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100LL

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i have been noticing a lot of people mentioning to stir the wine during the primary fermentation. And in addition to test for temp and SG levels.

I guess my question is...does taking the lid of the bucket during primary fermenting and testing for this affect the wine in anyway...how often should you do this?

Thanks for the help
 
100LL Welcome to the forum. There is no need to lock your lid down during fementation. Many people just lay a towell over the opening to keep bugs out. So to answer your question it does not matter if you open it up during fermentation.
 
thanks runningwolf.

i have been trying to follow the kit directions as closely as possible, but i have noticed that there are many other ways people go about this first stage.

for this first batch i have had the lid down, and air lock installed from day one, and have noticed that there is definitely something happening, how does leaving just a towel there in place of the lid affect the fermentation?
 
I also lock the lid down with an air lock. Follow the kit instructions and you will be fine. Either way works. Once you rack from the primary to the carboy it will be very important to keep the airlock in place as your must will be giving off less gas to protect the wine.
 
its only been a few days since i started getting into this hobby....something tells me that with all the techniques and different ways to make wine out there, that this might become a slight obsession....:)

thanks for the help
 
its only been a few days since i started getting into this hobby....something tells me that with all the techniques and different ways to make wine out there, that this might become a slight obsession....:)

thanks for the help
OBSESSION? :dg
Did I hear
OBSESSION? :dg
been there and went PAST it!
 
For the Wine Expert kits, the instructions say

"Cover the Primary Fermenter".

That's it. They don't say to lock the lid down or attach an airlock. It took me a couple of kits to realize that. I guess it wouldn't hurt anything, but it's a lot more fun to have the lid loose so you can take a peak now and then and also a lot easier to check the SG once you see that the ferment is slowing. So my vote is to just set the lid on the bucket without snapping it down.

I've just started stirring my primary on the current kit (my second batch of W.E. Luna Rosa). I waited until the oak chips had dropped from the surface and the ferment was just past the peak activity. It's an experiment for me to see how this changes the result, if at all. My first Luna Rosa kit would not go below 0.998, so I'm hoping these little tweaks will make it ferment to a lower SG.
 
For the Wine Expert kits, the instructions say

"Cover the Primary Fermenter".

That's it. They don't say to lock the lid down or attach an airlock. It took me a couple of kits to realize that. I guess it wouldn't hurt anything, but it's a lot more fun to have the lid loose so you can take a peak now and then and also a lot easier to check the SG once you see that the ferment is slowing. So my vote is to just set the lid on the bucket without snapping it down.

I've just started stirring my primary on the current kit (my second batch of W.E. Luna Rosa). I waited until the oak chips had dropped from the surface and the ferment was just past the peak activity. It's an experiment for me to see how this changes the result, if at all. My first Luna Rosa kit would not go below 0.998, so I'm hoping these little tweaks will make it ferment to a lower SG.

ill give that a try on my next batch, did you use anything to cover the whole in the lid of the primary?
my kit also says not to stir in the yeast but ill give that a try as well....guess i'll have to make another few batches :h
 
If it says not to stir it I guess I wouldn't. Mine doesn't say anything either way so I'm giving it a try. I just set my instructions over the hole in the fermenter cover to keep dust out.
 
If it says not to stir it I guess I wouldn't. Mine doesn't say anything either way so I'm giving it a try. I just set my instructions over the hole in the fermenter cover to keep dust out.

sounds good to me, thanks for the advice
 
ill give that a try on my next batch, did you use anything to cover the whole in the lid of the primary?
my kit also says not to stir in the yeast but ill give that a try as well....guess i'll have to make another few batches :h

I add the yeast to some room temp sugar water to rehrydrate and get them going then dump in after 30 min.
 

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