back to school...

[keena]

so its time for me to move back into my apartment for school which is 120 miles from my wine den at home. My problem is that i dont want to part from my newly discovered hobby, but i think i might have some problems with taking my wine with me.

1. i only have my bedroom for space to do it and its always bright in there, will this affect my final results being exposed to so much light?

2. My house is a constant 60 degrees all winter long, is this to cold to get a good ferment going? will it stress the yeast or anything like that? also, when i first move in it will be warm, and we dont have A/C. will hot weather be an issue? the heat i can work around and just wait a month to move the wine in, but the cold is the big concern.

3. my room mates are always playing loud music, will vibrations be a large factor?


im hoping ill be able to continue my wine making over the school year but if im forced to just age the wine i was able to get done over summer then ill have to live with that. i have so many more recipes i wanna try! will i be forced to wait?

 

[Arne]

I'm guessing with a house full of college students your biggest problem is going to be having anything left to bottle, not worrying about the temps. in the house. You have to play the hands you are dealt, the wines will ferment out at those temps. They will probably ferment fast when the temps are high and slower with the lower temps. Check the charts on the yeast you are using and they will tell you how low or high the yeasts will work. Good luck with it, Arne.

 

[keena]

That's good, the temp is what I was most worried about. The roommates are no prob, we are on our 5th year and out of the party mode now, lol.

 

[Arne]

The temps mite give you a few problems, but you can work thru it. Things really slow down when it gets cold, but I have found if you wait, it will eventually finish out. Mite be next spring, but it should finish. Arne.

 

[keena]

I could get a space heater for fermenting most likely, but my carboys will be in the same room so they will then go through temp changes too. Would that be better or just leaving it cold be better

 

[robie]

Buy a $24 brew belt and put it around either the fermenter or the carboy. It will help get the temperature up. Don't sweat the light or vibrations, unless you intend to have pros taste your wine and you want to age it for 20 years. You can cover the wine with a cloth if you like.

Just work with what you have. Many of us have to do just that, Your wine will be fine.

Now the smell of wine fermenting... that just might be a different story. Some of us really like that smell, some "roommates" might not.

Oh, and stay in school; then maybe someday you will be able to afford your own full-sized wine room and cellar.

 

[keena]

The smell won't be a prob. And ok, I'll look into a brew belt, I have never seen one b4 but heard people talk about them on here a few times. I'll invest in one. Thanks guys, I'm enjoying brewing alot! I don't want to have to put it off for 9 months

Edit: and I'm def excited to have a brew room of my own. I have one now (thanks to my parents) but will be away from it while I'm in school.

 

[reefman]

I place all my carboys and fermentors in black plastic trash bags. They blocks the light and catch spills when stiring or taking samples for testing/tasting.

 

[UBB]

Someone on this site (I can't remember who) posted a pic of his/her carboys and covered them with cardboard boxes with the air lock poking out a hole in the top. Ingenious idea IMO and would work well for you if you are concerned about light exposure.

 

[Dend78]

Someone on this site (I can't remember who) posted a pic of his/her carboys and covered them with cardboard boxes with the air lock poking out a hole in the top. Ingenious idea IMO and would work well for you if you are concerned about light exposure.

its ROCKY see link below, if it doesnt take you right to it go to post #392

http://www.winemakingtalk.com/forum/f6/what-you-making-what-have-you-made-5926/index40.html#post361435

 

[keena]

Interesting idea, I knew I kept my boxes for some reason

Only thing wrong with that idea is I have this problem where I like to stare at my wine and its great colors when I'm bored, haha

 

[reefman]

Someone needs to invent a UV protected Carboy, so we can see the wine, but not worry about the light causing problems.

 

[keena]

They have to have the glass made already, just convincing them that its important for our carboys would be the tough part, lol