To cover or not to cover?

[meadmaker1]

I m with you on the fruit and buying juice thing. My plum source swears he has more plums than I want, for free. But elder berries. OMG they are tiny and they are ripe when it's Soooo hot, i can find plenty wild but I'm planning on buying juice and sprucing it up with some fresh.
I'm sure ill come up with a plan, call it a recipe if you like but it start in a bucket with a towel for a lid.

 

[bstnh1]

With the bucket, I lay the cover on top loosely. With the Fermonster, I cover the top with a piece of cheesecloth. I was putting them under airlock for secondary after 6 days, but with the new Winexpert 14 day fermentation instructions, I leave them w/o airlock for about 10 days and then put them under airlock. I don't trust it being left open for the full 14 days.

 

[Scooter68]

I m with you on the fruit and buying juice thing. My plum source swears he has more plums than I want, for free. But elder berries. OMG they are tiny and they are ripe when it's Soooo hot, i can find plenty wild but I'm planning on buying juice and sprucing it up with some fresh.
I'm sure ill come up with a plan, call it a recipe if you like but it start in a bucket with a towel for a lid.

From several postings a year or two ago it seems that elderberry is one on the strongest flavored fruits/berries with some folks reporting making a great elderberry wine with just a couple of pounds. Don't know how much truth there is to that but I imagine that picking even 2-3 lbs would be quite a task, in the heat.

At the risk of totally highjacking this thread, it looks like another year without enough Black Raspberries for a batch of wine. 4 1/2 - 5 lbs of wild black raspberries makes a stout wine.

 

[Leela]

thanks everyone for all the information!