Demijohn supplier

[matoichi]

After watching Mears, Fearnley-Whittingstall et al and reading through many of these wonderful posts im going to give birch tapping a try next spring with a view to making a garage full of wine for summer. I live in Hokkaido in northern Japan and am spoiled for choice for when it comes to picking suitable trees - out of interest is there much difference between the taste of the sap from Silver and Downy Birch?

One thing i can find for the life of me is a demijohn. The japanese (the ones round here anyway) arent really into the home brewing thing. Does anyone know a place where i could buy them and get them shipped relatively cheaply? or even better if theres any fellow bushcrafters living here on this thread who possibly know a japanese store where i can pick them up thatd be great.

 

[EdS]

any 5l "bottle " will do.

I've made wine in 5l mineral water bottles before, every bit as good as glass demijohns, just need to fit the air lock carefully.

 

[matoichi]

thanks EdS - guess i should also ask wheres a good place to pick up an airlock from - another bit of kit the Japanese don't seem familiar with. Ive done a bit of googling on the subject but id like to get some feedback about reputable companies before i buy. dont want to go overboard but i dont want to buy rubbish either

 

[gregorach]

An airlock is an airlock - there isn't really a quality issue. Any cheap plastic airlock will do the job just fine.

 

[Jim_aramis]

Most homebrew shops now do gallon demijohns in PET plastic with screwtop airlocks (lighter and cheaper to post).

Have a look around. You might be able to get something shipped from the UK, US or Oz.

ebay is also a good source of homebrew gear.

I take it the Japanese are not big on carboot sales?

 

[brancho]

Water cooler bottles will do the trick nicely I would think.
You could make an air lock with some flexible tubing and some tape to hold in a U tube as that is all an air lock is.

Forinstance take the srew cap for a suitable bottle cut a hole in it glue a piece of tubing in place shape it into a U tape in place on teh side of teh bottle top up with water and you are done an air tight seal.

 

[tom miller]

Try here
http://www.homebrewshop.co.uk/
here
http://www.art-of-brewing.co.uk/
or here
http://www.the-home-brew-shop.co.uk/

 

[Ex Member - Sidney Bounty]

in a pinch use a ballon put a pinhole in it and pop it over the opening its more to just keep out bugs and dust or plastic bag or cling wrap it does not have to be anything fancy...

 

[gregorach]

Technically, you want to exclude oxygen during the secondary fermentation phase. An airlock will do that, while a wrapping or cover won't. I do primary fermentation in a covered (but not sealed) bucket - it's only when it gets racked to the secondary that I use an airlock.

While it's not absolutely essential, you will get better results.

 

[matoichi]

thanks very much for all the replies and info, sorry if it was a basic question - bit of a noob!
does anyone know the answer to whether the sap from each of the 3 species of birch is better for wine making if theres any difference at all? cant wait to get cracking at it, just had our first massive dump of snow here in Niseko so have got a long hard winter to get through first though!

 

[Toddy]

We just use any birch that's big enough.......usually silver around here.

If you are really itching to have a shot, remember the sap is mostly water with about 2% sugar and the bits that give it flavour. You could try diluting down some of the contents of a jar of jam or rosehip syrup and giving that a go. Or pulp some fresh fruit, add lots of water and deal with it as though it were the sap.............is plum not popular in Japan ?

I'm sure folks would advise on good kits that could be sent to you..........Christmas is a coming.......

 

[matoichi]

thats a fantastic idea Toddy, my wifes parents give us heaps of plums every time they come round, the only way we had of dealing with the surplus was to stick them in rice balls which i eat for lunch nearly every day - whilst my coworkers munch their bacon sarnies.

found a pretty clear set of instructions here - http://www.instructables.com/id/Plum-Wine/

cheers!

 

[FGYT]

is home brewing legal in Japan ???? maybe thays why theres no kit avalible ??

Just a thought

ATB

Duncan

 

[matoichi]

its sort of legal....
you can brew your own beverages as long as they dont exceed 1% alcohol. obviously thats not even worth the bother and as Japanese folk are very law abiding most wouldnt dream of breaking the law, no matter how small (one of the good things about living here vs London where i grew up). me on the other hand! Ill be very discreet but to be honest theres more chance of seeing a leprechaun than a policeman in my town.

 

[rik_uk3]

I've got several airlocks somewhere, if I can dig them out I'll send them to you, they are plastic so weigh next to nothing

 

[matoichi]

thats very kind of you to offer Richard thanks. if you can dig them out let me know and ill think of something bushcrafty from Japan to send your way in return.