Left over liquid after FV racking.

[danbriant]

When I do wine I sometimes have more liquid than will fit into a demijohn. Mostly due to miscalculation of water displacement by fruit pulp etc. As I use a big barrel to brew it all up in as I like to get the most liquid into my demijohns.

Sometimes a litre or there about of good liquid is normally left.

Once it's finished in primary can I rack off into say a bottle and keep it in the fridge and use as topup for the other demijohns when I rack them?

As I would hate to waste the liquid, as it's precious liquid

 

[oogaboogachiefwalkingdeer]

I save any excess and fit with airlock just as the carboy has. When I rack I rack the carboy and the smaller vessel as well. I do top up the first rack with this excess and then sample what is left. No need for refrigeration, just treat is the same as if you were bulk aging.

 

[WVMJ]

We also do as ooga does. We also plan on making batches especially for topping up other wines, even going so far as overoaking them on purpose to help boost others we use them to top up with on the second racking. Just be careful, dont contaminate your big batch trying to save a liter of wine, just not worth it. WVMJ

 

[gratus fermentatio]

Once it's finished in primary can I rack off into say a bottle and keep it in the fridge and use as topup for the other demijohns when I rack them?

As I would hate to waste the liquid, as it's precious liquid

That is what you should do with it. I do the same, but I don't keep it in the fridge. I let it continue to ferment alongside of the larger carbouy so they will be the same. When I top up, I'm basiclly using the same wine to top up. Yooper taught me that one (thanks Yoop!), it's the BEST way to top up IMHO.
Regards, GF.

 

[podz]

+1 for all the comments received. Slap an airlock on it and just let it be at room temp.

Or, even better, you can just use it straight away as a starter for a new batch, for example Skeeter Pee.

 

[Yooper]

That is what you should do with it. I do the same, but I don't keep it in the fridge. I let it continue to ferment alongside of the larger carbouy so they will be the same. When I top up, I'm basiclly using the same wine to top up. Yooper taught me that one (thanks Yoop!), it's the BEST way to top up IMHO.
Regards, GF.

I make extra, on purpose, just for topping up. Sometimes you have a ton of headspace due to all the lees (plum wine is the worst!), and so I always have an extra bottle/growler/ of wine with a bung and airlock next to the carboy. Beer and wine bottles take those really small (I think #3?) sized bungs, while growlers and gallon jugs take a #6 bung. 1.5 liter wine bottles are super handy for this, so most of my batches are 6.5 gallons, 5.5 gallons, etc, and then I end up with an even 5 or 6 gallons after a couple of rackings.

You can also top up other wines, as mentioned. Banana wine is great for topping up any whites (so is apple), and chokecherry makes a good top up for any reds.

 

[WVMJ]

by the way, what is FV? WVMJ

 

[podz]

by the way, what is FV? WVMJ

Fermentation Vessel.

 

[WVMJ]

Thats funny, I would have never guessed it since we refer to them simply as the primary and secondary bucket or carboy. WVMJ

Fermentation Vessel.

 

[podz]

Thats funny, I would have never guessed it since we refer to them simply as the primary and secondary bucket or carboy. WVMJ

That's what happens when there's a huge amount of unstandardised jargon flying around and in use by people with varying levels of experience, etc.

To avoid ambiguity, I have started to referring to the gravity at the end of fermentation as Terminal Gravity in addition to fully spelling it out. I've seen people here call it SG, OG, and FG specifically when referring to terminal gravity.

 

[oogaboogachiefwalkingdeer]

SG is the starting gravity..... OG is the original gravity.... neither refers to FG which is final gravity. Never heard of terminal gravity.

 

[Yooper]

SG is the starting gravity..... OG is the original gravity.... neither refers to FG which is final gravity. Never heard of terminal gravity.

"SG" generally means specific gravity, not at the start but at any time.

 

[WVMJ]

Terminal gravity is what happens when a beer brewer makes his first high octane wine and drinks to much of it, its the speed of his face right before impact with the floor WVMJ

 

[podz]

"SG" generally means specific gravity, not at the start but at any time.

Of course it does, but you see, this is precisely what I was referring to: acronym ambiguity.

I have also seen people, on numerous counts, using "LME" to mean either "Liquid Malt Extract" or "Light Malt Extract", as well as DME to mean either "Dry Malt Extract" or "Dark Malt Extract".

 

[podz]

Never heard of terminal gravity.

It's a term that is used by people who work in companies that produce brewing yeasts (lab chemists, marketing folks, CEOs, etc).

 

[oogaboogachiefwalkingdeer]

In an old wine book I have they do refer to sg as starting gravity fg final gravity.