sparkling wine

[iVivid]

Here is a link to a rather inexpensive keg. Use this to get champagne on tap. I use these to make sode, beer, sparkling skeeter pee, and champagne.

http://www.bvrgelements.com/product/5-Gallon-PIN-Lock-Kegs__Used/?gclid=CK6p68yj9roCFZMDOgodJnAAzw

For a complete dummy JohnT? How do you use this? (hangs head in ignorance)...

 

[JohnT]

For a complete dummy JohnT? How do you use this? (hangs head in ignorance)...

Ok, In as much detail as possible about "champagne on tap".

About the keg
This is 5 a gallon stainless steel keg. At the top of the keg, there is a fist-size opening. This opening is closed off by a "clamp lid" with an "o-ring" seal (always included with the keg). The lid is designed so that the more pressure put on it, the tighter the seal.

The keg does not have the standard ball-valve (or Sankey). Instead, it has two "posts" that will accept a 2 prong coupler (for gas input) and a 3 pin coupler (for expelling fluid).

Inside the keg, a "draw-tube" goes straight to the bottom. This is great since you can then "draw off" the first pitcher or so of sediment and be left with nice clean champagne.

The keg normally has a safety release valve rated at 100psi or so, the keg will never explode on you.

Other equipment
In addition to the keg, you will need a keg-er-ator. If you already have one, then it should already have a CO2 tank and a regulator.

You will also need a "two prong" coupler and a "three prong" coupler to connect your keg to the regulator and to your tap. These are rather inexpensive and you should be able to order these in addition to your keg.

It also might be a good idea to get a small tub of "keg lube". More on that later.

That's it. A keg, two couplers, and some keg lube.


Process
I like a single step method. In this method, I use a single inoculation of yeast to ferment the wine AND carbonate it. This method is time critical, and requires a little more attention, but is reliable and easy.

1) Choose a wine: You can add sparkle to any wine. I once sampled a sparkling pear wine that absolutely shocked the heck out of me on how good it was. I have also made sparkling skeeter pee that is "to die for" in the summer.

Traditionally, champagne is made from mostly two grapes. Either chardonnay or pinot noir (or a blend of both). If you like a dry, Dom type of champagne, then go with a chardonnay (aka blanc de blanc). If you like it more soft, then I would suggest not using pinot (can get dicey since it is a red grape), but instead try using Riesling or chennin blanc. I have used both, blended with chardonny, and have liked the results.

Settling on the grapes you use will be the toughest past of the process.


2) Pitch your yeast in the base wine (primary fermentation): Make your base wine as you normally would and go with the same yeast that you normally would. The interesting fact is that most yeast will begin to die out at 35psi and you can expect your pressure to go as high as 60psi, so there really is no need to use a "champagne yeast" like EC-1118. I have had great success using D-47. You definitely DO NOT want to apply sorbate and (if you do your math right) no need to back sweeten at the end. Simply put your base wine together and pitch your favorite yeast as you normally would.

The most important thing is to take your initial hydrometer reading. I found it best to work in terms of Brix and not specific gravity.


3) Choose a level of sweetness: OK, so now you need to decide just how sweet you like your champagne (or how much residual sugar you want).

There are two ways to go on this. You can either try to retain the natural sugars in the wine, or you can try to add additional sugar before you go into secondary (carbonation) fermentation.

If you decide to keep the natural sugars, you control this by waiting for the appropriate time during fermentation process. It goes without saying that the level of sweetness will impact the level of alcohol using this method.

You can expect to loose 1 to 2% of your sugar due to carbonation. This is the sugar that your yeast will continue to consume until the CO2 pressure finally kills it off. Of course, a lot depends how full your keg is and also the type of yeast you are using, but figuring 1 to 2% loss is a good rule of thumb.

The following chart reflects what I have found to be the results by brix rating. Do not turn your nose up at grape soda. It is safe for the kids to drink and was also a good non-alcoholic alternate beverage.

