Post by: Kc_Kracker on November 20, 2013, 10:49:21 PM
Post by: NW-GSP on November 20, 2013, 10:52:27 PM
Post by: Kc_Kracker on November 20, 2013, 11:22:28 PM
Post by: pens fan on November 21, 2013, 09:17:55 PM
All on all, it cost me $200. This year,.since i already have the stuff...about 100 bottles and maybe $30. We also made several gallons of blackberry brandy. Enjoy..KC! :tup:
Post by: Kc_Kracker on November 22, 2013, 12:32:09 AM
also, one of the flavors we tries was pomegranate, and we made sure it was NO preservatives, but 16 hours after adding yeast all are making foam and bubbling, BUT that one. ideas? :o
Post by: Duffer on November 22, 2013, 02:15:38 AM
I've never had a problem with just water. It won't grow bacteria if it's clean. An alcohol is best tho as it is self-sterilizing.
I'd have to read up on pomegranate but it may have an unusual property like really high acids or not enough nutrients for your yeast to take hold.
Post by: Kc_Kracker on November 22, 2013, 09:49:04 PM
Post by: lokidog on November 22, 2013, 10:29:18 PM
crapola, thanks guy si didnt know about what to use in the air locks. i dont have any vodka, can i just use bourbon lol? and is it ok to remove them then sterilize and reinstall?
I just use water, sometimes I will add a little sodium bisulfite or campden tablets to it. I have actually had locks go dry and never had a problem. Even the juice would be fine as long as none is sucked back in when removing the stopper, but distilled water or vodka I guess, would be better.
What did you sterilize your juices with? It could be that it was still too active in the pomegranite one. I would add another batch of yeast to it, stirring the stuff in the bottom probably won't do much. I've made a lot of different wines and have pretty much used Premier Cuvee for all of the different juices. The various additives, like yeast nutrient, tannin, acid blends will often help the fruit juices work out better than just plain juice. Follow the recipes, I also add about twice as much juice and less water though as I like to really be able to taste the fruit. I have done watermelon, kiwi, and persimmon to name a few of the more odd ones. The watermelon one went bad on me though.
Good luck
BTW, making beer is called brewing, making wine is called vinting. ;)
Post by: Kc_Kracker on November 22, 2013, 11:27:13 PM
hey i wanna make some watermelon now that ill drink, "do the watermelon crawl" :IBCOOL:
Post by: jay.sharkbait on November 22, 2013, 11:50:31 PM
thanks loki, and everyone else :hello: i personally dont care for wine its too dry for me but wife loves it, i will take them off carefully, i have campden tablets i can toss in each lock with water :tup:
hey i wanna make some watermelon now that ill drink, "do the watermelon crawl" :IBCOOL:
Just be careful with the campden tablets and don't let it get into the carboy as it will kill the good yeast.
I've always used distilled or tap water and never had a problem.
If the Pomagranite doesn't go off by tomorrow i'd pitch more yeast. I have had batches of cider I rushed and i'm sure there was residual campden in the bucket.
have fun
Post by: Kc_Kracker on November 22, 2013, 11:57:04 PM
Post by: jay.sharkbait on November 23, 2013, 12:11:25 AM
cider? what can you do with cider? :drool: they told me anything apple never tastes good :dunno: i REALLY want to make her blackberry but could not find any juice that was no preservatives :bash:
Well, either press you own or buy CIDER WITH ZERO PRESERVATIVES.
I always use med brown sugar to get the numbers I need and pitch champagne yeast. Last batch I poured into canning jars and stored in the refer. It still has a natural "fizz" when opened.
Try pouring hot cider over a bucket of blackberries ( hot breaks the berry skin) and use a champagne yeast a couple hours later...
Post by: fastdam on November 23, 2013, 03:29:54 AM
It will probably take much longer than 4 weeks to clarify and mellow. I automaticly plan on one year for cherry wine. This year i made peach wine and im at 5 months right now with sediment still falling out. Im shooting for august. Dont rush it, and plan to rack it over several times.
Post by: lokidog on November 24, 2013, 08:47:37 AM
You can get sweeter wine by checking it as it works and stopping the ferment with the sugar levels where you want them. You have to use sulfites though or a really, really good filter. I have tried sweetening wine after it was done but always ended up with an "off" flavor. A few years ago Mtn Dew put out a sweetened with real sugar soda instead of corn syrup. It had that same "off" flavor to me, so the next time I sweeten wine, I will try corn syrup. I usually sweeten a dry wine at the time of drinking it so I don't have to use the chemicals. I like sweet wines.
