Homebrew / Moonshine - Sink vodka appreciation

[Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa]

What would be the best way to go from primary into a secondary 1gal batch that I have whole fruit in? Just pour it through a funnel with a cheesecloth or do you guys have a more sophisticated way with smaller batches? I've mainly just done beer before.

Is it already in primary or are you planning this ahead? If you've already got this going, the auto-siphon is probably your best bet. If you haven't started yet, I'd advise using a fermentor with a spigot on the side so that you can transfer the clear liquid from the middle of your vessel straight through a tube into the secondary vessel. There is the option of passing that through a filter if you're concerned about debris, but you probably won't need that if everything's settled well and you're doing a secondary.

 

[Gentle_Brick]

Is it already in primary or are you planning this ahead? If you've already got this going, the auto-siphon is probably your best bet. If you haven't started yet, I'd advise using a fermentor with a spigot on the side so that you can transfer the clear liquid from the middle of your vessel straight through a tube into the secondary vessel. There is the option of passing that through a filter if you're concerned about debris, but you probably won't need that if everything's settled well and you're doing a secondary.

It's one already going, it's about a week into primary and I was going to start taking gravity readings to see when to get if off the fruit and into secondary.

 

[Troonos]

What would be the best way to go from primary into a secondary 1gal batch that I have whole fruit in? Just pour it through a funnel with a cheesecloth or do you guys have a more sophisticated way with smaller batches? I've mainly just done beer before.

The primary already has fruit in it, and is in a 1 gallon vessel? How much fruit is in it? Solid fruit brewing almost always results in significant loss. Unless your primary is in probably a 1/2 gallon container, you're going to have a ton of headspace, which risks oxidation.

Pouring through cheesecloth is a massive oxidation risk. Putting a cheesecloth at the intake of an auto-siphon lowers the risk a lot, but then you have the problem of the fruit particulate clogging the pores in the fabric.

A hops spider might work better, but it's expensive and will eventually clog too.

You probably should just carefully lower the auto-siphon tip and slowly push it under the fruit, then start gently pumping so you don't agitate everything. Like I said, you're going to lose a lot in order to avoid fruit particulate and lees, but that's just reality. I use 8 lbs of fruit per gallon, so my losses average 50%.

And I shouldn't have to say this, but buy a jug of StarSan and dilute it, and sanitize literally everything that will touch your brew, including your hands.

 

[Gentle_Brick]

The primary already has fruit in it, and is in a 1 gallon vessel? How much fruit is in it? Solid fruit brewing almost always results in significant loss. Unless your primary is in probably a 1/2 gallon container, you're going to have a ton of headspace, which risks oxidation.

Pouring through cheesecloth is a massive oxidation risk. Putting a cheesecloth at the intake of an auto-siphon lowers the risk a lot, but then you have the problem of the fruit particulate clogging the pores in the fabric.

A hops spider might work better, but it's expensive and will eventually clog too.

You probably should just carefully lower the auto-siphon tip and slowly push it under the fruit, then start gently pumping so you don't agitate everything. Like I said, you're going to lose a lot in order to avoid fruit particulate and lees, but that's just reality. I use 8 lbs of fruit per gallon, so my losses average 50%.

And I shouldn't have to say this, but buy a jug of StarSan and dilute it, and sanitize literally everything that will touch your brew, including your hands.

Thanks for the reminder about a hop spider, I have one, I didn't even think about it. Yeah, I keep a spray bottle of some fresh starsan in every operation. For everyone, starsan has a 3hr shelf life once mixed

 

[Troonos]

For everyone, starsan has a 3hr shelf life once mixed

Where did you read that? Mixed StarSan remains efficacious for a month in any container, and several months in an airtight container. Much longer if you use distilled or RO water, and practically indefinitely if you use these and an airtight container. It only loses efficacy when it becomes cloudy because the detergent ingredient is expended, bonding to contaminants like dust and your water's mineral content.

 

[Gentle_Brick]

Where did you read that? Mixed StarSan remains efficacious for a month in any container, and several months in an airtight container. Much longer if you use distilled or RO water, and practically indefinitely if you use these and an airtight container. It only loses efficacy when it becomes cloudy because the detergent ingredient is expended, bonding to contaminants like dust and your water's mineral content.

Sorry, it's one hr, straight from their website.

'Star San is an EPAs registered sanitizer and must be used immediately. We do not recommend using it if has been in solution longer than an hour.'

 

[Troonos]

Sorry, it's one hr, straight from their website.

'Star San is an EPAs registered sanitizer and must be used immediately. .'

That's the legal liability answer the company feels compelled to give so they have padding against lawsuits related to contaminated batches. Actual testing shows preservation of pH and no evidence of detergent loss for the time periods I quoted above, and decades of commercial use with StarSan that's been diluted for a month or more resulting in no infections and clean test swabs. Their website also claims that StarSan degrades into "food for your yeast" and there's no real science behind that. Corporatespeak isn't always reality.

 

[Gentle_Brick]

That's the legal liability answer the company feels compelled to give so they have padding against lawsuits related to contaminated batches. Actual testing shows preservation of pH and no evidence of detergent loss for the time periods I quoted above, and decades of commercial use with StarSan that's been diluted for a month or more resulting in no infections and clean test swabs. Their website also claims that StarSan degrades into "food for your yeast" and there's no real science behind that. Corporatespeak isn't always reality.

Sure, I think I've come across the same tests you're referencing, but when a cheap wine kit is $60, a good price for malted grains is $1/lb and hops are closer to $3/oz. The $1.25 for a fresh 5gal batch of sanitizer is an almost nonexistent cost for best practice. It's 1ml for a 16oz spray bottle, it's silly to risk a batch that will cost several times what a whole container of sanitizer costs. And then there's the time loss if you have to dump a batch.