NewJerseyCowboy
Active Member
- Joined
- Feb 12, 2013
- Messages
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Hey all,
I recently picked up five 15 gallon demijohn's and I am working on the best way to use these. In my hast I decided to start a 12 gallon batch of Malbec (two 6 gallon buckets for primary fermentation) with plans of dumping both batches together into one of the demijohns for bulk aging. As I said this was in hast and I had not thought of the head space that the missing 3 gallons would end up creating. Just looking to bounce some ideas of some fellow brewers/wine makers here.
When I rack to a glass carboy normally I add wood chips that has been boiled in sugar water. This helps create CO2 in the carboy to ensure none of that terrible oxygen is ruining my wine. Would one think that this would create a healthy enough habitat for my wine to age in (I usually only age this malbec for about 5 months).
Another option would be to go out to my local home brew shop and buy three more 6 gallon buckets of juice. Throw 2 of those buckets into one of the demijohns for primary fermentation and let the other ferment on its own, then transfer all of the batches into two of the demijohns and just have a 30 gallon batch of malbec.
Of course there is also the top off with store bought or previously bottle home made stuff as well, but for some reason I just hate this idea as I prefer to not put store bought wine in my homemade wine and the homemade wine, well that's ready to drink already dagnabit!
Any thoughts or ideas on this matter would be appreciated.
Cheers, Kevin
I recently picked up five 15 gallon demijohn's and I am working on the best way to use these. In my hast I decided to start a 12 gallon batch of Malbec (two 6 gallon buckets for primary fermentation) with plans of dumping both batches together into one of the demijohns for bulk aging. As I said this was in hast and I had not thought of the head space that the missing 3 gallons would end up creating. Just looking to bounce some ideas of some fellow brewers/wine makers here.
When I rack to a glass carboy normally I add wood chips that has been boiled in sugar water. This helps create CO2 in the carboy to ensure none of that terrible oxygen is ruining my wine. Would one think that this would create a healthy enough habitat for my wine to age in (I usually only age this malbec for about 5 months).
Another option would be to go out to my local home brew shop and buy three more 6 gallon buckets of juice. Throw 2 of those buckets into one of the demijohns for primary fermentation and let the other ferment on its own, then transfer all of the batches into two of the demijohns and just have a 30 gallon batch of malbec.
Of course there is also the top off with store bought or previously bottle home made stuff as well, but for some reason I just hate this idea as I prefer to not put store bought wine in my homemade wine and the homemade wine, well that's ready to drink already dagnabit!
Any thoughts or ideas on this matter would be appreciated.
Cheers, Kevin