6 replies to this topic

[robsauce]

I just racked my blueberry braggot from secondary off the blueberries and into a clean carboy. When I got down to the bottom the [mod edit] fruit kept getting stuck and clogging up my auto-siphon tube. I had to restart the siphon 5 times in order to get the rest of the braggot out and I still ended up wasting a fair bit as I gave up. This in turn created many airbubbles in my siphon tube and subsequently many glugs and air bubbles in my clean carboy. For future reference anyone have suggestions on how to easily rack off fruit. There was also a dead bug (fruit fly or mosquito) in my siphon tube that I couldnt flush out....it wasn't there when I finished racking. mmm - bugs.

[SnowMan]

I find it helpful to put a block or wedge under one side of the carboy a week or so prior to racking if I think about it. This tilts the carboy a bit and helps stuff settle in the the "bottom". It also gives you a nice place to rack from as you are above more of the sediment, fruit and such.

[strangebrewer]

Racking off fruit can be a really aggravating experience and some fruits are worse than others. Anymore I add my fruit in secondary and I put the fruit in sanitized hop bags or paint strainer bags and put the whole bag in the mead. I just rack out from under it come racking day. Obviously I do this in a bucket. If you prefer to let your fruit swim then it makes for a little slower progress but I've done 2 things here. I have some fine stainless mesh screen that I securely fashion to the end of my siphon to give plenty of surface area (because most of it will clog either way). It's slow but it works. The other method I have used mostly with making wine from grapes. I sanitize a fine mesh colander and suspend it submerged in the must with just the lip of the colander out of the must and then rack from inside the colander. This method takes more attention since you have to lower the colander with the level of the must but it allows me to apply some pressure when needed since grapes generate a LOT of pulp. The less grape I have to shovel into the press the easier life is on pressing day.

[robsauce]

The hop/grain/mesh bag idea might work best. My 2ndary was in a 7 gallon tub and all the fruit was floating at the top which made it hard to find my happy place near the end of the racking where I was above the yeast but below the fruit.

[davelew]

There was also a dead bug (fruit fly or mosquito) in my siphon tube that I couldnt flush out....it wasn't there when I finished racking. mmm - bugs.

Fruit flies scare me because they often carry acetobacter, and can turn wine into vinegar.

[ChicagoWaterGuy]

Has anyone tried running their fruit through a juicer? Could this at least make the trub pile more even on the bottom of a carboy.

[robsauce]

I'm thinking I might do that next time. I have a small juicer that will would suffice for a few lbs of fruit. However I believe some people want/enjoy the flavor that having the entire fruit with skins present in the carboy.