So excited!

I know you all have heard this a millions times before but I can't help myself. My very first batch has been in the bucket for 3 days now, and the must looks like a 6gal fresh poured grape soda! Pretty neat. I'm stirring twice a day, and every time I stir it, it seems like the activity at least doubles! When the airlock bubbles start to slow, I'll check the SG, and rack accordingly.

BTW... This first batch is Welch's Concord from concentrate, (Standard 3 can /gal recipe that I've seen a bunch of times here. Put everything in the bucket on the 17th w/ S.G. of 1.090, Pitched yeast on the 18th, saw some signs of life yesterday, and today after I pushed the cap down and stirred the must, It took off!

Man this is neat! (instant addict in the making, lol).

Thanks to everyone here for such a great site, and great info!

Aweome to hear you're having fun. It is addicting.

Brian, welcome to wine making and the site.
Tony P.

Better rustle up some more cash! You are going to need more carboys!

Thanks, guys. Still going strong as of this morning. I proabably ain't going to bother checking SG until things start to slow down a bit.

The foam rose up to about 1" away from the top of the bucket when I stirred it this morning. Hope it settles back down. Those 7.9gal buckets seem to cut it close on a 6gal batch.

Dangerdave is correct, I started on the 7th of july with one kit, already have 8 carboys and jugs and 6 primarys in different sizes and am in arbitration with my wife for more. Enjoy.
Mike

LOL, wait til you get it into the secondary. Put the air lock on and watch the bubbles. Don't take much to entertain some of us. Arne.

dangerdave said:

Better rustle up some more cash! You are going to need more carboys!

Click to expand...

LOL, Already got a 3gal today when I stopped to get a wine thief and oak chips

Arne said:

LOL, wait til you get it into the secondary. Put the air lock on and watch the bubbles. Don't take much to entertain some of us. Arne.

Click to expand...

Count me among the easily entertained! I put it on Yesterday, because I was getting paranoid about a dog incident happening with the lid just laying on the bucket, not snapped down. (plus, deep down inside, I just wanted to watch the airlock go!)

Still bubbling strong. Checked the SG when I got home from work just now. Was 1.043 and it's still going good. The foam wasn't as deep tonight, but it's still fizzing away really good. Just checked it for S&G's, because I haven't checked it since I pitched the yeast 4 days ago.

I don't know if it's important or not, but I wiped the splatter from the inside of the lid, and the sides above the foam cap. Sprayed some K-meta on a paper-towel, and wiped it off.

bover907 said:

LOL, Already got a 3gal today when I stopped to get a wine thief and oak chips

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And so it begins. May this lead to a long and fruitful winemaking hobby.

Still bubbling strong. Checked the SG when I got home from work just now. Was 1.043 and it's still going good. The foam wasn't as deep tonight, but it's still fizzing away really good. Just checked it for S&G's, because I haven't checked it since I pitched the yeast 4 days ago.

Click to expand...

The foam will subside (as you have noticed), and it will just fizz nicely until it is dry. That's my favorate part, really. My basement gets filled with the distinct odor of working yeast. Then, I know I'm making wine!

I don't know if it's important or not, but I wiped the splatter from the inside of the lid, and the sides above the foam cap. Sprayed some K-meta on a paper-towel, and wiped it off.

Click to expand...

You act like you've done this before. Good show! It's not really necessary, but wiping things off makes you feel like you're doing something while the wine is cooking.

Thanks, Dave. No, haven't done this before, just obsessed on reading before I started.

SG @ 1.023 now, and fizzing more-so than foaming this morning, so I think I'm going to rack it later today. Here's a quick question. If my must is right at the 6gal mark in the bucket, where will that put me in the headspace department on the 23L Italian glass carboy? IIRC I should fill the carbly up to the shoulder (where the sides start to curve in?) and then put the rest in a smaller bottle with bung/airlock for topping off when dry.

I guess I can put my oak chips in with this first rack, right? Do I have to do anything to prep the oak chips, like soaking them in K-meta? With all the obsession on sanitizing, it would seem counter-intuitive to just open the package and dump them in. Seems like even though I read stuff, I always need re-assurance that I understand things. Little OCD going on here.

Racked to secondary at 1.013 last night. used about 1/2 cup of med toast french oak chips. The LHBS owner said most people just dump the oak chips, etc right in. Being anal like I am, I put a little bit of water in a pot with the oak chips and simmered them for a bit.