Post by: lokidog on November 24, 2013, 08:54:02 AM
cider? what can you do with cider? :drool: they told me anything apple never tastes good :dunno: i REALLY want to make her blackberry but could not find any juice that was no preservatives :bash:
Cider is good too, you can do sparkling and bottle it like bear or you can do apple wine. The same thing happens with cider as wine though, it can get real dry (not sweet ;) ). I've seen people drink homebrew cider and beer right out of the bottle, yuck, unless you like the taste of yeast sludge.
The last blackberry I made, I used something like 45 pounds of berries for 5 gallons, pure juice, a lot of work but wow. I would think you could find organic juice?
I added lots of sugar to a cherry batch many years ago figuring that the yeast would die off at 15 or so % alcohol and le3ave a bunch of residual sugar, it actually finished out at 21%. :yike: This is my "happy wife" wine. :chuckle:
Post by: jay.sharkbait on November 24, 2013, 09:00:12 AM
cider? what can you do with cider? :drool: they told me anything apple never tastes good :dunno: i REALLY want to make her blackberry but could not find any juice that was no preservatives :bash:
Cider is good too, you can do sparkling and bottle it like bear or you can do apple wine. The same thing happens with cider as wine though, it can get real dry (not sweet ;) ). I've seen people drink homebrew cider and beer right out of the bottle, yuck, unless you like the taste of yeast sludge.
The last blackberry I made, I used something like 45 pounds of berries for 5 gallons, pure juice, a lot of work but wow. I would think you could find organic juice?
I added lots of sugar to a cherry batch many years ago figuring that the yeast would die off at 15 or so % alcohol and le3ave a bunch of residual sugar, it actually finished out at 21%. :yike: This is my "happy wife" wine. :chuckle:
I think there are some yeasts that die off at a higher alcohol content.
Post by: lokidog on November 24, 2013, 09:03:57 AM
cider? what can you do with cider? :drool: they told me anything apple never tastes good :dunno: i REALLY want to make her blackberry but could not find any juice that was no preservatives :bash:
Cider is good too, you can do sparkling and bottle it like bear or you can do apple wine. The same thing happens with cider as wine though, it can get real dry (not sweet ;) ). I've seen people drink homebrew cider and beer right out of the bottle, yuck, unless you like the taste of yeast sludge.
The last blackberry I made, I used something like 45 pounds of berries for 5 gallons, pure juice, a lot of work but wow. I would think you could find organic juice?
I added lots of sugar to a cherry batch many years ago figuring that the yeast would die off at 15 or so % alcohol and le3ave a bunch of residual sugar, it actually finished out at 21%. :yike: This is my "happy wife" wine. :chuckle:
I think there are some yeasts that die off at a higher alcohol content.
I don't care if they have to GMO it, I want some yeasts that die off at certain KNOWN percents. :)
Post by: Kc_Kracker on November 24, 2013, 08:00:26 PM
i notice my sugar in the bottom of the jug, because i tried to stir them up, is almost rock hard, is this normal? so do i add anything else for the month wait or just watch? i bought a hydrometer but no idea when to use it :dunno:
Post by: lokidog on November 24, 2013, 09:09:25 PM
Regarding sugar in the bottom, you should dissolve all of the sugar as it is added. Sometimes, you will need to heat the juice a bit to dissolve all of the sugar you want in there. Once your yeast starts to settle, you do not want to mix it back up into the juice. The sugar you have on the bottom is gone now. If you desire to increase alcohol content, you can add more dissolved sugar later, before the ferment is over.
A quick question... did you do a primary ferment in a bucket/garbage can and then rack to your carbuoy or did you mix it and add it directly to the carbuoy? If the second is the case, you had better put those jugs into a bin or something so when they bubble over they don't make too much of a mess. The first fermentation is an aerobic (with Oxygen) one, this creates lots of foam and bubbles and will usually blow out the top of a carbouy. During the primary ferment (in a bucket or clean garbage can with a tight weave cloth towel over it) you want to stir it once a day, if I recall. This will allow the yeast to use up all of the oxygen, don't stir super vigorously or you will just add O2 back to it. Once the foaming/bubbling has calmed down, about 4 days to a week, then it should be siphoned off into the carbuoy. Be sure to put the end of your tubing all the way to the bottom of the empty jug as you do not want to add air to it since the more O2 in there now, the less alcohol will be produced. Try not to get too much sludge into the jug, a bit doesn't really hurt though.
Post by: Kc_Kracker on November 26, 2013, 12:03:33 AM
Post by: Duffer on November 26, 2013, 12:44:57 AM
You can try to guestimate how much sugar is settled and replace it but that would be tricky. You could leave it alone and the yeast may eventually work thru that sugar. Eventually. Maybe.
It is possible that your oops is beneficial if you are trying to make a really high alcohol wine. In essence you have started your fermentation with a low sugar level and later you would be hitting it with a 2nd dose of sugar. this is a common method for making really high alcohol wines because if you put ALL of the needed sugar in all at once the yeast is overloaded and can't get started. Too much sugar can kill some yeasts.
