Stuck with a 25 litre fermenting vat for brewing 30 bottles

[cwrw]

I've picked up a muntons premium kit from Wilko (all juice), but I am a bit stuck for spares and I have a 25 litre vat x2 at disposal for the task - that means loads of headspace (too much) any suggestions. Also I was thinking of adding some oak chips and a little (500g) of sugar to bring out some dryness and extra complexity - is that going to pan out favourably? :hmm:

 

[Moley]

25-30 litre FV is fine, just leave the lid on and forget about it for a while, the head of carbon dioxide will protect it from any nasties.

Oak chips could be beneficial, sugar won't add anything apart from increasing the alcohol content and potentially throwing the wine out of balance.

If you want to increase the abv, make it a couple of bottles short.

 

[cwrw]

Cheers for that Moley :thumb:. I haven't physically got my hands on the kit but was worried within the context of racking (and haven't done a kit before), due to the headspace/oxidisation risk, as I have no smaller vessel than the 25s.

 

[Megaross]

You'd be best with a demijohn/ carboy for racking, but strictly speaking when you degass it'll blanket itself in CO2 anyway (because it's heavier than air) so shouldn't be too bad, just don't wait too long before bottling.

 

[cwrw]

Too long being...? :wha:

 

[Chippy_Tea]

My bucket is measured to 23 litres then above that there is 2.5 inch of space, i use it for kits and have never had a problem, the instructions say to wait until it has finisher fermenting then add finings and stabiliser and after 3 days, if after 3 days it is clear (it always is) then bottle it.

 

[cwrw]

Lovely stuff, and sounds really simple. I was hoping to bulk age instead of bottling as I wanted to introduce oak chips...but parhaps I can do this within this initial stage before I bottle in the hope that the wood would impart some flavour in this time frame?

 

[Tim_Crowhurst]

Instinct tells me that it would be better to add the oak chips during the initial fermentation. In addition to vanillin and other compounds, they'll add a lot of tannin, so you might not want the chips in too long or you could end up with a wine that is too astringent and needs longer aging. This is mainly an issue for wines that are already high in tannins, like red grape, tea or elderberry. A white wine or turbocider would benefit from the extra tannin.

 

[Megaross]

3 weeks max I'd say, you really need a proper demi or carboy for bulk aging.

Unless you have a CO2 tank and could give it a fresh blanket every so often.

 

[cwrw]

In combination of both replies - It would be safe to say that adding 20g of chips at the initial fermentation stage, and hanging on a week more (total 2 weeks), would benefit the flavour. Then place the bulk (instead of bottling) into a converted gas priming vessel I have for a period of 4 months, whilst injecting a spirt of co2 once a month to top up; and bottling following this?