Hi! I'm Steve. I'm new to the group. I mostly make full-body, dry red
wines from kits. I just bought an 8 gal conical fermenter to alter the
process to eliminate the need for racking, with idea of less potential
contamination of the must. Any tips and tricks on how best use the
fermenter?

Steve
Lynchburg, VA

On Tue, 05 Apr 2005 23:32:06 -0400, Steve Leonard
wrote:

Hi! I'm Steve. I'm new to the group. I mostly make full-body, dry red
wines from kits. I just bought an 8 gal conical fermenter to alter the
process to eliminate the need for racking, with idea of less potential
contamination of the must. Any tips and tricks on how best use the
fermenter?

Steve
Lynchburg, VA

I have two Mini-Brew 8's and think they are great. They definitely
cut down on the racking. I still rack wine for clearing, but that's
it. If your kits have oak chips you might want to put them in a
muslin bag so they don't clog the drain valve. Suspend the bag with a
length of coarse thread or something to keep it away from the valve.
Finely ground oak drains without causing problems.

Truitt
Anchorage, AK

On Tue, 05 Apr 2005 23:32:06 -0400, Steve Leonard
wrote:

Hi! I'm Steve. I'm new to the group. I mostly make full-body, dry red
wines from kits. I just bought an 8 gal conical fermenter to alter the
process to eliminate the need for racking, with idea of less potential
contamination of the must. Any tips and tricks on how best use the
fermenter?

Steve
Lynchburg, VA

I have two Mini-Brew 8's and think they are great. They definitely
cut down on the racking. I still rack wine for clearing, but that's
it. If your kits have oak chips you might want to put them in a
muslin bag so they don't clog the drain valve. Suspend the bag with a
length of coarse thread or something to keep it away from the valve.
Finely ground oak drains without causing problems.

Truitt
Anchorage, AK

Truitt,
I always thought they were more for beer makers, since they don't
necessarily keep the beer in contact with the yeast for a long time
unless they are lagering.

I though you might get oxygen uptake through the plastic and that
_might_ be an issue with wines.

What is the longest you like to keep it in the fermenter? (Just
curious, I use carboys for both wine and beer.)

I think it's an interesting gadget, just don't know a lot about it.

Joe

Truitt,
I always thought they were more for beer makers, since they don't
necessarily keep the beer in contact with the yeast for a long time
unless they are lagering.

I though you might get oxygen uptake through the plastic and that
_might_ be an issue with wines.

What is the longest you like to keep it in the fermenter? (Just
curious, I use carboys for both wine and beer.)

I think it's an interesting gadget, just don't know a lot about it.

Joe

I do not use them but if you use them during fermentation and not for bulk
aging I do not think oxygen uptake through the plastic would be much
problem. It probably is not anyway. I do have one of the new plastic
carboys (betterbottle) that are designed for wine and have aged a wine in it
and did not have any detectable oxidation. My main complaint with it was
that it is so thin that in moving it, it would flex and cause a lot of
blowing through the airlock. Not an issue here though.

Ray

"Joe Sallustio" wrote in message
ups.com...
Truitt,
I always thought they were more for beer makers, since they don't
necessarily keep the beer in contact with the yeast for a long time
unless they are lagering.

I though you might get oxygen uptake through the plastic and that
_might_ be an issue with wines.

What is the longest you like to keep it in the fermenter? (Just
curious, I use carboys for both wine and beer.)

I think it's an interesting gadget, just don't know a lot about it.

Joe

I do not use them but if you use them during fermentation and not for bulk
aging I do not think oxygen uptake through the plastic would be much
problem. It probably is not anyway. I do have one of the new plastic
carboys (betterbottle) that are designed for wine and have aged a wine in it
and did not have any detectable oxidation. My main complaint with it was
that it is so thin that in moving it, it would flex and cause a lot of
blowing through the airlock. Not an issue here though.

Ray

"Joe Sallustio" wrote in message
ups.com...
Truitt,
I always thought they were more for beer makers, since they don't
necessarily keep the beer in contact with the yeast for a long time
unless they are lagering.

