Jun 2004
Summertime Wine and Beer Making tips
June, 2004 Filed in: Wine making
Some folks slow down their production of wine and beer during the summer months. Others see summer as an opportunity to make some great fall wines.
We all know wine improves with age, so why not fill those carboys now and let them age over the summer. You will be well rewarded with excellent wine in the fall, and not be in a panic or have to slip into the commercial wine store and pay exorbitant prices.
If you do want to produce wine in the summer, we suggest you proceed to the stabilization stage as normal. Then let the wine clear, for a minimum of 2 weeks. You can then rack the wine off of the sediment, but no worries if you can’t get to this task right away. Then let the wine or beer bulk age.
In the primary, be watchful of the temperature. While it might be hot upstairs your basement may be too chilly for the yeast to ferment. You may need to provide some supplementary heat at this stage.
If you are bulk ageing, don’t let your airlocks go dry, or you will be sadly disappointed. Not only could your wine get oxidized, but it provides an avenue for those pesky fruit flies to get into your wine and destroy it. You could use a solid bung, but only if you have successfully de-gassed your wine and fermentation has halted.
If you are leaving any carboys empty over the summer months, we suggest you add a cup or so of sterilant (sodium metabisulphite) to the bottom of the carboy. This will prevent any molds, bacteria or other nasties making a home in your precious carboy. Either put a solid bung in the carboy or keep the airlocks filled.
We all know wine improves with age, so why not fill those carboys now and let them age over the summer. You will be well rewarded with excellent wine in the fall, and not be in a panic or have to slip into the commercial wine store and pay exorbitant prices.
If you do want to produce wine in the summer, we suggest you proceed to the stabilization stage as normal. Then let the wine clear, for a minimum of 2 weeks. You can then rack the wine off of the sediment, but no worries if you can’t get to this task right away. Then let the wine or beer bulk age.
In the primary, be watchful of the temperature. While it might be hot upstairs your basement may be too chilly for the yeast to ferment. You may need to provide some supplementary heat at this stage.
If you are bulk ageing, don’t let your airlocks go dry, or you will be sadly disappointed. Not only could your wine get oxidized, but it provides an avenue for those pesky fruit flies to get into your wine and destroy it. You could use a solid bung, but only if you have successfully de-gassed your wine and fermentation has halted.
If you are leaving any carboys empty over the summer months, we suggest you add a cup or so of sterilant (sodium metabisulphite) to the bottom of the carboy. This will prevent any molds, bacteria or other nasties making a home in your precious carboy. Either put a solid bung in the carboy or keep the airlocks filled.