first time makin wine kit. worried about overflow

[shanek17]

So this is my first wine kit and im following these paper instructions for the wine kit. but somethin tells me that there will be alot of foam comin out and overflow! i have made red wine from frozen concentrate and it was bubbiling out of the 1 gallon jug and making a mess. and now iv got this kit in a 6 gal carboy. so im trying to thibk ahead here.
Its a barolo red wine with champagne yeast number EC-1118. the instruction said to top up with quality water to 23liters. . so i did that. and luckily i have a bit of head space. but do you all think this will be a big mess? are there any ideas incase it begins erupting like a volcano. i was thinkin of adding a big funnel on the top to give the wine extra space to move up if it needs it. but no time for testing rite now cuz i gotta go to work! Ill check on the post later tonight. thanks

 

[cpfan]

Shane:

1. Which kit are you making? Knowing the exact kit can help us to provide better answers. Most kits make 5 Imperial gallons or 6 US gallons or 23 litres. (Knowing your location often helps too. It would appear that you are in Canada or the UK based on your post.)
2. Are you starting this kit in the carboy? You should starting your wines in a primary fermenter (pail) preferably with enough spare room. I would recommend a 7.9 US gallon primary minimum in case you decide to get into kits with grape skins. Then you shouldn't have to worry about overflow.

Steve

 

[shanek17]

oh good point steve. its a vino italiano 4 week wine kit. as i said its a red barolo wine. it says on the box it makes 23 liters or 6US gallons. i am in southern ontario canada. Our weather has been up and down as we approach summer but lately its been warmer thats why i got it this batch started last night. yes i put rite into a carboy i thought that would be better. but i do have plastic pails. is it too late to siphon it into a pail. or would that be too much stress on the yeast? its been about 24 hours and there is fermentarion activity happenin rite now!

 

[robie]

oh good point steve. its a vino italiano 4 week wine kit. as i said its a red barolo wine. it says on the box it makes 23 liters or 6US gallons. i am in southern ontario canada. Our weather has been up and down as we approach summer but lately its been warmer thats why i got it this batch started last night. yes i put rite into a carboy i thought that would be better. but i do have plastic pails. is it too late to siphon it into a pail. or would that be too much stress on the yeast? its been about 24 hours and there is fermentarion activity happenin rite now!

No stress on the yeast at this point. It would actually help add more air (for the O2), which is a benefit early on in fermentation. As Steve said, you really should move this to a bucket, as you will surely get a lot of foam.

If you don't have a bucket designed specifically for fermentation, use a food grade bucket.

 

[DoctorCAD]

You say you put it in a 5 gallon carboy???

23 liters is 6 gallons. How can you fit 23 liters in a 5 gallon carboy and still have headspace?

 

[shanek17]

good call doc! I just edited it to 6 gallons. Its a 6 gallon carboy. I do have a plastic jug but the thing is it had beer in it before. my uncle makes beer and he gave me it to use. is that okay to use it for wine? i have Cleaned it out already but iv heard it can transfer flavours over. Or is that just a urban legend? haha

also i noticed there is thick jelly looking gunk building up around the neck of tbe carboy, as you can see in the picture. but im wonderin if i svould be stirring it in there. is it good to stir during primary?

 

[cpfan]

You say you put it in a 5 gallon carboy???

23 liters is 6 gallons. How can you fit 23 liters in a 5 gallon carboy and still have headspace?

Doc...He's a Canadian. 5 Imperial (or Canadian) gallons equals 6 US gallons. (As I said in my first post.)

Steve

 

[shanek17]

So i came home just now and my wine was overflowin all over. today was really hot here so i guess thats why. i ended up puttin a big funnel in the top and its working. now the over flow has alot of extra space to do its thing. I could transfer it to my pail tommorow. after i check that its big enough. but im still wondering if its okay to use this pail. The pail is made for alcohol brewin but its been used exclusivley for beer. is this goin to ruin the wine? or is it not of concern.

you see the ladie who told me not too use beer fermenters for wine use, was also a equipment salesperson so i dont know if she was just trying to sell more equipment : /

 

[cpfan]

I like to keep my beer pail separate from my wine pails. Other folks don't seem to think that it is a problem.

Stick your nose in the pail. If it really really smells of beer, then you probably don't want to use it. If the beer smell is non-existent or very mild, then go right ahead.

BTW, the funnel idea is quite inventive.

Steve

 

[shanek17]

Doc...He's a Canadian. 5 Imperial (or Canadian) gallons equals 6 US gallons. (As I said in my first post.)