I though you might get oxygen uptake through the plastic and that
_might_ be an issue with wines.

What is the longest you like to keep it in the fermenter? (Just
curious, I use carboys for both wine and beer.)

I think it's an interesting gadget, just don't know a lot about it.

Joe

On 6 Apr 2005 04:49:05 -0700, "Joe Sallustio"
wrote:

Truitt,
I always thought they were more for beer makers, since they don't
necessarily keep the beer in contact with the yeast for a long time
unless they are lagering.

I though you might get oxygen uptake through the plastic and that
_might_ be an issue with wines.

What is the longest you like to keep it in the fermenter? (Just
curious, I use carboys for both wine and beer.)

I think it's an interesting gadget, just don't know a lot about it.

Joe


Joe,

They work great for beer or wine. Oxygen uptake hasn't been a
problem. The plastic on the fermenters is pretty thick. The only
problem I've had is clogged valves from dry hopping or oaking. Now
oak chips and hops get suspended in bags.

The longest I kept wine in a Mini-Brew was 2 months. I still like to
do the final clearing in a carboy so I can see what is going on. I
like to bulk age in carboys so I don't keep the Mini-Brews tied up. I
empty beer into kegs for lagering.

For wine I usually use the fermenters just until fermentation is
complete. The combination of the cylidroconical shape and draining
the lees every few days greatly improves the efficiency of
fermentation. Plus, I don't have to rack to secondary. Sometimes I
go ahead and stabilize/clear in the Mini-Brew, but after a week or two
I empty it into a carboy for final clearing or bulk aging. These are
just my preferences, though. It is possible to keep your wine in the
fermenter until it is ready to bottle. You could even bottle from the
racking valve.

They have a good explanation of the whole process at:

www.minibrew.com

Truitt

On 6 Apr 2005 04:49:05 -0700, "Joe Sallustio"
wrote:

Truitt,
I always thought they were more for beer makers, since they don't
necessarily keep the beer in contact with the yeast for a long time
unless they are lagering.

I though you might get oxygen uptake through the plastic and that
_might_ be an issue with wines.

What is the longest you like to keep it in the fermenter? (Just
curious, I use carboys for both wine and beer.)

I think it's an interesting gadget, just don't know a lot about it.

Joe


Joe,

They work great for beer or wine. Oxygen uptake hasn't been a
problem. The plastic on the fermenters is pretty thick. The only
problem I've had is clogged valves from dry hopping or oaking. Now
oak chips and hops get suspended in bags.

The longest I kept wine in a Mini-Brew was 2 months. I still like to
do the final clearing in a carboy so I can see what is going on. I
like to bulk age in carboys so I don't keep the Mini-Brews tied up. I
empty beer into kegs for lagering.

For wine I usually use the fermenters just until fermentation is
complete. The combination of the cylidroconical shape and draining
the lees every few days greatly improves the efficiency of
fermentation. Plus, I don't have to rack to secondary. Sometimes I
go ahead and stabilize/clear in the Mini-Brew, but after a week or two
I empty it into a carboy for final clearing or bulk aging. These are
just my preferences, though. It is possible to keep your wine in the
fermenter until it is ready to bottle. You could even bottle from the
racking valve.

They have a good explanation of the whole process at:

www.minibrew.com

Truitt

Thanks, it looks like there must be a few vendors supplying these. The
Minbrew looks to be better made than the ones I have seen locally.
Thes one around here hold about 6 or 7 gallons and are shaped like an
inverted teardrop.

Joe

Truitt, Joe, and Ray,

Thanks for the insights and advice on the conical fermenters. The one
I am getting is the Mini-Brew 8 gal. I am adding on the fermentation
thermometer and the CO2 injection system. I am excited about using it.
I have a Valpolicella kit waiting to get started with it! Thanks again
for the great info. I'll post how things go with it.

