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Mesh bag for Melomel

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Loadnabox

Loadnabox

NewBee
Registered Member
Apr 17, 2011
849
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Ohio
My apologies if this has been posted before, after hours of searching I've not only learned of many things I would never have thought of (kudos for the wealth of info!), but also come up blank about mesh bags.

When making a Melomel, if you opt to put your fruit in a mesh bag, what kind of mesh bag are we talking about? Everything supposedly affects the flavor so I would worry about cotton (could the cotton become yeast food?) as well as getting it truly well sanitized to be IN the must.

Is there a fabric/blend that is best for this or specialized bags?

I have a 1 gal JAO in the closet already (Pitched 4/15). If it comes out well I plan to make a 5 gal JAO carboy and experimenting with not only more complex recipes but hopefully my own concoctions!

Thank you in advance for the help

P.S. Good luck Vicky on quitting, I am 6 months without a cancer stick now and it took me many tries. I -know- how hard it is!
 
You can get 1 or 5 gallon paint strainer at Lowe's, Home Depot, ect.

Good for fruit/herb bag. Also, has an elastic top that fits over the top of your bucket to be used as a strainer.
 
I also have a few nylon mesh "brew bags". They work good and you can pretty easily clean and reuse.
 
I made one of my brew bags from some polyester-cotton knit I got in the "ends bin" at the fabric store and the other one out of two sheets of muslin I bought at a bargain store (although if I hadn't found that, I'd have used cotton tea-towels), they both rinse out fairly clean as long as I don't let anything dry out in them, I tie them shut with boiled cotton cord and I wash them in the laundry after use with the white t-shirts load (can't stand the thought of putting them with the undies load, :eek: bleachh) and then boil for 5 min before use. I also got some nylon mesh netting from the "ends bin" and hand-sewed myself some drawstring spice bags.

I have also more than once used a clean, boiled pillowcase tied with boiled cotton. It works well enough, but you want to use cheap cotton ones because the high thread count ones take too long to drain out! :) (that and it WILL stain)
 
I'll follow up here...Do you, when adding fruit to secondary, shove it down the neck of the carboy, or is it just as good to leave it in the primary bin for another 4 days or so with the bag in and *then* rack?
 
Tiwas said:
Do you, when adding fruit to secondary, shove it down the neck of the carboy, or is it just as good to leave it in the primary bin for another 4 days or so with the bag in and *then* rack?
Click to expand...

Fruit in a carboy is a PITA, and if you have a vigorous yeast and you've filled it with fruit (even in secondary), you can get a plugged airlock and a stained ceiling.

I won't put fruit in a carboy these days. I'll use a bucket, or put it through the mouth of a keg, but not in a carboy.
 
Yep, me too. No fruit in the carboy, and aside from the lambics I've got going in carboys, all active fermentation is in a bucket. I love my buckets, which I have ten or so of, varying sizes depending on the batch size I'm making.
 
No fruit in a carboy?

>.>

<.<

Maybe I shouldn't post any pics of my JOA in the closet

oh well, a coat hanger folded into a hook should work, but that's a couple months away.
 
Had no problem with the fruit in my JAO. Just be sure to leave lots of head space during active fermentation and be sure to top off after it calms down.
 
JAO's a bit of an exception because it doesn't use much fruit, and they're in big chunks, easy to deal with. I also avoid putting any fruit into carboys (of course this is easy for me, because I put all fruit into primary, and do primary in a bucket!).
 
So....as I'll be splitting up my batch, I should transfer some of it into 10l buckets, leave with fruit for 4 days or so, and then rack onto "storage containers"?
 
The only time I ever put loose fruit in a carboy is if it's a JAO or variation... but I also put most of my fruits in primary. But if I were to do it in secondary, a must that's still degassing should not be subject to too much oxygenation if you were to put it in a bucket with fruit and lots of headspace.
 
I racked a batch of black berry last night that had the berries in the carboy. They came out easily enough (they were pretty well pulverized), but made an unholy mess when I poured the slop out. I don't think I'll be putting anything in the carboy again. Also, I need an apron.

;D
 
TheAlchemist said:
Welcome to Got Mead!

And congrats to you and (in advance) to Vicky on liberating yourselves!
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Thanks, I still get (sometimes strong) urges to pick one up but I have a sweet cooing 4 month old that helps remind me why I quit in the first place :)
 
Loadnabox said:
P.S. Good luck Vicky on quitting, I am 6 months without a cancer stick now and it took me many tries. I -know- how hard it is!e
Click to expand...

Congrats to you, it will be 3 years for me in May. My wife still smokes but I have endeavored to preserver. ;D
 
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