Steve

yea i am canadian. but i think my carboy is a american standard size. Because on the bottom it says 6 gallons (23 liters). actually it also says made in mexico on it so im assuming mexico and the US have the same measurment standard. however i find these different country standards confusing!

 

[DoctorCAD]

yea i am canadian. but i think my carboy is a ameri an standsrd size. Because on the bottom it says 6 gallons (23 liters). actually it also says made in mexico on it so im assuming mexico and the US have the same measurment standard. however i find these different standards confusing!

The made in Mexico ones are 6 US gallons.
You can just continue to primary in the carboy, the worst of the foaming should be done in a week or so.

You will need to top off the carboy for secondary fermentation, with as much as you are losing, I'd use a wine with the same grape as the kit. Read the directions, some say to top up right at transfer to the secondary, some say not to top up until final.

 

[Arne]

If you set the carboy in some kind of tray, or take a large garbage bag and set it in, the mess is much easier to clean up If it decides to overflow. Guess how I know. Arne.

 

[g8keeper]

for future, for primary fermentation, you always want to use a vessel larger than your intended batch...to make it easier on yourself from now on, get yourself, if you can, a 7.9 gallon (us) (not sure off-hand what the imperial equivalent is) bucket with a lid to use as a primary, which will ensure that when doing a 6 gallon batch, you will have plenty of headspace for your vigorous primary fermentation and won't have to worry about spill over (at least under MOST circumstances)....if you choose to go with an all glass route, i would suggest buying a 6.5 gallon carboy, perhaps for doing 5 gallon batches and/or perhaps larger demijohns for bigger batches....but for cost sake, and convenience if you choose to wines from fresh fruit and grapes, i would recommend going with plastic fermenters....you can even pick up food grade plastic trash buckets to use for batches over 10 gallons....just giving up a heads up for the future....

 

[robie]

It's not required that you top off during secondary fermentation, other than maybe just to replace the wine you lost from the wine volcano incident. Always top off during clearing and during any bulk aging.

That beer fermentor bucket will work fine, if it is food grade and does not smell like beer. In the long run I would have a separate bucket for wine fermentation.

 

[DoctorCAD]

It's not required that you top off during secondary fermentation, other than maybe just to replace the wine you lost from the wine volcano incident. Always top off during clearing and during any bulk aging.

That beer fermentor bucket will work fine, if it is food grade and does not smell like beer. In the long run I would have a separate bucket for wine fermentation.

Some kits actually have you top off for secondary, some during final.

 

[Pebbles]

I've been doing kits for almost 2 years now. My hubby does beer. We have been using the same glass carboys for awhile. I do have my own wine primaries but that's because I'm good @ keeping my full & I will fill up a carboy as soon as its empty

 

[Pebbles]

Also I've never had any issued with overflowing with any kits (I've done about 8 different ones) in a primary bucket. I started with a 6.5 gal primary & have purchased another 7.9 gal. I think the bigger one does better, personally.

 

[sully]

i have 2 sizes of carboys one is 6 gal and the other 5 i believe. i start in fermenting bucket for 5-7 days after this i get a hydro reading and if right i move to 6 gal carboy for a week or so when ready for stage three i move into a smaller carboy same size as yours in picture i believe. the tight head space gives less oxygen on top but i move to smaller carboy after fermentation has stopped. never tried that tight head space when fermenting i will be curious how it turns out.

 

[shanek17]

i have 2 sizes of carboys one is 6 gal and the other 5 i believe. i start in fermenting bucket for 5-7 days after this i get a hydro reading and if right i move to 6 gal carboy for a week or so when ready for stage three i move into a smaller carboy same size as yours in picture i believe. the tight head space gives less oxygen on top but i move to smaller carboy after fermentation has stopped. never tried that tight head space when fermenting i will be curious how it turns out.

cool. yea i guess its good to have variety of carboys and pails so you can be creative with it. i do have a good amount of head space for secondary now. and i think it will work our nicely since i will be topping up with the kits additives and chemicals soon. also iv seen craig from craigtube mention diluting one of his additives from his kit; i believe it was pot sorbate. so using this method may be a good way of helping top up the carboy. but well see when i get there.

 

[lorne]

I've used pails for both wine and beer for over 10 yrs. with out a problem. Just ensure the pail is a food grade and that you clean/sterilize after each use and unless immediately using again, do the sterilizing before the next use. And of course, rinse, rinse, rinse!