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I bought a Vintner 1 gallon wine starter kit from a wine shop. It uses a pail for the first ferment, which right off I didn't like. I've never made wine or Mead before. Only Kombucha.
After watching you tube videos that used carboys for first firment, not pails, here is what I did. I used sanitizing powder as directed for the pail, then poured that water into wash basin for sanitizing everything else, surfaces and continually rinsed my hands in the solution.
I used a gallon of spring water, poured half into a pot to warm up water to dissolve honey. Brought it to about 100 degrees. I used half a cup of that water in a separate dish to activate one pack Fleishmans yeast and set that aside. I sanitized an orange and cut it into wedges. Had a cinnamon stick, 1 clove, and handful of raisins also ready. I poured 3 lbs of orange blossom honey into the warm water pot and mixed til dissolved. Poured that into the Vintner pail, added more spring water and the other ingredients, and stirred for about 10 min from bottom to top to aerate it. I added the yeast and stirred another 5 or so minutes.
I put the lid on as tight as it would go, and added the air lock to the lid (after filling halfway with water). To me, it seemed like the lid should have been tighter, a better fit. I wrapped saran wrap around the edge but I doubt that did anything.
I put that lid on at 2 pm on Friday and put the pail in a cabinet in my extracting room and shut the door. It’s the coolest room in my house. It is now about 1 am on Monday. I have checked the air lock many times. I checked a few minutes ago, and I have yet to see one single bubble come up. Because it is in a pail and not a carboy, I have no idea what’s going on inside, but I have a bad feeling about this. Shouldn’t I be seeing air bubbles coming through by now in the airlock?
If I have ruined it, is there anything at all I can do? The kit also has a carboy for second ferment. Maybe I should have started with that, and picked up another carboy in the next few weeks.
I did not use the hydrometer included in the set. Not sure why I didn’t.
Thanks for any help.
After watching you tube videos that used carboys for first firment, not pails, here is what I did. I used sanitizing powder as directed for the pail, then poured that water into wash basin for sanitizing everything else, surfaces and continually rinsed my hands in the solution.
I used a gallon of spring water, poured half into a pot to warm up water to dissolve honey. Brought it to about 100 degrees. I used half a cup of that water in a separate dish to activate one pack Fleishmans yeast and set that aside. I sanitized an orange and cut it into wedges. Had a cinnamon stick, 1 clove, and handful of raisins also ready. I poured 3 lbs of orange blossom honey into the warm water pot and mixed til dissolved. Poured that into the Vintner pail, added more spring water and the other ingredients, and stirred for about 10 min from bottom to top to aerate it. I added the yeast and stirred another 5 or so minutes.
I put the lid on as tight as it would go, and added the air lock to the lid (after filling halfway with water). To me, it seemed like the lid should have been tighter, a better fit. I wrapped saran wrap around the edge but I doubt that did anything.
I put that lid on at 2 pm on Friday and put the pail in a cabinet in my extracting room and shut the door. It’s the coolest room in my house. It is now about 1 am on Monday. I have checked the air lock many times. I checked a few minutes ago, and I have yet to see one single bubble come up. Because it is in a pail and not a carboy, I have no idea what’s going on inside, but I have a bad feeling about this. Shouldn’t I be seeing air bubbles coming through by now in the airlock?
If I have ruined it, is there anything at all I can do? The kit also has a carboy for second ferment. Maybe I should have started with that, and picked up another carboy in the next few weeks.
I did not use the hydrometer included in the set. Not sure why I didn’t.
Thanks for any help.