Archive for Downsizer For an ethical approach to consumption
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gil
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speed of wine fermentationis there such a thing as too short a time for fermentation of wine ?
3 weeks ago, I rigged up a fermentation chamber in the bottom of the airing cupboard (insulated with newspaper, wool blankets, old duvets and pillows, and foil survival blankets as an inside lining). It's heated by 1 or 2 40w table lamps without shades : nice and warm though no idea what temperature obtains. However, it is constant. And it holds at least 17 demijohns at a time.
anyway, in this short space of time, I've gone from having wines that took 2 years to ferment out (just finishing off Damson03 now  ), or more usually 3 months, because of the coolness of the house, to getting the following results :
1 gall pear into demi-john on 21/9, SG1100 >> 11/10 SG 992
1 gall quince ditto 22/9, SG1110 >> 11/10 SG 1010
(both after a week fermenting on the pulp)
can this possibly be OK ?? Seems very quick. Too fast ??
Until the Rayburn gets repaired, think I'll evict the DJs and crawl into the cupboard to sleep at nights !
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mark
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superfast fermentation doesn#ty always produce the best flavours - and produces faily average wines!
however it may be better than superslow fermentation if left on sediment as that can sometimes give off flavours too
you are best off with a happy medium for speed and fermentation temperature -
so maybe you should slow your cupboard down a little bit - maybe one light bulb is enough when the weather is warm like it has been!
best results are gained at
primary fermentation (21 C)
secondary fermentation (16C)
store & mature finished wine (10 C)
I must admit to sometimes speeding stuff up though! - i can't wait!
however the main tbenefit of a cupboard is stopping the night time lows rather than raising daytime temperature.
mark
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Jb
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Many moons ago I used to make wine and three weeks was quite common. It usually seemed to be the result of poor temperature control causing overfast fermentation but without being so hot to kill the yeast.
I gave up because the final product wasn't that good and we could afford to buy commercially made wines but mostly because we didn't want the smell of fermentation constantly permeating everything in the house. The temperatures Mark mentions makes me wonder if I could restart this and ferment it outside (something like a superinsulated coldframe against a south facing wall with a greenhouse autovent adjusted to open up at about 21 C) probably wouldn't work now but maybe in spring?
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Treacodactyl
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Re: speed of wine fermentation | gbst wrote: | | I've gone from having wines that took 2 years |
I'm sure someone chased for an update after just a few months on the sage wine.  I also have the problem of wines taking ages to ferment, with no hot tank of water and no stove there's nothing to keep a steady temp. Most of the spring and early summer wines I've put on have fermented out mostly so I may stick with them until I get a steady source of heat. I'm also not keen on most of the red wines - elderberry or blackberry. If I can track down a good supply of damsons though I may have to find somewhere to ferment a large batch of wine. A decent home made red wine would save our household a small fortune.
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cab
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It isn't that surprising to get a wine dryish in a few weeks, most of the sugar turns to alcohol really fast, but to get a good quality wine you still need to have a good maturation. The total time taken to make a GOOD wine isn't much reduced by super-fast fermenting.
I'd also add that making wine too slow, in two years, is also not such a good idea. You at least want it to be fermented out in months rather than years. I really want mine fermented to dryness within four months. My water mint wine last year took far too long and suffered for it.
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@Calli
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Just a tip about checking the temperature of the djs - having spent sooo long sterilising thermometers each time a temp check needed - I stuck adhesive aquarium thermometers on the sides - now I can see at a glance the temp of the wine.
Not that that has improved my wine all definately supermarket standards...drinkable but nothing to celebrate with. YET!!!!
PS does anyone know if you put wine in a soda stream do you get sparkling wine??????
OK I should get thrown out for that comment 
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cab
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| ExilesinGalway wrote: |
PS does anyone know if you put wine in a soda stream do you get sparkling wine??????
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Yes, you do. Well, you get carbonated wine, which is rather different. And you get wine all over the soda stream, all over the kitchen, etc. And you have to clean the soda stream before it goes sticky.
If you can possibly lay your hands on a little lump of dry ice, some plastic bottles and, ideally, a bank of sandbags that's a far more entertaining way of carbonating a drink. Never do it with guiness.
Another simple way of getting a drop of fizz is by taking a medium alcohol wine, putting it in a plastic pop bottle with a scoop of sugar, and a little extra high alcohol yeast. Keep a close eye on it to prevent explosions, and in three to five days it's rather feisty.
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gil
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thankx for useful replies. I think 3 weeks is too fast, too, and will reduce heat to 1 lamp only.
bought a fridge/freezer / room thermometer, and it says the cupboard temperature is 74F.
3 books I have on winemaking give different optimum temps for secondary fermentation (in the DJ, after in the bucket, and before first racking) : 61F, 65F and 75F
it hasn't actually been that warm up here recently !
I did find that my spring-made wines (birch sap and nettle) fermented out easily within 3 months. the problems come with summer and autumn-made wines.
but in anycase, they all get matured for a long time after racking.
cab - damson 03 was one of my first attempts. No, I know wine should not take more than two years to ferment out, but this was deceiving stuff. however, 1.5 DJs have at last fermented out to <1000, tastes OKish. yesterday I discovered that the other DJ has stuck again at 1020, despite having been busily fermenting (or looking busy, anyway) for the last month since it was measured as being 1030. I've given it a transfusion of sediment from a DJ of plum that was still wokring well at an SG of 1000. Failing that, it will get some balckcurrant sediment that I'd swear could raise the dead.
cheers
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