Post by: lokidog on November 26, 2013, 07:58:59 AM
so i should add sugar if its hardened to the bottom of the jug? its still bubbling air every second but in the jug its hardened. so how do i add dissolved sugar? i didnt use any water at all just pure juice. im so lost :bash:
There are two ways to add sugar after the ferment has started. One is to draw out some of the juice and stir it in, you may have to heat it to dissolve enough. You will likely lose whatever alcohol has formed in the liquid that is heated. This is where your SG reading at the beginning would have been beneficial as you could tell how much has been converted to alcohol already and then add accordingly. The other way, and this might be the easiest, is to mix up a sugar syrup and use it to top off your carbuoy each time after you rack it. This is a good time as you should always have a full jug and you will be losing volume that is left behind with the dead yeast.
There is a tool called a vin-o-meter that is a tiny glass funnel with a gradiated capillary tube attached to it. You can put some of your wine into it, wait for it to drip through, then turn it upside down. As gravity pulls your wine out, it will stop at a certain level because of the attraction that water molecules have for each other. The more alcohol, the less attraction, and the farther it will fall down the tube. This reading is not entirely accurate hwile there is still a bunch of sugar, but it could be close. I have calibrated mine by testing wines with "known" alcohol contents as it does seem to be about 2% off.
If you have not picked up a good beginning wine making book, I would suggest you do so. It may be even more beneficial for you now as you have specific questions to watch for. Sorry I have no suggestions for such book.
Post by: Hawgdawg on November 26, 2013, 08:11:03 AM
so, you have water in the air lock, we have the juice were using in the air lock. does it matter?
also, one of the flavors we tries was pomegranate, and we made sure it was NO preservatives, but 16 hours after adding yeast all are making foam and bubbling, BUT that one. ideas? :o
use vodka or better yet ever clear.
Post by: lokidog on November 26, 2013, 04:58:45 PM
:yeah: did you put your sugar in water and bring to boil and mix completely up before adding to your carboy?should not have hardened up on the bottom...I suggest you watch a utube video you are getting some bad advise here in my op. :twocents:
What bad advice? I don't think anyone told him to just pour it into the juice and stir.... I try to use pure juice when I make wine so I don't have water to dissolve my sugar into, however, I do heat the juice enough to get it to dissolve.
:dunno:
Post by: lokidog on November 26, 2013, 05:08:31 PM
Post by: fastdam on November 26, 2013, 07:03:55 PM
Post by: fastdam on November 26, 2013, 07:50:14 PM
Post by: lokidog on November 26, 2013, 09:21:44 PM
Its bad to use anything in the airlock that wont kill airborne bacteria on contact.I use vodka because if it does happen to get in my drink it wont hurt it at all.when you clean your equipment before putting your drink in it to ferment or age you can simply put some of it in your carboy,but if it accidentally does get in your carboy it to can ruin it.if you ever open the lid on your carboy because it is stuck during fermentation you risk ruining it,if you open it to draw off it to check the abv. you risk it.You can always get away with things like water sure until you dont.I have tried all sorts of stuff over the last 30 years making brew,wine,and other stuff lol.you can take this advice or not really doesnt matter to me i probably wont have the pleasure of drinking yours.But there is a real distinct possability that you have tasted or will taste mine if you drink,or go to competitions for homebrew,or micro beers.I have a porter that took me almost 6 months in 55 deg. to brew up.it is 13.9 abv want some of it?
No.
Look up Louis Pasteur, see if he used alcohol in his airlock. Nope. You don't even need to put a liquid in it, the water simply helps you tell how actively it is working. A person is much more likely to get contamination while racking than from an airlock, filled with juice, water, alcohol, or nothing at all. Sure, you risk drawing liquid into your jug removing the lock, if you overfill it, but that's why they have a fill line on it.
Fastdam, thanks.
Post by: bowhunterwa87 on November 26, 2013, 09:36:50 PM
Post by: fastdam on November 26, 2013, 09:52:15 PM
Cool thread. This looks fun...wonder if it could save me as much money as reloading :drool:
Once you have your equipment its almost free. Get your fruit freee, then buy sugar, yeast, caps/corks, and sterilizer of some sort. Campbden tablets and sulfites are optional.
Homemade booze is way better yhan commercial stuff in my opinion.
Post by: lokidog on November 27, 2013, 09:32:02 AM
I don't disagree that vodka might be a good idea, however, it's not the ONLY idea or way to keep the brew clean. Also, your are jumping between airlocks and dissolving sugar, which is it that us peons can't do right?
Is that too argumentative? Maybe you should just try to be helpful when commenting on a thread instead of just negative?
