...and its pretty cool. Took me four hours to take the grapes off the stems. Had about 25 lbs from my vine (white grapes). I added two pounds of strawberries, and a pound of peaches. Looks like the alcohol content will be about 15-20%. Tonight I add the yeast... will let everyone know how it turns out in about a month to 1.5 months.
Got my own wine kit from a local brew shop...
by sinis 33 Replies latest jw friends
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NewChapter
You sharing?
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Simon
We make our own wine - it turns out really well.
Be sure to make careful notes as you go along so you can reproduce things when they work well and figure out what went wrong if not.
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RubaDub
Be sure to make careful notes as you go along so you can reproduce things when they work well and figure out what went wrong if not.
Simon is 1000% correct here ...
My wife has kicked my ass more than I would like to admit after coming up with a great batch of wine that ... after looking back on what I did ... I can't figure out exactly what I did or how I did it. It really seems like a pain to detail every step you take, especially if it doesn't turn out well ... but that is how you learn and how not to reproduce mistakes.
As Simon mentioned, "take careful notes" ... and if I may add, down to the outside temperature, how ripe the grapes are, how you cleaned the vessel you fermented it in ... etc ...etc ....etc ...etc
I have also done this with beer I regularly brew and I have to tell you .... once you get the process down .... the product tastes great and especially with beer, there is nothing better than fresh tasting beer that tastes exactly way you like it. In fact, one elder loves to do a "shepherding call" on us every month or so for a quart or two of the real homebrewed beer.
Rub a Dub
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talesin
home made saki is really good,,, a little rice, a few raisins, et voila!
mmm
t
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Black Sheep
Good on you, Sinis. I hope it goes well.
You might find it addictive. I started brewing/vintning over thirty years ago and now it's highly unusual for me not to have something on the go in my brewery. Thanks to Google, I recently came up with a very fine brew, mostly from my garden, that makes a very refreshing summer drink, only taking a couple of weeks from start to RTD, including disgorging.
I tried home made Saki many years ago, Jen. I'm sure the recipe had been published in an April 1st newspaper. It ponged like a long drop.
Chris
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THE GLADIATOR
Make sure that the alcohol doesn't get too strong and kill the yeast before it has used up the sugar.
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sinis
Thanks!!! The fermentor is bubbling like crazy. The instructions say to stir twice a day for 6-7 days. I just did that and a huge head of foam came up. I hope this sounds all correct... also, any recomendations on how to filter/capture the must/pulp and squeeze it out?? Thanks!!!
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sinis
Gladiator - how do you control the process? Thanks!
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Black Sheep
Don't get too much oxygen in when stirring. Vinegar needs oxygen.
If you have a blow up beach ball, or toy, you could pipe the co2 into it to use for purging after you've had the lid off.
For white wine, I would press it before pitching the yeast. In the bad old days before I got a wine press, I would wring the juice out, by hand, using on old sheet. Do not use a centrifugal juicer to cheat, because it will oxygenate the brew to make you a nice vinegar.
If you haven't used any sodium metabisulfite yet, add some when you press it.
Make sure that the alcohol doesn't get too strong and kill the yeast before it has used up the sugar.
Do you know what the sugar %, or SG was before you put the yeast in. Without getting too technical, that is pretty much your only control on alcohol content. If you didn't have a hydrometer or refractometer, just stick with your recipe and you should be ok.
If there is more sugar than your yeast can use before the alcohol % gets so high it kills the yeast, the wine will be sweet. If that is what you want, it's ok.
Cheers
Chris