Before fitting the airlock, full to the top?

[bottleinfrontofme]

Hi everyone, sorry another question. About to add the wine yeast and fit airlock to the demijohn, shall I fill near to top with sugar water? Or just water? Should it be warm to help the yeast? It's near to the top, but want this one to be better than the ruk I did before as that was half full or 70%

Thanks

 

[Dazzelknight]

Need more info. Is it a wine kit , or just grape juice.. what’s ur thinking in filling it ?. The head space will make no difference to the final result and adding sugar water will dilute the body of the wine resulting in a thin taste. Wine yeast is best at 20’c up to 25’c. If it’s a fruit wine then adding an appropriate shop bought juice would be better than a sugar wash.

 

[bottleinfrontofme]

Need more info. Is it a wine kit , or just grape juice.. what’s ur thinking in filling it ?. The head space will make no difference to the final result and adding sugar water will dilute the body of the wine resulting in a thin taste. Wine yeast is best at 20’c up to 25’c. If it’s a fruit wine then adding an appropriate shop bought juice would be better than a sugar wash.

Thanks. Just homemade, no kit. I've popped the yeast on and airlock, used vodka as haven't got any campden tablets left. It's in the boiler room. I was going to let it do the fermenting and then top up with apple juice to fill the jar up to nearly the top as apparently this helps prevent oxidizing. Thanks

 

[Chippy_Tea]

Don't worry about oxidisation when fermenting, fill to the shoulder then top up when fermenting has slowed.

 

[Clarence]

Ideally, the demijohn should be nearly full, but if you do that from the beginning, it's going to bubble over because of the fizzing and darting of the initial fermentation (although this depends on the yeast, the must and the temperature). The reason you want it as full as possible is not because of oxidation- the head space will be full of CO2- but because when you do come to top it up, you'll need less liquid.
I used to fill to half way up the shoulder and then use a small size freezer bag held in place with a rubber band fixed over the top Then, when the first fury of fermentation was over and the yeast began to settle, I'd rack the clear wine into a clean demi John and top up to the top of the shoulder/bottom of the neck and fit an airlock. I never used Campden tablets in my wine. Sulphur dioxide has a bleaching effect and can alter the colour of reds.
I've never used a kit, but aren't they supposed to make 6 bottles? That's a full demijohn so if you have a bit of topping up to do it means that the wine was already over the intended strength and you'll just be diluting it to what the kit-maker intended.
Topping up with vodka is a bit extravagant. If you use a lot of vodka you might take the whole over the alcohol tolerance of the yeast and end up with a sweeter wine than you intended.
So why don't I still make wine?
I prefer pints of beer. Pints of wine isn't a tenable long-term option. Also, I love the challenges of brewing beer. But if I had to make a choice of drinking material, it would be good traditional, west-country cider, made with proper cider apples, not supermarket juice or concentrate.
BUT
@bottleinfrontofme, you worry too much.
It's OK to make mistakes. Put your demijohn of wine on a tray or in a bucket, full it up and just see what happens. You might find everything goes well and you don't lose a drop. But, you've definitely got to do the learning curve for yourself.
Moral of the story: don't fork out for the most expensive kit you can find until you've got a grasp on what you're doing!

 

[Stevieboy]

Keep it where it is for primary fermentation, then as it slows, top up with either sugar water or grape juice/concentrate.

 

[bottleinfrontofme]

