WOW

[fran]

just put together my first wow i cant wait for it. how soon can i decide weather its worth doing 10gallons of the stuff
a matured taste is not nececerry so will it be ok to try in 1 month?

 

[Sean_Mc]

Give it four weeks to ferment out Fran and drink straight away.

Can't warn enough how lively the ferment gets after a couple of days, so hope you have left it lots of head room :thumb:

 

[fran]

i followed the instructions apart from the head room bit so i will go find something to put it on

its in the airing cupboard above the sheets and towels and all that she will kill me if they get wowed

 

[Sean_Mc]

Its going to go everywhere mate, on a DJ I fill to just below the shoulder and still get blow outs. Trust me tip some out and top up after the initial whoosh....you'll see

 

[wulliemc]

I forced my first one from pitching to drinking within a week (4 days to ferment, 3 days after finigs to bottle), I was just desperate to taste something I had made from scratch, it was certainly drinkable, but the bottles were defo better after another week :lol: .

since then, bottled another 2 * 6 bottles, one of exotic fruits, one of forest fruits, both left for about 3 weeks, they lasted no time on accound of mrs mc and pals tonking like water :drunk: :clap: , now have 8 * gallons of various sorts on the go, plus a 5 gallon .

moral of my story? give it a month if you can wait, not had one longer to personally comment :whistle: but some friends who managed to keep some from Jan 05 to Feb 26 (how?) said it was even better for the wait : .

second moral? get the 10 gallons on now or you will have this wee period between the first batch being ready, downed in no time, and waiting on the rest being ready :cry:

btw, I've got various combo's on the go, the original orange I had to sit the FV in a tupperware dish coz it was bubbling out of the top of the airlock and down to the floor :shock: ...

 

[Moley]

If you use the tubular airlocks it can also lift the lid and spray sideways. Fortunately, I've only done that on a hard worktop and against ceramic tiles.

If the temperature is a bit on the high side it's quite possible to ferment, clear and bottle in 1-2 weeks, but I prefer to work on a basis of 3 months minimum from start to bottle/keg. Then again, I do make rather a lot of it and usually have at least 1 working, 1 clearing and 1 maturing (15 litre batches).