Initial brix: 24

Brix Consumed Result
Up to 1 grape soda
1 to 9 Sturm or fedderweiss (or grape hard cider, yummy)
9 to 14 Sec (or very sweet champagne)
14 to 18 Sweet Champagne
18 to 22 Semi Sweet Champagne
22 to 24 Dry Champagne
23.99 Brute champagne


For a brute type champagne, I let the base wine ferment to the point where it is still cloudy and the lees (sediment) begins to form. At the point, most (if not all) of the sugar has been consumed, but the yeast is still quite alive and active.

Since, at this point, there is really no residual sugar, you need to "prime" the champagne (or add enough priming sugar to carbonate the wine). The rule of thumb is 24 grams per 750ml. So, for each "bottle's worth" of champagne you place into the keg, you will need to add 24 grams of priming sugar. This can be the same type of priming sugar that beer makers use (which is not supposed to result in cloudiness). For a full carboy, I figure 23 bottles (allowing for discarded lees/sediment) so I add 552 grams of priming sugar to the keg before I add my base wine.


4) Magic Time - Begin carbonation - I sanitize the keg as I would anything else. I simply add any required priming sugar (if any) to my keg, add my base wine, and lid/seal the keg. I find that I like to apply some "Keg Lube" (a food safe petroleum jelly) to the o-ring before I seal the keg. The keg lube will keep the o-ring moist and keep it from drying out and cracking over time.

Fill the keg, but do not over-fill it! Leave at least a 2 inch gap between the gas intake tube and the top level of the base wine. While filling the keg, try to keep as much sediment behind as possible.

Once sealed, I give the keg a good shake (by rocking the top of the keg) to help build the pressure us quickly. Some folks prefer to pump in a little CO2 just to build enough pressure in the keg to seat the o-ring, but I find just shaking the keg will build up enough pressure almost immediately.

Once the pressure seats the o-ring, I invert the keg and give it a good shake (again by rocking it). This is to dissolve any priming sugar at the bottom of the keg.

I like to purge the gas in the keg at least once. I take a nail and push down on the center of the "gas intake" post to release some (but not all) of the gas. This will purge most of the air out of the keg. Once purging is complete, I then give the keg another good shake (by rocking it) to build the pressure back up.

I then place the keg in a warm spot (65 to 75 degrees) for about a week to give the yeast a chance to carbonate, build up pressure, and begin to die off.


5) Aging - the big chill:
After a week, I place the keg into the keggerator to chill it down. I do not hook the keg up at this time. I just leave the keg to cool for 4 months minimum.

The funny thing about CO2 and carbonation is that CO2 dissolves into COLD solutions. Just think of opening a warm beer (which fizzes up violently, then goes flat) VS opening a cold beer (which slowly releases its gas). This is because CO2 goes into solution at cold temperatures, so the name of the game here is to chill the champagne down and keep it that way for a good long time. The longer you wait, the better the end product will be.

Every couple of weeks I give the keg a little shake (just rock it a but) to get any lees or sediment to settle firmly at the bottom of the keg.


6) Time to tap - happy time

Before you tap the keg, you first need to remember that a beer keg operates at about 10 to 12 psi, while your keg can be as high as 60 psi. In short, you need to expel the excess gas. This is made safe and clean if you remembered to leave an appropriate amount of headspace when you filled the keg with your base wine. Feel free to release as much of the pressure as possible, just make sure that the champagne is cold.

Hook the gas intake post to your keggerator's regulator (set to 12 psi) and the fluid output to your keggerator's tap. Try not to shake the keg up at this point as there is a lot of sediment at the bottom of the keg.

Draw off the first 2 or 3 glasses (until the champagne runs clear) and discard.

You now have champagne on tap. Enjoy!!!!!



{my hands hurt from all of this typing!}

 

[iVivid]

OMG JohnT that was AMAZING!
I found we can get these kegs here in NZ now; so I'm going to grab one!
Thank you so much, I'm sure I'll have more questions later :-D
Whew even I would have sore hands after that lot!