had been fermenting.
The guilty bottle filler (before I was soaked)
View attachment 43178
It was a rather cheap Chinese piece from AliExpress, I wanted to try it without spending lots. Well the seals in the body of it leak badly so I'll have to take it apart and reseal with ptfe tape, however that didn't really cause a problem. It has two inlets a gas and a beer/wine inlet, it's really designed for beer as the tip of it doesn't quite reach the bottom of a wine bottle.
I've got the Blichmann to try with my current batch when I get around to it. To the best of my knowledge, theres no pressure build up/closing in of the bottle when filling. Its basically just a wee gun that can put CO2 or beer into the bottle. No bung or anything.It was a rather cheap Chinese piece from AliExpress, I wanted to try it without spending lots. Well the seals in the body of it leak badly so I'll have to take it apart and reseal with ptfe tape, however that didn't really cause a problem. It has two inlets a gas and a beer/wine inlet, it's really designed for beer as the tip of it doesn't quite reach the bottom of a wine bottle.
Lesson one pressurise the bottle by turning the tap to gas before adding the liquid - otherwise all you get is lots of foam - then after it's pressurised switch the tap to liquid.
two... trust the rubber bung and push it in so you can use both hands on the controls, use the lower tap that releases pressure to control the flow of liquid.
three, do this over a tray/bowl - you'll leak lots particularly the first time. After it's filled turn the tap to centre to stop liquid and gas.
And lastly, it does need repeating, don't whatever you do be tempted to release the bung till you've fully released the pressure using the tap. It would have made great comedy if filmed but I wasn't quite seeing the funny side at the time..
At least I'm clean now and out of my jeans into something a bit smarter.. we're having an afternoon tea from Piglets Pantry for Mother's day so I need to look a bit smarter and definitely not smell of wine.
Anna
I got the same filler from Ali Express earlier this year, not so cheap now you have to pay 20% VAT on the item and 20% VAT on shipping cost which is added on before the item is sent. Depends on the exchange rate on the day, mine came out at £37.38 inclusive but arrived in 8 days
Hmm... that was interesting. Short version, don't ease out the rubber cork on a counter pressure bottle filler till you've relieved the pressure first...
I'm covered in sparkling wine, as is the ceiling of the garage. I'm going for a shower and will write this up properly later. As for the yeast starter, it certainly seemed really happy and had generated quite a bit of heat in the short time it had been fermenting.
The guilty bottle filler (before I was soaked)
View attachment 43178
Mind you, this kind of stuff happens all the time when you lose concentration for a moment.
. Thankfully no bittering hops so just let it boil another 20min to hit my target volume.
and my OG just a wee bit off at 1.69 (hoped for 1.73). Given that it had oodles of time mashing and an extra bit of a sparge, it's difficult to see how I'd have got to 1.73!)
