q2 - leaving behind the pulp
 

For reasons I can't even explain, I made a sugar beet wine. To make
it, I had to cook the sugar beets and then to maximize the sugar
extraction (I didn't add any) I decided to run the cooked beets
through a blender. The result was 5.5 gallons of liquid that is the
consistency of loose apple sauce.

To that, I aerated and hit it with pectic enzyme and some yeast, and
let it go. It's about a week in, and amazingly, it really hasn't
settled much. There is so much pulp, that it's still to the top.

I have no idea exactly how much sugar was in it because 1) my
hydrometer was broken and 2) I don't think you could have measured it
with all that pulp. It was pretty sweet though.

So, it's been a week now, and fermentation is slowing down. Any
suggestions on how to leave the pulp behind and get it to secondary
without losing a ton of liquid? I'm concerned about oxidation too. On
this batch, I have not used any sulfite yet - not sure if I should
bother at this point. I really can't think of a way to do this without
introducing a ton of oxygen.

Thanks,
--Jeff

q2 - leaving behind the pulp
 

I've had great success transfering the must into nylon hops bags. I use
Brute barrels as small batch primaries, so, I got some 1/2" dowling at home
despot; cut it to straddle the primary w/ an inch overhang on each side.
Then, I took a belt sander & flattened each end of the dowel to sit on the
primary rim. Tie the hop bag to the dowel so that it doesn't touch the must
surface; hang and let it drain this way for a couple days, primary covered
of course. The hop bags are machine washable & reusable. I tried pantyhose
(new ;^) ) but found that it stretched & dipped into the must, being
somewhat self-defeating... HTH, regards, bob
"Jeff" > wrote in message
...
>
> For reasons I can't even explain, I made a sugar beet wine. To make
> it, I had to cook the sugar beets and then to maximize the sugar
> extraction (I didn't add any) I decided to run the cooked beets
> through a blender. The result was 5.5 gallons of liquid that is the
> consistency of loose apple sauce.
>
> To that, I aerated and hit it with pectic enzyme and some yeast, and
> let it go. It's about a week in, and amazingly, it really hasn't
> settled much. There is so much pulp, that it's still to the top.
>
> I have no idea exactly how much sugar was in it because 1) my
> hydrometer was broken and 2) I don't think you could have measured it
> with all that pulp. It was pretty sweet though.
>
> So, it's been a week now, and fermentation is slowing down. Any
> suggestions on how to leave the pulp behind and get it to secondary
> without losing a ton of liquid? I'm concerned about oxidation too. On
> this batch, I have not used any sulfite yet - not sure if I should
> bother at this point. I really can't think of a way to do this without
> introducing a ton of oxygen.
>
> Thanks,
> --Jeff