Archive for Downsizer For an ethical approach to consumption
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Fee
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Novice Rhubarb Wine - FermentationWarning, this may well be a very silly question, but I've only made wine a couple of times, and one of those was from a kit, so please excuse it 
I put two lots of rhubarb wine in demi-johns 3 weeks ago, and it's still bubbling away like mad!
I'm not worried, happy to leave it as long as it takes, but I've been reading contradictory advice about what I should do with it now.
Basically, I chopped the rhubarb, put it in a fermentation bucket with sugar for around 36 hours, strained the rhubarb out, added water to the juice, and yeast and put the liquid in the demi-johns (one with a stick of cinnamon), with an airlock. They've been bubbling away ever since, that was 3 weeks ago today.
I was planning on just leaving it as it is until it's stops bubbling and maybe clears a bit (though I'm not too fussed about that ), then bottle it but thought I'd check with the experts
Knowing there are many Downsizers who've made rhubarb wine before, can you let me know what you do?
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Blacksmith
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No expert, but i think you are doing the right thing. The rhubarb knows what it is doing, let it get on with it !
(Seem to remember my rhubarb wine was quite vigorous for the first couple of weeks, then settled down, long slow ferment. Remember, every bubble equals alcohol! )
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gil
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Sounds fine to me, Fee. Fermentation at this time of year could take a good few weeks : three weeks is early days yet. You'll notice it start to slow in a while - it gets slower and slower, but is still bubbling. You wantto leave it under airlock until all the bubbling has ceased, which could take a couple of months or more. It should start to clear as ferment ceases. When fermentation is done, rack it off the sediment into another DJ, still under airlock (forget about plain bungs), and leave in a cool place to clear and mature, and throw more sediment (not as much as the first lot). About three months later, rack it again. etc etc as usual methods.... eventually bottle it.
Cloudiness can mean two or three things
a) fermentation hasn't yet finished
b) there is a pectin haze in the wine : for this, when ferment is over, keep in a warm place, add 1 teaspoon full of pectic enzyme (pectinase) per gallon, and leave for a few days for the enzyme to do its work
c) you have some other kind of haze problem : search on various previous threads on DS on how to clear wine.
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Treacodactyl
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Mine took about 6 months to stop fermenting last year, I then racked them off and tasted them before adding a little more sugar syrup before leaving them a few more months to ensure there was no more fermentation.
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cab
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Sounds like you've done everything right. Be patient 
If when it stops bubbling it stays cloudy, then there are still things we can do to get it clear. And worst case scenario is that the wine stays misty, not the end of the world in a homebrew (my ever so slightly elderflower from last year is perhaps my best elderflower yet).
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Fee
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Cheers all 
| Blacksmith wrote: | | Remember, every bubble equals alcohol! ) |
...indeed, w00h00!
| cab wrote: | | And worst case scenario is that the wine stays misty, not the end of the world in a homebrew |
Yeah, I don't have a problem with that really, and seen as it's me who'll be mostly drinking it, it's not really a problem
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Silas
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Did you use boiling water? If you did you may have problems clearing the wine without using finings.
Fermentation is a very variable thing, I have had rhubarb wine fermented out within a week before now, but it has taken up to four weeks on occasions.
Do not, whatever you do, try to bottle it before fermentation has finished.
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Fee
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No, I didn't Silas, just water from the tap.
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Silas
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| Fee wrote: | | No, I didn't Silas, just water from the tap. |
Well you should be OK then.
Just sit back and drool.
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Fee
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| Silas wrote: | | Just sit back and drool. |
hehe
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