Do you put the bubbler airlock on after sprinking the yeast

[Putterrr]

Robie

I only make 6 week premium kits but have recently done Winery Series and En Primeur so I can only comment on these instructions

Why do the folks at RJS and WE not mention anything about stirring during primary fermentation?

RJS also states : Place cover (or lid with airlock and rubber bung) onto primary fermenter. WE just says to cover the fermenter. Neither say anything about making sure the wine gets additional O2.

I'm sure they have made thousands of these kits and if they didn't provide us with the best possible instructions, problems would arise and we would stop buying their kits.

(For full disclosure, I don't follow the instructions to a T but I also know that if there is an issue, its on me and not them)

 

[cfmiller]

Robie, that is why I hate the directions for the kits. They don't explain it well enough for beginners.

I put the lid on with an airlock. However, I give it a good stir once daily for the first week or so. It has worked so far. I don't like the idea of leaving something as flimsy as a towel over the hole.

 

[robie]

Robie, that is why I hate the directions for the kits. They don't explain it well enough for beginners.

I put the lid on with an airlock. However, I give it a good stir once daily for the first week or so. It has worked so far. I don't like the idea of leaving something as flimsy as a towel over the hole.

That will work!

 

[robie]

Robie

I only make 6 week premium kits but have recently done Winery Series and En Primeur so I can only comment on these instructions

Why do the folks at RJS and WE not mention anything about stirring during primary fermentation?

RJS also states : Place cover (or lid with airlock and rubber bung) onto primary fermenter. WE just says to cover the fermenter. Neither say anything about making sure the wine gets additional O2.

I'm sure they have made thousands of these kits and if they didn't provide us with the best possible instructions, problems would arise and we would stop buying their kits.

(For full disclosure, I don't follow the instructions to a T but I also know that if there is an issue, its on me and not them)

I believe some of the WE kits also say to snap down the lid and add an air lock. I just don't know which kits do and which don't.

Your question is one of my points. Consider that the red En Primer kits come with grape skins. The instructions also don't say anything about pushing down the grape skins or stirring them in. Go find an experienced wine maker who would agree with that!

If not pushed down, those skins will quickly (within the first 24 hours of the start of fermentation) come to the surface and stay there during the entire fermentation. They can very quickly start mildewing and eventually rotting. Not to mention the whole reasoning behind including a grape pack will be thwarted, if the grape skins are not mixed in regularly.

As I said in other threads, the kit manufacturer is likely more concerned with the wine becoming oxidized than with a quality fermentation... just my guess, though.

Also, I'm guessing they will maintain that if the must is stirred well before pitching the yeast, there will be enough O2 in the must to get through primary OK. Some pro wine makers believe this to be true for whites.

To have your question answered, you will have to ask WE and RJS.

I believe this whole discussion is doing more harm to new home wine makers than good. It has to be making them wonder what's going on. In the end, until one gets experienced, one should always follow the kit manufacturer's instructions. After that one can decide for one's self.

Fortunately, wine making is very forgiving, especially in our small 6-gallon batches.

 

[U-G]

I have my wine fermenting it's on the second day n my airlock is bubbling but its got a pink hue instead of clear..is that good still or shuld I just take the airlock off..

 

[barryjo]

I have my wine fermenting it's on the second day n my airlock is bubbling but its got a pink hue instead of clear..is that good still or shuld I just take the airlock off..

My guess is that your fermenter is pretty full. Therefore wine droplets are exiting the container via the airlock. My personal choice is to put a cloth over the fermenter and hold it with a rubber band. (I made up some bands using 1/4" bungee cord.)
This is left in place until the most active fermentation is done. Doing this prevents the lock from becoming plugged and you DON'T want that to happen. Trust me.
This also makes it easier to stir and squeeze the fruit bag, if present.
Later, the lid can be seated and the lock installed. Hint: use a cheap vodka instead of water or sulfite soltion in the lock.
Happy fermenting!

 

[BernardSmith]

confusion or a need to experiment?

Robie,
I am not sure I agree that discussions about whether to add an airlock or not from day 1 of the fermentation confuses those new to wine making or does more harm than good. I am a firm believer in experimentation. Received opinions about what is effective or what must fail may seem less confusing until we find that the ideas we thought were unquestionable turn out to be fictions. What we should be encouraging, I think is experimentation with small quantities of wine and determining whether a must ferments when we add an airlock on day one or whether a wine ferments more slowly or is more likely to stick when we inhibit the yeast's access to air at the beginning of the fermentation; whether "anaerobic" fermentation makes any difference whether we are fermenting just the juice or juice and fruit. I strongly agree that wine, like bread, is very forgiving... but I think if we in fact experiment rather than invoke received wisdom and opinion we may be less anxious and more relaxed when either we or someone else finds that they have failed to follow instructions for one reason or another.

 

[Tom_S]

Personally I really don't think it matters one way or another if you add an airlock to the primary or not, with caveats. I talked about this in another thread recently.

I often use a carboy for a primary fermentation vessel. I sprinkle the yeast on top, then leave a piece of paper towel over the mouth of the carboy for a day or so, until fermentation takes off and is bubbling vigorously. Then I'll add an airlock.

One argument is that the yeast need oxygen in primary, which is correct while the yeast are reproducing. Once they've reproduced and change over to the fermentation stage, they're producing so much CO2 that there's little chance any oxygen is going to get into the must anyway. The CO2 forms a layer on top of the must, and if it's a very vigorous ferment like I usually get, stirring isn't going to add much oxygen. But from what I've read, at this point they really don't need much oxygen anyway.

So it won't hurt to add an airlock in primary, (and this is important) as long as a vigorous ferment is occurring. Now the first day or two after adding yeast, it's important then that the yeast gets oxygen. So never add an airlock just after adding yeast.