panic

[Andrea Thackeray]

Hi guys, first try in my life... is this right? the thingy on top was half filled with water and now the juice is coming out. is the demijon to full? panicking a bit here, don't want a mess

 

[UKSkydiver]

One of these thingies? :

I don't make cider/wine, but when we have the same problem in brewing beer the answer is always "Blow Off Tube"

 

[terrym]

Heres a few ideas....
1. Just put the demijohn in a bucket or similar to collect the mess. When it dies down clean everything up, sanitise the airlock , replace with fresh water and off you go.
2. If you have it in a warm room try a cooler place so that the fermentation is less vigorous.
3. Beer brewers sometimes initially use a blow off tube which is a tube that allows which allow the yeasty foam to exit the fermentation vessel and this discharges into a container (say a jar) and this collects the foam. But sometimes they block especially if the yeast is sticky.
4. The other option is to put your wine/cider into a sanitised bucket or similar , cover and leave it until the fermentation dies down and then transfer back to the DJ

 

[An Ankoù]

Hi guys, first try in my life... is this right? the thingy on top was half filled with water and now the juice is coming out. is the demijon to full? panicking a bit here, don't want a mess

Sounds as if everything's going as it should. I don't make a lot of wine, but I usually let it spend its first week fermenting in a bucket before straining it into the DJ.
Welcome to the forum.

 

[Cheshire Cat]

if you can stay calm when all those around you are panicking then you're not aware of the **** going on.

 

[Andrea Thackeray]

Thanks all, it's a smart airlock on top. jeeeez it's only day 2 of fermentation and I left 2 inches so it won't overflow. will put it in the bath tub

 

[DocAnna]

Another option is to cool it down a bit - put it in the garage and take it down into the mid teens of temperature, that will slow the fermentation and make it less likely to bubble out of the airlock.

Anna

 

[Cwrw666]

I always start wine off in a suitable sized fermenting bin. After a week or so it's safe to transfer to a DJ as the fermentation will have settled down by then.
Years and years ago we made banana wine in DJs , they flooded the airlocks and blocked them up. Eventually they went bang and squirted banana slime up to the ceiling.

 

[Andrea Thackeray]

oh dear ... like I said, first ever try and don't even know what grapes they are. small white sweet, few years ago from garden centre, now growing like mad, only juice in DJ. just want to try as we can't eat all the grapes, probably 60kg

 

[DocAnna]

https://winemakermag.com/article/your-first-wine-from-fresh-grapesThis was the instructions I followed a while back with our grapes but we have far fewer from our vine, you are doing incredibly well to be getting 60kg.

Anna

 

[Andrea Thackeray]

Thanks Anna, I will have a read after work, the DJ has been banned into the shower now

 

[johncrobinson]

Lucky you.!!
Having your own grape vines.

I made my first wine ( without my fathers help.) about 40yrs ago, from a grape vine in a house I rented.
Shortly afterwards I learned not to overfill the demijohn with newly fermenting must.
Some yeasts foam something chronic.
Best off getting the fermentation going in a plastic fermentation bin then transferring to demijohns after about a week.
BTW. Welcome to the forum

 

[Andrea Thackeray]

thank you John, wasn't expecting it to start off like mad, now it's a bubble every 8-10 seconds. only trying to see what comes out. if drinkable I will use a big bucket next year

 

[johncrobinson]

Funnily enough since its taken off like mad,Its very likely to turn out good.

Many,many people,Myself included have underestimated just how much a healthy fermentation can "foam" up.

 

[Chippy_Tea]

When you start only fill the DJ to this level so there is plenty of room for a vagarous fermentation, you can top up later when it has calmed down or after racking.

 

[Andrea Thackeray]

there is much to learn, looking up on the internet is sometimes confusing, contradicting information. hydrometer on 30 only. we'll see...didn't put sugar in, maybe later, don't like dry wine

 

[Chippy_Tea]

there is much to learn, looking up on the internet is sometimes confusing, contradicting information.yo

Now you are here you can ignore the rest of the Internet.

 

[foxy]

oh dear ... like I said, first ever try and don't even know what grapes they are. small white sweet, few years ago from garden centre, now growing like mad, only juice in DJ. just want to try as we can't eat all the grapes, probably 60kg

I grow table grapes and was thinking of making wine but everything I have read says that table grapes are not suitable. Could be different in your case looking for sweet and not dry. For the last couple of years my grape vine has been battling the Passion Fruit vine, a losing battle as the Passion Fruit is far more aggressive.

 

[Andrea Thackeray]

I grow table grapes and was thinking of making wine but everything I have read says that table grapes are not suitable. Could be different in your case looking for sweet and not dry. For the last couple of years my grape vine has been battling the Passion Fruit vine, a losing battle as the Passion Fruit is far more aggressive.

lets see how it works out