bobbly airlocks

[Cellar_Rat]

Would you believe someone have improved out trusty friend the airlock.
Now I may be out of date here - 'cos I make red wine and thus have not used air locks for years.
Having just purchased three new airlocks for a batch of white, I was pleased to see they have a reference fill level. They are the cylinder type, but the lid (bright orange) does not clip on. When the yeast started I became aware of this tapping noise - yes you guessed it the lids pop up and down with each bubble. It is now very obvious which barrels are working and which not and how fast.

A bit like the whacka mole game

[ms67]

please say more about why you don't use airlocks with red wines (and is it all reds or just grapes) and how you get around problems that airlocks address .... infection, oxidation etc.

[Cellar_Rat]

please say more about why you don't use airlocks with red wines (and is it all reds or just grapes) and how you get around problems that airlocks address .... infection, oxidation etc.

Just ferment the grapes & skind in an open fermenter. 2/3 full with a bin bag or loose fitting lid over the top. The Co2 cover prevents infection, as does the fermentation.

Brian

[ms67]

thanks for that but i'm still not sure why you wouldn't use an airlock for reds, but you would use one for whites?

[Her Lushness]

thanks for that but i'm still not sure why you wouldn't use an airlock for reds, but you would use one for whites?

I would imagine it's because he's fermenting the red on the skins, which is why it's in a big tub to ferment because of sheer volume.
The white will be just the juice fermenting so can be fermented in a closed container, and it's less bulky to do without the skins.

[ms67]

I would imagine it's because he's fermenting the red on the skins, which is why it's in a big tub to ferment because of sheer volume.
The white will be just the juice fermenting so can be fermented in a closed container, and it's less bulky to do without the skins.

thanks HL, my imagination was running on the scale angle too, but as it was only that i was curious and wanted to make sure it wasn't something else. i often have an internal dialogue running about scale .... commercial brewers using open FV's etc and how simple and effective airlocks are blah blah blah. Asking questions on a trip around a vineyard some years ago got some answers, but i'd have more questions now some years later ;-)

[Cellar_Rat]

just got back. Yup spot on HL. It would be one enormous airlock. Sorry for any confusion.

Footnote - oxidisation is not such a problem either for red as it is for white. I know some chaps who ferment white like red (ire not skins & open FV) but the wine is sherry coloured.

[Her Lushness]

thanks HL, my imagination was running on the scale angle too, but as it was only that i was curious and wanted to make sure it wasn't something else. i often have an internal dialogue running about scale .... commercial brewers using open FV's etc and how simple and effective airlocks are blah blah blah. Asking questions on a trip around a vineyard some years ago got some answers, but i'd have more questions now some years later ;-)

Questions? Ask away, I'm sure Bob or some of the others can answer most of them, and those of us who can't answer will learn something as well.

[ms67]

Questions? Ask away, I'm sure Bob or some of the others can answer most of them, and those of us who can't answer will learn something as well.

i think i'll keep my questions to those concerning smaller scale brewing that may affect me and my brews .... should i scale up to 10's or 100's of gallons at a time then things will change!

there is a question begging an answer here tho http://www.winesathome.co.uk/forum/s...&highlight=gv2