Help... (Newbie Question)

Try using a corkscrew... might have to buy a new bung though.

I have had this happen numerous times. I just push it on in and then use another bung. When you rack it next time you can get it out. I use a piece of hard wire with a hook bent on the end that will go through hole in the bung. It will not cause your wine any problem. It is easier to get out when the carboy is empty and you can jiggle it and flip it around.

Ray

I doubt that a corkscrew will help. It's very difficult to make a hole in a laboratory-grade rubber stopper (assuming that is what was used). I've never had any luck extracting one with a corkscrew.

Take a piece of stiff wire (such as a large paperclip), and make a v-shaped hook at one end. Rinse and sterilize it. Push it carefully past the outer edge of the stopper, until the hook is below the stopper. Rotate the wire until the hook is poking the bottom center of the stopper. Then pull firmly but gently upward. You may need to use pliers to hold the outside end of the wire. Be careful, because you don't want to crack or chip the glass, or hit yourself in the face with the pliers when the stopper "gives".

If that doesn't work, you can force the stopper downward (assuming there is enough headroom, because you won't be able to force it past a wall of liquid). A rubber stopper will not contaminate or affect the flavour of your wine upon contact. Once the bottle-neck is free, you can siphon the wine into another carboy. Then, fill the carboy with the stopper inside it half-full of water, turn it upside down (over the tub, or outside) and shake it. The water pressure will (eventually) force the stopper out, although you may be shaking a long time.

If you can't extract the stopper from the bottle-neck, you will have to decide if the wine or the carboy are more valuable to you. If the wine wins, wipe down the outside of the carboy, and place the entire carboy in a clean and sterilized bucket. Place a towel over the carboy, and rap it sharply with a hammer. Wear gloves, and carefully remove the large pieces of glass, then strain the wine through coffee filters to remove the smaller pieces.

If the carboy wins, place the entire carboy in a bucket of hot water. The temperature increase will cause the wine and air in the bottle to expand, and hopefully the hydraulic pressure will be sufficient to push the stopper out. The downside to this is, if the stopper sticks in the "bottle-neck", the carboy will break AND you will lose the wine (which will now be mixed with hot water and glass). The upside is that, if the stopper is forced out by hydraulic pressure, you may be able to save the wine, even if it will be cooked.

To avoid this problem occuring again, purchase some "universal stoppers". These stoppers fit a range of carboy-sizes (e.g. from

1-gallon to 6.5-gallon), which makes them quite useful. But their best feature is they have a lip around the top, which makes it impossible for them to be forced down the neck of the carboy.

Another method of preventing losing the stopper down the neck is to wrap it in cling-wrap (aka Saran wrap) before inserting it in the bottle-neck. It actually makes a better seal, and --- if you have to remove the stopper --- you can grab a fistful of cling-wrap and tug on it.

And don't feel bad. We've all done it, and will probably do it again.

Thanks guys.

The wire trick worked. it took me a while to find a wire thick enough that it wouldn't bend.

Thanks

J. Brazer

I wouldn't have suggested it if I didn't do it myself... my corkscrew managed to poke a hole in the bung without a problem and I saved myself from having to smash a carboy or something.

how strange...this just happened to me today!! the only thing is that mine went ALL the way in and sunk to the bottom. what i did was rack the wine to another carboy, then took a thin stick (about 3/8 inch thick) and broke it the width of the carboy opening, slip-tied some lanyard around the middle of the stick, then i shook the bung to the opening, took a piece of heavy wire (bent at the end) to try and wedge it into the opening, then poked the stick with lanyard attached through the hole of the bung, causing it to go lengthwise (like a 'T') on the other side of the bung, then gently pulled the bung out. worked like a charm! hope my delema helps someone else Deanna

I've found that, with an empty carboy or jug, you can fill it about

1/4 full with water, turn it upside down, and shake it over the tub (or garden). The bung will come out just from the shaking.

I had the opportunity to try this method again Thursday. :)