Too much for demi john

[T00fy]

Hi, I just started my first wine, apple:

• 950g Coxs
• 2.45Kg Bramleys
• 625g Red Falstaff
• 250g Raisins.
• 4.5L water
• 1Kg Granulated Sugar
• 1 tsp Pectic Enzyme (Pectolase)
• 1 tsp Yeast
• 1 tsp Nutrient
• 2 tsp Citric Acid

Grated the apples and added the raisins, then boiled water and dissolved sugar in it then added this to the fruit and allowed to cool. Added Pectolase. Stirred twice a day. 2 days later added yeast, citric acid and yeast nutrient. This bubbled furiously for several days under the cap of fruit, which I stirred back into the must twice daily. After a week or so it quietened down quiet considerably so I filtered it into a demi john, squeezing the pulp to extract as much juice as possible. I ended up with an extra 1/4 - 1/3 dj of juice. What should I do with it? It seems a real waste to throw it away (it smells amazing!) but if I don't have a full dj then the air will ruin it... right?

 

[RobWalker]

maybe sanitize a litre plastic botle and bodge an airlock into the plastic lid? a quarter to a third is about 1-1.5L. you can have some headroom if it's fermenting, maybe you could bottle it immediately after fermentation.

worst case scenario, top the bottle up with white wine.

 

[Moley]

Keep the excess in some other (disinfected) bottle under airlock.

Don't worry about the headspace while it's still fermenting, any oxygen will be expelled by the carbon dioxide being produced.

Then you use the contents of the side bottle for topping up the main DJ after racking when fermentation has finished and a sediment has been thrown.

 

[alanywiseman.]

if you lack the equitment to put a hole in the lid of a bottle for an air lock use a ballon with a few holes pock in it :thumb:

 

[T00fy]

That sounds like a plan Moley. Was hoping I could do something like that cos I will lose some when I rack (got a kit wine going too and I lost some in that, not much but theres nowhere near as much pulp in it so... :

 

[Wimberry]

You could freeze the juice in a tupperware type container, I've done this a few times, just defrost when you need it, I find the freezing process actually improves the juice too, works a treat.
All the best

 

[PD]

a trip to the supermarket will find some of the glass 1 litre Scrumpy cider bottles, which are very handy for use as Moley says.

I just stick a thick wad of cotton wool in the top while the wine is fermenting.

 

[T00fy]

Well, I am a little concerned now with this apple wine. It's been 2 weeks since I racked it and I haven't seen much happen, except it's dropped a large sediment, no bubbles at all. I don't think I have seen any since I racked it I added a teaspoon of sugar and gave it a good shake yesterday to see if I could start it again (I took a reading while I was in there and it was about 1.040), still no bubbles. I am expecting this to be in the dj for a few months before I rack it again so why is there no sign of life? Shouldn't something be happening?

 

[PD]

Have you checked with a hydrometer ? Have you tasted it ? Is it sweet or dry ?

 

[T00fy]

yeah it was quite dry and read 1.040

 

[PD]

If your sure of the reading of 1.040 it may have got itself stuck.
Read here what to do with a stuck ferment

viewtopic.php?f=31&t=32181

 

[T00fy]

Wrong link thats for malting barley (I can't get kit ale right yet so thyat's a little premature :shock: )

 

[PD]

oops silly me..... early homebrew playing up...

viewtopic.php?f=30&t=15082

 

[T00fy]

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