Ideally, the demijohn should be nearly full, but if you do that from the beginning, it's going to bubble over because of the fizzing and darting of the initial fermentation (although this depends on the yeast, the must and the temperature). The reason you want it as full as possible is not because of oxidation- the head space will be full of CO2- but because when you do come to top it up, you'll need less liquid.
I used to fill to half way up the shoulder and then use a small size freezer bag held in place with a rubber band fixed over the top Then, when the first fury of fermentation was over and the yeast began to settle, I'd rack the clear wine into a clean demi John and top up to the top of the shoulder/bottom of the neck and fit an airlock. I never used Campden tablets in my wine. Sulphur dioxide has a bleaching effect and can alter the colour of reds.
I've never used a kit, but aren't they supposed to make 6 bottles? That's a full demijohn so if you have a bit of topping up to do it means that the wine was already over the intended strength and you'll just be diluting it to what the kit-maker intended.
Topping up with vodka is a bit extravagant. If you use a lot of vodka you might take the whole over the alcohol tolerance of the yeast and end up with a sweeter wine than you intended.
So why don't I still make wine?
I prefer pints of beer. Pints of wine isn't a tenable long-term option. Also, I love the challenges of brewing beer. But if I had to make a choice of drinking material, it would be good traditional, west-country cider, made with proper cider apples, not supermarket juice or concentrate.
BUT
@bottleinfrontofme, you worry too much.
It's OK to make mistakes. Put your demijohn of wine on a tray or in a bucket, full it up and just see what happens. You might find everything goes well and you don't lose a drop. But, you've definitely got to do the learning curve for yourself.
Moral of the story: don't fork out for the most expensive kit you can find until you've got a grasp on what you're doing!

Thanks for the info. It's no wine kit, I just picked the plums and decided to make it. So 3lb of plums and 3lb of sugar has left me with nearly a full demijohn.
I didn't have any tablets left for the airlock I meant, so put vodka in the airlock. It's beginning to bubble away. I realised the wine yeast was over the best before, so did a sample test and is alive, so that's good. Put a teaspoon in sugar water and within 5 minutes it was fizzing and 30 mins it was forming a soft top.

I'll let the primary fermentation take place, not sure how long this is actually? As the recipe just said 2-3 months with the airlock. I guess a few weeks for the fermentation?
Thanks James

 

[Chippy_Tea]

I didn't have any tablets left for the airlock I meant, so put vodka in the airlock

I us Milton tablets to sanitise my gear then use a bit of that in the airlock, drink the vodka dont waste it

 

[bottleinfrontofme]

Hi everyone. Thanks for the advice. All much appreciated. One more question, it's been bubbling away well for 6 days now. Produced a lot of foam and now has dissipated. How long should I leave it before I top up with apple or grape juice? Could I just leave the airlock on for the next 2-3 months? Or do I remove the airlock, top up and refit th airlock? Recipe just said got airlock and leave for 2-3 months.

Many thanks

 

[jof]

Hmm. Same quantity of fruit as sugar - that sounds like a jam recipe.

I would aim for a max of 1kg sugar per demijohn, but that's just me

 

[bottleinfrontofme]

Hmm. Same quantity of fruit as sugar - that sounds like a jam recipe.

I would aim for a max of 1kg sugar per demijohn, but that's just me

Yes, that's what I thought, three recipes said same quantity on plum to sugar. So 3lbs of each. One person said it produced a slightly thicker liqueur rather than wine and the others said it was nice and thin. I guess I'll top it up with apple juice.

How long would I leave the airlock on before tipping up and would I refit the airlock afterwards? Is it OK to put any standard apple or grape juice in, no need for anything special? Thanks

 

[Nicks90]

Leave it for a few weeks and then add the apple juice to top up. Personally I would transfer ot to a clean demijohn then top up
Not massively important when you do it, as long as it's after the main primary fermentation has more or less finished.

As for the juice, just regular apple juice in a carton, Aldi and Lidl are cheap for a 1l jobbie

 

[bottleinfrontofme]

Leave it for a few weeks and then add the apple juice to top up. Personally I would transfer ot to a clean demijohn then top up
Not massively important when you do it, as long as it's after the main primary fermentation has more or less finished.

As for the juice, just regular apple juice in a carton, Aldi and Lidl are cheap for a 1l jobbie

Thanks for the info. I will do all of that. With the apple or grape juice, should I bring it to a boil and leave to cool before adding to the plum ? Was just trying to avoid contamination if I've steriliser the new demijohn etc, or does it not matter and can I just pour it in? Also, lastly, when the above is done, do I refit the airlock and leave for 2-3 months, or just a normal bung? I assume air will still need to get out so leave with airlock on? Thanks

 

[jof]

Just pour in juice from the carton - it should have been pasteurised by the manufacturer.

The juice will contain some sugar, so airlock back in & leave for a month or 2.

When it's nice and clear & no more bubbles from airlock, you can think about moving it off the sediment to a clean demijohn (racking).