Cellar Craft GP in 5 gallon paint strainer bag

[v1rotate]

I started my first GP kit last night. CC Red Mountain Cab. It is also
the first ferment in my 10 gallon bucket. I decided to try lining the
bucket with the paint strainer bag to make it easy to rack to secondary
for my first GP attempt. When I got to step 5 it occurred to me that I
wouldn't be able to mix the must for 2-3 minutes once I had the
strainer bag in place, so I stirred vigorously without the skins, added
the bentonite mix, stirred again, put the strainer bag on the pail,
added the skins, oak chips and yeast.



So the order I did the steps for primary fermentation was:



1 make bentonite mixture

2 add juice to bucket

3 rinse bag

4 add water to 23L (plus I stirred here)

6 take SG which read 1.078 before adding the GP?

8 add bentonite and stir

* Place sanitized strainer bag over container

5 add GP (I couldn't really stir here)

7 add oak chips

9 pitch yeast

10 cover container



Is this technique veterans use if you use the strainer bag?



One concern of mine is the skins contact with the rest of the must.
With a 10 gallon primary the skins are squeezed down a bit by the shape
of the strainer bag:

Also, do I have to stir at all? Or do I just leave the bag there until primary fermentation is done?

btw, I can hear the fermentation going after just 11 hours!


Thanks for your help.

 

[vcasey]

I never use the strainer bags, just let the skins float loose. For me they are a pain to work with and I have never had and trouble siphoning around them. Hint: I put the siphon in the bag when I rack.
I was lucky and got my hands on the Red Mountain Merlot last year. This cab is on my list of kits to make as I have heard a lot of outstanding reviews.
VPC

 

[v1rotate]

VPC, I thought about letting the skins float loose. I figure if I try it next time I should be able to rack at least half the batch to a second primary bucket and then put the strainer bag over the second bucket and just pour the rest of the must/skins through. Should be easy enough but I thought I would try this method first. Since it is fermenting, perhaps this method will work just fine. Or, did I do it wrong?

 

[rrussell]

I have this kit also and am going to start it this fall. I have heard good things also. It seems like that sg is low to me. Does anyone know if the grape pack will bring it up to a much higher level than it is now? I would think it should be more like 1.090 or higher.

 

[vcasey]

Jim you did fine and it will ferment well just like that. I just lazy and I think its easy the other way.
Ron the SG for my RM Merlot was 1097 after I added the skins (no idea what it was before). The fermentation started very quickly so I have no idea how much the skins add to the mix, but they do add.
VPC

 

[v1rotate]

I was surprised at the low SG reading also, Ron. It was at 78' but the corrected reading would be 1.079. I mixed the must very well and I'm sure the 23L line is correct on the new ferment bucket. But since I didn't stir in the GP before taking the reading I assume that is where the extra sugar comes in.

 

[grapeman]

The grapes are where the sugars come from in a wine- they have just been pressed to give you mostly concentrate to work with to make the job easier. You should get around the 1.090 you want or higher. I depends on how large the grape pack is.

 

[v1rotate]

So do people get a good starting SG reading when they use the paint strainer bag method?

 

[K&GB]

I see two potential problems. 1) you can't mix in the crushed grape pack well into the must and get an accurate initial SG. 2) you can't stir the must or punch down the cap during primary fermentation.


I always tie off the strainer bag and allow it to float freely in the must. It will sink at first but float after fermentation gets going. After the strainer bag floatsto the top, I stir the must twice daily.

 

[v1rotate]

I think you are right, Ken. I'll tie up the bag today.

 

[moto-girl]

I have a different primary and the paint strainer sits low in mine. Once the yeast is active I do stir everyday to keep the gp wet and to 'punch the cap down'.

 

[Dean]

Yep, you need to let the bag float freely and do a daily "punchdown", or do like I do, and have an old spoon that I use, with the lid pressing on it, to keep the grape pack submerged. Then no punchdown is required.

Also, I sanitize gloves and massage the grape pack to get all that jammy goodness into the must before I take my SG. You'll most likely find that it goes up to about 1.100 when you do that.

 

[v1rotate]

I have a different primary and the paint strainer sits low in mine. Once the yeast is active I do stir everyday to keep the gp wet and to 'punch the cap down'.

Yes, I suspect the tall fermenter doesn't lend itself to this technique. I have 2 more CC kits w/ GP to do and I will experiment.

 

[v1rotate]

Yep, you need to let the bag float freely and do a daily "punchdown", or do like I do, and have an old spoon that I use, with the lid pressing on it, to keep the grape pack submerged. Then no punchdown is required.



Also, I sanitize gloves and massage the grape pack to get all that jammy goodness into the must before I take my SG. You'll most likely find that it goes up to about 1.100 when you do that.

I like the spoon inside the bucket idea and may steal it from you Dean!

 

[smurfe]

If you tie that bag up, tie it where the stuff inside is loose. In other words, don't twist it down to the big ball of grape skins where they are a tight ball inside the bag. You want it loose so the must can soak all the way thought the mass inside the bag.

 

[v1rotate]

If you tie that bag up, tie it where the stuff inside is loose. In other words, don't twist it down to the big ball of grape skins where they are a tight ball inside the bag. You want it loose so the must can soak all the way thought the mass inside the bag.

That's what I figured, so I tied it up at the top with a coffee mug attached to weight it down.

What do you think about extending the primary ferment time to about 2 weeks in order to maximize the must contact with the GP? Also, I have to stabilize on Friday May 15th, so if I wait 2 weeks for step 2, I'll only have a week before stabilizing. That should be plenty of time to finish fermentation, I think, so I'm not sure what harm would be done.

 

[vcasey]

I am a fan of letting the wine ferment in the primary for as long as possible (within reason), it just makes degassing so much easier. That being said I would let it ferment as long as you can in the primary (watch the SG), rack to the secondary and honestly at this point you do not need to rush stabilizing at this point. So if you are going to be out of town the wine will be just fine for a couple of weeks or longer. If you do stabilize make sure that SG is stable for a couple of days.
VPC

 

[v1rotate]

VPC, I thought about leaving it on the fine lees, but we will be gone for 5 weeks... I'll be careful that it is done fermenting, but after 3 weeks it should be!

 

[vcasey]

I would hope it would be finished as well. If its not, the wine can easily sit on the fine lees for 5 weeks so you will be fine either way.
VPC

 

[v1rotate]

That's good to know. I wasn't sure how long was acceptable on fine lees.