Steve ;-)


Thanks, it looks like there must be a few vendors supplying these. The
Minbrew looks to be better made than the ones I have seen locally.
Thes one around here hold about 6 or 7 gallons and are shaped like an
inverted teardrop.

Joe

Truitt, Joe, and Ray,

Thanks for the insights and advice on the conical fermenters. The one
I am getting is the Mini-Brew 8 gal. I am adding on the fermentation
thermometer and the CO2 injection system. I am excited about using it.
I have a Valpolicella kit waiting to get started with it! Thanks again
for the great info. I'll post how things go with it.

Steve ;-)


Thanks, it looks like there must be a few vendors supplying these. The
Minbrew looks to be better made than the ones I have seen locally.
Thes one around here hold about 6 or 7 gallons and are shaped like an
inverted teardrop.

Joe

Steve,

I think you will enjoy your Mini-Brew. And I think the CO2 injection
was a good choice. I got mine with the gasket kit, but I don't use
the gasket anymore. I rigged a CO2 incjection system by running some
1/4" tubing from my kegging system.

One more tip: wrap the threads on the fittings with at least 3 or 4
layers of Teflon tape , especially for the plastic/plastic
connections. Be careful not to cross-thread anything. I like to fill
it with water (or cleaning solution) to check for leaks. If you get a
leak chances are you just need to tighten the fitting a bit, but I
find checking for leaks less stressful if it isn't full of wort or
must.

Cheers,
Truitt

On Wed, 06 Apr 2005 17:39:25 -0400, Steve Leonard
wrote:

Truitt, Joe, and Ray,

Thanks for the insights and advice on the conical fermenters. The one
I am getting is the Mini-Brew 8 gal. I am adding on the fermentation
thermometer and the CO2 injection system. I am excited about using it.
I have a Valpolicella kit waiting to get started with it! Thanks again
for the great info. I'll post how things go with it.

Steve ;-)

Steve,

I think you will enjoy your Mini-Brew. And I think the CO2 injection
was a good choice. I got mine with the gasket kit, but I don't use
the gasket anymore. I rigged a CO2 incjection system by running some
1/4" tubing from my kegging system.

One more tip: wrap the threads on the fittings with at least 3 or 4
layers of Teflon tape , especially for the plastic/plastic
connections. Be careful not to cross-thread anything. I like to fill
it with water (or cleaning solution) to check for leaks. If you get a
leak chances are you just need to tighten the fitting a bit, but I
find checking for leaks less stressful if it isn't full of wort or
must.

Cheers,
Truitt

On Wed, 06 Apr 2005 17:39:25 -0400, Steve Leonard
wrote:

Truitt, Joe, and Ray,

Thanks for the insights and advice on the conical fermenters. The one
I am getting is the Mini-Brew 8 gal. I am adding on the fermentation
thermometer and the CO2 injection system. I am excited about using it.
I have a Valpolicella kit waiting to get started with it! Thanks again
for the great info. I'll post how things go with it.

Steve ;-)

Steve,

I think you will enjoy your Mini-Brew. And I think the CO2 injection
was a good choice. I got mine with the gasket kit, but I don't use
the gasket anymore. I rigged a CO2 incjection system by running some
1/4" tubing from my kegging system.

One more tip: wrap the threads on the fittings with at least 3 or 4
layers of Teflon tape , especially for the plastic/plastic
connections. Be careful not to cross-thread anything. I like to fill
it with water (or cleaning solution) to check for leaks. If you get a
leak chances are you just need to tighten the fitting a bit, but I
find checking for leaks less stressful if it isn't full of wort or
must.

Cheers,
Truitt

On Wed, 06 Apr 2005 17:39:25 -0400, Steve Leonard
wrote:

Truitt, Joe, and Ray,

Thanks for the insights and advice on the conical fermenters. The one
I am getting is the Mini-Brew 8 gal. I am adding on the fermentation
thermometer and the CO2 injection system. I am excited about using it.
I have a Valpolicella kit waiting to get started with it! Thanks again
for the great info. I'll post how things go with it.

Steve ;-)