Need help with Beaverdale kit

[GabrielKnight]

Hi,

I'm starting my 1st ever homebrew wine venture with a Beaverdale kit, and have a few questions:

1. The instructions 'highly recommend' doing the primary in 'a fermenting bucket with a large lid' which is good because I want to use a 50 litre stainless steel cooking pot. But later it says that after adding the yeast and putting the lid on, to attach a bung and airlock, which obviously I can't do. Is it okay during these first 5 days to just put on the stainless steel lid, pushing it aside by 5mm to let co2 out? Or is it too big a risk?

2. The instructions call for the fermenter to be marked and filled to 23 litres. Obviously I'm not going to mark the stainless steel vessel, but I do have the advantage of knowing how much water I'm adding because I'll be using bottles of spring water. Do you know how many litres make up the Beaverdale juice (30 bottle Rioja) so I can make the rest up without measuring?

3). I like heavily oaked wines, and while the kit includes oak chips, my supplier recommended also adding the same amount of chips again. Would this be too much?

4). The instructions recommend putting the oak chips in with the primary fermentation, but I'll be siphoning this off into smaller vessels after just 5 days. Is 5 days enough to adsorb all the oak chipyness, or would I be better spreading the chips out into the secondary fermenters for a few weeks? I don't want it to taste like the wood was too virgin, ie. not soaked enough. But if 5 days is enough to reach maximum saturation, adding them to the primary would be less work at a later stage.

Many thanks in advance.

[Horden Hillbilly]

Hi,

I'm starting my 1st ever homebrew wine venture with a Beaverdale kit, and have a few questions:

1. The instructions 'highly recommend' doing the primary in 'a fermenting bucket with a large lid' which is good because I want to use a 50 litre stainless steel cooking pot. But later it says that after adding the yeast and putting the lid on, to attach a bung and airlock, which obviously I can't do. Is it okay during these first 5 days to just put on the stainless steel lid, pushing it aside by 5mm to let co2 out? Or is it too big a risk?

2. The instructions call for the fermenter to be marked and filled to 23 litres. Obviously I'm not going to mark the stainless steel vessel, but I do have the advantage of knowing how much water I'm adding because I'll be using bottles of spring water. Do you know how many litres make up the Beaverdale juice (30 bottle Rioja) so I can make the rest up without measuring?

3). I like heavily oaked wines, and while the kit includes oak chips, my supplier recommended also adding the same amount of chips again. Would this be too much?

4). The instructions recommend putting the oak chips in with the primary fermentation, but I'll be siphoning this off into smaller vessels after just 5 days. Is 5 days enough to adsorb all the oak chipyness, or would I be better spreading the chips out into the secondary fermenters for a few weeks? I don't want it to taste like the wood was too virgin, ie. not soaked enough. But if 5 days is enough to reach maximum saturation, adding them to the primary would be less work at a later stage.

Many thanks in advance.

1. I would advise against leaving an open space on your stainless steel fermenter, it will only take one fly to get into your wine to turn it into vinegar. It would be far better to use a wine fermenter which can take an airlock or a standard fermenting bucket with a hole in the lid to take a bung & airlock.

2. I believe the Beaverdale 5 gallon kits are a 6 litre size, it should be written on the side of the box.

3. I have made these kits myself and added the sachet of oak chips provided without any further additions. Aftre a few months maturing, the oak effect is subtle but not overpowering, that is how I personally prefer it myself. It basically boils down to personal taste, just as a suggestion why don't you make up one kit with 1 sachet added and another with 2 sachets added and see which you prefer.

4. I never transfer my wines to another container until they have fermented down to 1.010 myself which usually takes around 8-10 days when fermented at the recommended temperature of 18c-22c, I would advise you to do the same. I always add my oak chippings at the primary stage and they are obviously left behind after the transfer, I have had no problems with the oak chips not being soaked enough using this method.

Have you seen my website? there is a section on winemaking on there, I have kept it nice & simple with loads of photos, it is easy to follow & my methods are well tried & tested. Click on the link under my signature to view it.

Good luck with your winemaking, I have made the Beaverdale Rioja myself, you have made a good choice for your 1st wine.

[lockwood1956]

Hi,

I'm starting my 1st ever homebrew wine venture with a Beaverdale kit, and have a few questions:

1. The instructions 'highly recommend' doing the primary in 'a fermenting bucket with a large lid' which is good because I want to use a 50 litre stainless steel cooking pot. But later it says that after adding the yeast and putting the lid on, to attach a bung and airlock, which obviously I can't do. Is it okay during these first 5 days to just put on the stainless steel lid, pushing it aside by 5mm to let co2 out? Or is it too big a risk?

place a cloth over the primary vessel to kkep out bugs flies and dust, rack to secondary vessel under airlock at around 1.020 to 1.010 specific gravity (if you haven't got a hydrometer get one immediately)

2. The instructions call for the fermenter to be marked and filled to 23 litres. Obviously I'm not going to mark the stainless steel vessel, but I do have the advantage of knowing how much water I'm adding because I'll be using bottles of spring water. Do you know how many litres make up the Beaverdale juice (30 bottle Rioja) so I can make the rest up without measuring?

measure accurately 23 litres of water into your fermenter and mark it, DON'T just add X pints of water, this is not the way to go
but for reference the older beaverdale kits were 7.5 litres, the new ones i believe contain more juice (it will say on the box how many litres of juice it contains) but don't take this as gospel its really important that you measure water into the fermenter and mark the 23 litre level, then you are CERTAIN its the right level, if you don't do this it will come back and bite your arse in the future at some point (been there done that )

3). I like heavily oaked wines, and while the kit includes oak chips, my supplier recommended also adding the same amount of chips again. Would this be too much?

Thats really bad advice from your supplier, you can never take oak out but you can always add it.....follow the directions omitting no detail, no matter how slight.
when you are done, taste the wine, and if you need more oak, add it at that point, and then age the wine.

4). The instructions recommend putting the oak chips in with the primary fermentation, but I'll be siphoning this off into smaller vessels after just 5 days. Is 5 days enough to adsorb all the oak chipyness, or would I be better spreading the chips out into the secondary fermenters for a few weeks? I don't want it to taste like the wood was too virgin, ie. not soaked enough. But if 5 days is enough to reach maximum saturation, adding them to the primary would be less work at a later stage.

Follow previous advice regarding following the directions omitting no detail, no matter how slight, and adjust later if need be, good wine was never made by taking short cuts, or hurrying (didn't mean to sound like a lecture there but it kind of did, my apologies)

Many thanks in advance.

You are most welcome, you will not be disappointed with this kit if you follow the directions correctly, don't follow the directions in regard to number of days, but use your hydrometer, for it is your friend


hope this helps
regards
Bob