I found this 8.5 Gal bottle, Since all kits call for 6 gal, which Cab kit can I cheat on and make 2 - 5 gal batches?
I figure, out of the 10 gal batch, 8.5 can fill this one up plus a 1 gal, the remaining is usually lees anyway.
adding to much water will only dilute the wine to something not tasteful. I would use this bottle to age wine from grapes. could also get two wine kits and use a smaller carboy for extra gallons.
How do you move this when it's full? It has to weigh close to 90 pounds. A couple of weeks ago I lifted a 70 pound carboy from a chair to a four foot high table. It was getting a little bit heavy from where it rested at 3'4" to the top of the table. An electric pump syphon system would come in handy.
I filled it up with water to measure how much it would hold and picking it up was a bitoch,,, just going to sit it on a some blocks when I get ready for bulk storage.
If i was in your shoes- I’d reach out to Mr kit-tweaker himself - @joeswine - to double check.
Just b/c it’s Master Vintner. Usually the ones I read bumped to 5gal are names I don’t recognize.