First-Timer seeking tips

[ColonelDukeLacrosse]

Made beer a few times before. Using juice from Kit (Valpolicella). 7 days after primary fermentation. Was still bubbling in airlock yesterday when I tested with Hydrometer. That was the first time I opened the lid (directions did not say to stir).

 

[ColonelDukeLacrosse]

Oh yeah, did I mention that I did not 'sprinkle' yeast on top. I read the directions on the yeast packet, instead if the kit, and rehydrated the yeast before STIRRING in vigorously. So that happened. Hoping it doesn't completely ruin everything.

 

[ColonelDukeLacrosse]

So, since yesterday (when I cracked the lid and stirred & tested), bubbling seems to have stopped in airlock. Please advise:

1) is it time to rack? Only been 7 days, and it's below 70 degrees where I am fermenting.
2) do I need to "whip" the wine to de-gas?
3) can anyone recommend a nifty thrifty test container? Couldn't find anything suitable in house, been dropping hydrometer right in the bucket & craning my neck to get a read.
4) are there any tricks/tips to multiple rackings if you only have 1 carboy & bucket? Is this necessary? Kit says no, but I want good hooch.
5) filtering sediment: where/why/when/how?

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

[1tonmama]

Welcome!

1) What's the SG reading of your must? If it below 1.010 you can transfer to secondary. It should be based on your SG reading rather than the number of days fermenting.
2) If you are manually degassing, you want alternate the direction of stir rather than creating a big vortex by constantly stirring in one direction. I "whip" the must by quickly stirring in the opposite direction while stirring to reverse the spin. Of course degassing is done when the while is completely dry (SG below 0.994~6).
3) I can't think of one but someone here may have an alternate. Considering the test jar costs about $2, it wasn't really on my list to value engineer out of the process...
4) Racking is necessary to clear your wine off of the sediments. If you have only 1 bucket and carboy, you can always 1) rack the wine off of the carboy into a clean, sanitized bucket 2) clean and sanitize your carboy 3) transfer the wine back into your carboy. You need to be careful to sanitize as you are introducing more equipment contact with your wine by adding extra step of the bucket and also you need to be careful to minimize the oxygen exposure to the wine as racking is when your wine is most susceptible to the exposure to oxygen. Definitely use K-meta and minimize splashing when racking.
5) The first time you rack after the stabilization/clearing period is when most of the sediment gets removed from your wine. The wine may still produce some sediment, which is why you want to rack couple more times after that before bottling. If you plan to filter, I believe that is done right before bottling but someone else may be able to shed more light on filtering as I have no experience with it.

Cheers~

 

[Rocky]

"3) can anyone recommend a nifty thrifty test container? Couldn't find anything suitable in house, been dropping hydrometer right in the bucket & craning my neck to get a read."

Did your hydrometer come in a plastic tube? If so, do you still have the tube? If you use this, be sure to sanitize it with K-meta solution.

 

[cpfan]

So, since yesterday (when I cracked the lid and stirred & tested), bubbling seems to have stopped in airlock. Please advise:

1) is it time to rack? Only been 7 days, and it's below 70 degrees where I am fermenting.
2) do I need to "whip" the wine to de-gas?
3) can anyone recommend a nifty thrifty test container? Couldn't find anything suitable in house, been dropping hydrometer right in the bucket & craning my neck to get a read.
4) are there any tricks/tips to multiple rackings if you only have 1 carboy & bucket? Is this necessary? Kit says no, but I want good hooch.
5) filtering sediment: where/why/when/how?

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

1) Follow the instructions. Check the sg and decide. Tough for me to comment on process without knowing WHICH Valpolicella, and the current sg.

2) Careful "whipping" you don't want to introduce a lot of oxygen into the wine.

3)Fermtech Wine Thief

4) no tricks. Just rack to primary. Clean & sanitize the carboy and rack back. Stirring while in the primary pail is a good way to degas.

5) filtering is done at the very end. Nice clear lloking wine with no sediment is when you filter.

Good luck with your new adventure.

Steve

 

[ColonelDukeLacrosse]

"3) can anyone recommend a nifty thrifty test container? Couldn't find anything suitable in house, been dropping hydrometer right in the bucket & craning my neck to get a read."

Did your hydrometer come in a plastic tube? If so, do you still have the tube? If you use this, be sure to sanitize it with K-meta solution.

I tried that, but it wasn't tall enough. When I filled it with wine the hydrometer rested on the bottom.