use of conical fermenters

I have two Mini-Brew 8's and think they are great. They definitely cut down on the racking. I still rack wine for clearing, but that's it. If your kits have oak chips you might want to put them in a muslin bag so they don't clog the drain valve. Suspend the bag with a length of coarse thread or something to keep it away from the valve. Finely ground oak drains without causing problems.

Truitt Anchorage, AK

Truitt, I always thought they were more for beer makers, since they don't necessarily keep the beer in contact with the yeast for a long time unless they are lagering.

I though you might get oxygen uptake through the plastic and that _might_ be an issue with wines.

What is the longest you like to keep it in the fermenter? (Just curious, I use carboys for both wine and beer.)

I think it's an interesting gadget, just don't know a lot about it.

Joe

I do not use them but if you use them during fermentation and not for bulk aging I do not think oxygen uptake through the plastic would be much problem. It probably is not anyway. I do have one of the new plastic carboys (betterbottle) that are designed for wine and have aged a wine in it and did not have any detectable oxidation. My main complaint with it was that it is so thin that in moving it, it would flex and cause a lot of blowing through the airlock. Not an issue here though.

Ray

Joe,

They work great for beer or wine. Oxygen uptake hasn't been a problem. The plastic on the fermenters is pretty thick. The only problem I've had is clogged valves from dry hopping or oaking. Now oak chips and hops get suspended in bags.

The longest I kept wine in a Mini-Brew was 2 months. I still like to do the final clearing in a carboy so I can see what is going on. I like to bulk age in carboys so I don't keep the Mini-Brews tied up. I empty beer into kegs for lagering.

For wine I usually use the fermenters just until fermentation is complete. The combination of the cylidroconical shape and draining the lees every few days greatly improves the efficiency of fermentation. Plus, I don't have to rack to secondary. Sometimes I go ahead and stabilize/clear in the Mini-Brew, but after a week or two I empty it into a carboy for final clearing or bulk aging. These are just my preferences, though. It is possible to keep your wine in the fermenter until it is ready to bottle. You could even bottle from the racking valve.

They have a good explanation of the whole process at:

Truitt

Thanks, it looks like there must be a few vendors supplying these. The Minbrew looks to be better made than the ones I have seen locally. Thes one around here hold about 6 or 7 gallons and are shaped like an inverted teardrop.

Joe

Truitt, Joe, and Ray,

Thanks for the insights and advice on the conical fermenters. The one I am getting is the Mini-Brew 8 gal. I am adding on the fermentation thermometer and the CO2 injection system. I am excited about using it. I have a Valpolicella kit waiting to get started with it! Thanks again for the great info. I'll post how things go with it.

Steve ;-)

Steve,

I think you will enjoy your Mini-Brew. And I think the CO2 injection was a good choice. I got mine with the gasket kit, but I don't use the gasket anymore. I rigged a CO2 incjection system by running some

1/4" tubing from my kegging system.

One more tip: wrap the threads on the fittings with at least 3 or 4 layers of Teflon tape , especially for the plastic/plastic connections. Be careful not to cross-thread anything. I like to fill it with water (or cleaning solution) to check for leaks. If you get a leak chances are you just need to tighten the fitting a bit, but I find checking for leaks less stressful if it isn't full of wort or must.

Cheers, Truitt

This I gotta see, as I have never even heard of a conical fermenter.

Truitt,

Thanks!!

Steve ;-)

Bob,

Checkout

I think they are more intended for brewing, but the same principles carryover to winemaking.

Steve :-)

And if you prefer stainless check out

Truitt

I'm skimming the group after asking how winemaking compares to beermaking. I just had to ask about the oak chips. It was speculated over here any wine I make from our beermaking kit won't have that "oak" flavor, but oak chips sounds like a solution. How is this used? Does it come with most ingredient kits?

Yes, if the profile for your kit wine calls for oak then the oak will be included. It is usually in the form of ground oak or oak chips. The kit instructions will tell you how to use the oak, but it usually gets added right away and the wine gets racked off the oak (and major lees) after primary fermentation is complete.

Once you get some experience you can experiment with other oaking options. I've had decent luck with oak cubes or "beans" used post-fermentation.

Truitt

Perhaps I'm missing something here, but I suspect any wine you make from a beer kit won't have that "wine" flavour, either.

Brian

I think we're using two different definitions of "kit." I'm talking about the equipment that came together in beermaking kit, as opposed to the ingredients. I seems like a slight change in nomenclature.

Adam,

There is a good article on oaking options in the Dec 2004/Jan 2005 issue of WineMaker magazine.

Truitt