by sinis 33 Replies latest jw friends
ive made 100's of gallons over the years---heres a real easy way:
1 litre carton of apple juice---or any pale juice
i kilo white sugar
yeast
yeast nutrient
citric acid
dissolve sugar in a pint of boiling water--add fruit juice--top up with cold water to 1 gallon---
when cooled down--say 70 f --add yeast /nutrient/citric---all in a gallon demi.-john---fit airlock
stir/shake regularly
after about 6 weeks when wine has cleared--drink it----about 14% proof--if dry.990.
Goodness, all that sounds too complicated...
Much easier to do down to the local bottlo and get a nice drop from the Hunter or Barossa Valley!
But then you miss out on the satisfaction of knowing that the grapes were squished with your own toes.
But then you miss out on the satisfaction of knowing that the grapes were squished with your own toes.
LOL
Black Sheep - the hydrometer reading at the beginning was about 15% alcohol. I currently have the lid on the fermenter with the water lock valve. It has been bubbling away. According to the instructions I am supposed to pull the lid twice a day and stir the contents, which I have been doing (keeping the lid off to a minimum and making sure that the lid is pushed down to push the air out when fastening the lid back on. I usually will see the bubbles kick in again within a few seconds. I believe that the hydrometer was 1.13. It does have a nice smell, though its kind of a sickly sweet methane smell... how long to run it dry? The instructions said 7 days, is that about right? I assume that the bubbles will stop... also can I use a sanitized painters filter/sock? I have to go back to the brew shop and may check to see what they have. I don't think I have the sodium metabisulfite - is that the campden tabs or something different? Also how much would I add? Thanks again!
how long to run it dry?
That can vary a lot, but 7 days might do it. Temperature, strain of yeast, nutrients, all make a difference. Some yeasts stop at about 14%. If yours is one, it'll never go completely dry. At 1.13 your finished alcohol would be 17%. I don't have much experience in brewing that high, but I would guess it might take longer than 7 days. Personally, I would give up stirring it when the fermentation slows, as I'm not fond of vinegar. When it stops bubbling it's finished.
is that the campden tabs?Yes. I haven't used them for years, as the types of brewing I do now doesn't require them and I'm on holiday in the tropics so don't have my notes with me. My packet had the instructions on it.
can I use a sanitized painters filter/sock?LOL. Can't help you there. I'm not a painter. I used to use old sheets, teatowels or cloth nappies. It's not really filtering. It's more like pressing. Once the fermentation was over, I would syphon most of the brew without getting any pulp, then put the remainder into my cloth and wring the last out by hand.... But ..... I only did this for red wines when I wanted to extract the color and tannins from the skins. For white wines I would do this before I pitched the yeast and I would not stir it, or take the lid off, during fermentation.
The wine won't be clear at this point. There are probably finings in your kit to help with that.
I have a small vineyard, a wooden smasher and a wooden press. The grapes pass through 2 big spinning cylinders, into a big wooden barrel, around 100 litres. I leave them for 2 days, so that the Drosophilas can have enough time to plant the yeast. I put them in the press and squeeze them. I get around 40-50 litres of slightly fermented grape juice. I put the juice in a big glass (it's mandatory to be made of glass) recipient (50 litres), with a special cap so that CO2 can get out without air getting in. Then everything goes down in my basement. The wine is ready for Christmas, every year. It has no chemicals in it, just wine made like in the old days.
So do I not stir the solution? Kind of confused now. I understand the oxygen affect and vinegar. So should I not stir it twice a day like the instructions said? What happens if I don't and why are they wanting the solution stirred? Thanks!!
Oh, I used the campden tabs before I added the yeast (I let the solution sit for 24 hours with the campden tabs before adding yeast). The instructions said to add later on when getting ready to bottle. Should I add campden tabs after the pulp is squeezed? If so, why?
So do I not stir the solution? Kind of confused now
The only reason I can think of for stirring a brew during fermentation is to extract color and tannins from the grape skins in the chapeau, the pulp that floats to the top, when making red wine.
Notice that DagothUr presses his grapes after two days of fermentation. Two days fermenting on the skins will give him the color he wants and enough tannin for a wine to be drunk fresh that Christmas. If he left it longer, he would extract more tannins and make a wine that might not be so nice this Christmas and peak in a few years.
Also notice how little fiddling about he does and how little opportunity for air contact he has.
Should I add campden tabs after the pulp is squeezed? If so, why?
No. I only suggested that for if you hadn't used any and because you have a lot of air contact.
