wine - aerobic fermentation?

Tom_B

Hello Hello - first time wine maker here got a batch of rhubarb wine bubbling away - some recipes talk about an initial aerobic fermentation in a bucket before the must goes into the demijohn with an airlock on.

any views on how critical the aerobic fermentation is or isn't?

Thanks, Tom

HBO_Staff

Hi Tom, you may find you get a few different answers and opinions on this on the internet and on recipes etc, there is a lot of science behind all this and you may find some very heated debates amongst the experts on the internet, but generally speaking if you find a good recipe that has achieved good results then follow it. What they are basically trying to do is to allow oxygen into the brew so the yeast can start a good and healthy fermentation, what you are brewing can determine whether you want to do this or not, but the general philosophy is that allowing oxygen in and aerating the brew helps the initial fermentation, then once the fermentation is starting to get going, a vessel with lid and airlock are used to keep contaminates out as usual.

There is loads of information out there on this and opinions vary, but this is just intended as a very basic starter guide to get you started.

Tom_B

Thanks - I'll report back on the rhubarb wine

HBO_Staff

Great, please do, let us know how it turns out, Cheers. Here is a recipe we tried out:

https://homebrewonlinebrewblog.wordpress.com/2017/05/15/making-rhubarb-wine/

Tom_B

Bottled up the Rhubarb wine - I am astonished to find that it is really, really good, not just in a 'its drinkable' kind of way. I just need to have enough self control to be able to keep at least one bottle to see how ageing will change the flavour.

HBO_Staff

Hey Tom, that is fantastic news, and this is still in the very early days too, so it should get even better if you do manage to keep a bottle aside - hopefully there is some more rhubarb ready so you can get another batch on!