sorry i posted this again, but it didnt show in outlook..

Is it a bad idea to use a 15gallon beer keg to ferment my wine in for? when
should i bottle it? after the 6 months of aging, or can it age in the
bottles?

thanks
joe

In article >, "Joe" > wrote:
>sorry i posted this again, but it didnt show in outlook..
>
>Is it a bad idea to use a 15gallon beer keg to ferment my wine in for?

If the keg is stainless steel, that's not a problem at all. If it's aluminum
like the title of your post suggests, yes, that's a bad idea.

Very bad.

Wine is acidic. Aluminum dissolves fairly readily in acids -- ask any cook
about the wisdom of cooking anything with tomatos in an aluminum pan. A
significant amount of aluminum will enter the wine, more than enough to ruin
the taste, and very possibly enough to be a threat to health.

> when
>should i bottle it? after the 6 months of aging, or can it age in the
>bottles?

I bulk-age my wines 6 to 18 months in glass before bottling. I try to bottle
at least a year in advance of consumption. I'm happy with my results. YMMV.

Your 6 months of aging, or however long you choose to do it, should occur in
glass, stainless steel, or an oak barrel. Not in plastic, not in aluminum, not
in any metal except stainless steel.

Im sorry. You are right, they are stainless steel. Years ago I got it
stuck in my head that they were alumn. and it stuck for whatever reason. I
get corrected on that all the time.

Thanks again,
Joe

"Joe" > wrote in message
...
> sorry i posted this again, but it didnt show in outlook..
>
> Is it a bad idea to use a 15gallon beer keg to ferment my wine in for?
when
> should i bottle it? after the 6 months of aging, or can it age in the
> bottles?
>
> thanks
> joe
>
>
>

Hi Joe;

After fining I bulk age my wine in stainless beer kegs and, after a year or
so, decant the wine directly from the keg the same as you would beer. Works
just fine and eliminates the labour of bottling that much wine. Some say
that it ages better in bottles but I don't have the experience or palate to
tell the difference.

Beer kegs are pressurized with CO2 or a mixture of CO2 and nitrogen. I
pressurize/decant the wine kegs with nitrogen through used hardware I bought
from a beverage company that supplies hotels and bars.

Roger


"Joe" > wrote in message
...
> sorry i posted this again, but it didnt show in outlook..
>
> Is it a bad idea to use a 15gallon beer keg to ferment my wine in for?
when
> should i bottle it? after the 6 months of aging, or can it age in the
> bottles?
>
> thanks
> joe
>
>
>