Post by: Kc_Kracker on November 27, 2013, 11:02:26 AM
ok so, in all the arguing i am still lost. its been 7 days, the hardened sugar in the bottom of the jugs is almost gone, i still have tiny air bubbles every few seconds, and i never got the foam and sludge i was told i would need to clean out.
do i just let them keep going? do i need to add more sugar, or do anything at all at this point? :dunno:
Post by: fastdam on November 27, 2013, 05:05:29 PM
Post by: Kc_Kracker on November 27, 2013, 05:17:32 PM
Post by: fastdam on November 27, 2013, 05:34:02 PM
Post by: lokidog on November 27, 2013, 08:55:43 PM
Just wait until the bubbles slow to one bubble every three minutes. The measure it and taste it. It takes me 4 or 5 months to make clear cider. At least a year for wine. I think you could drink the cider after only a few months, but the ciders that mellow for a year are my favorite.
:tup:
Post by: Kc_Kracker on November 29, 2013, 03:42:16 PM
Post by: lokidog on November 29, 2013, 11:22:58 PM
the kit i used said 4 weeks. what temp should the wine be in? anyone care to school me on how to use the hydrometer? im pretty lost with it :bash:
Did you get the tall clear cylinder with the hydrometer? Fill it, or a glass that is tall enough to submerge the hydrometer, about to the top. You want to leave enough space so the volume of the hydrometer does not overflow the cylinder. Slowly place the cylinder in the liquid and see what level it floats at. Be sure to read to the bottom of the liquid line as it will climb up the sides of the cylinder slightly. Do this the same way you would measure water in a clear measuring cup, to the meniscus. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meniscus (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meniscus)
Depending which scale you look at, you should be able to read the specific gravity reading. Now, if you had done this in the beginning, you could subtract the second reading and get the change in S.G. This would give you an approximate alcohol content. Since you don't have the beginning reading, you can't get as much info from this tool.
It would really be helpful for you to get a beginning winemaking book.
As Fastdam has stated, just wait until the bubbling has slowed quite a bit, then rack the wine. This slight agitation will likely pick up the yeast activity for a bit, leave it sit until it rarely bubbles, rack it again, let sit for a week or more and rack again. The longer you let it sit between rackings, the fewer times you should need to rack. Too many rackings could cause problems since, if I recall corectly, you only started with a gallon of each and you will lose some wine with each rack. If you let the sludge sit for a long time, it will also stick together better and not stir up quite as easily.
As far as temperature, 60-70 always seemed to work for me and is easy to do this time of year. This does depend on your yeasts and other factors though.
Post by: Kc_Kracker on November 30, 2013, 07:07:38 PM
Post by: Kc_Kracker on November 30, 2013, 08:18:57 PM
Balling specific gravity PAV
18 74 10%
readings as of tonight
Balling specific gravity PAV
10 72 20%
first reading is at 69 degrees, second reading is at 67 degrees.
so gurus, what does this tell me? it going to be weak or strong? dry and bitter or sweet?
Post by: lokidog on November 30, 2013, 09:44:14 PM
number taken before adding sugar and chemicals
Balling specific gravity PAV
18 74 10%
readings as of tonight
Balling specific gravity PAV
10 72 20%
first reading is at 69 degrees, second reading is at 67 degrees.
so gurus, what does this tell me? it going to be weak or strong? dry and bitter or sweet?
These numbers don't seem to go together looking at my hydrometer. ?? The temp is close enough to not make a significant difference and should be close enough to the 60 degrees that most are calibrated for.
At a SG of 1.074 mine shows a PAV of 9.5% and Balling of 18.5
At a PAV of 20% mine shows a SG of 1.115 and Balling of 35
If the SG readings are 1.072 and 1.074, there has essentially been no change. Your SG should drop to pretty close to 1.000 as the yeast will generally eat until there is no sugar left to eat. The recipes in the one book I could find start at 1.085 to 1.100. IMO, most homemade wines will be on the dry side unless the ferment is artificially stopped or stops due to lack of nutrients.
Normally, you would take the starting SG or PAV and then subtract the ending PAV to get your approximate alcohol content. The higher the Brix or Balling number, at the end of ferment, the more sugar there is remaining and the sweeter it will be.
I hope some of this helps. I don't know what you should do at this point.
BTW, racking is carefully removing the clear portion of the liquid off of the sediment, you should let it settle enough that the yeast is fairly solid and not "hazy". Sitting too long is probably better than not sitting long enough. You can top off with water if you don't want to encourage additional ferment, or sugar water if you want more alcohol. By adding to it, it changes your SG results slightly, depending what you add. The advantage of keeping your jug topped off is there is less chance for oxygen to get mixed in.
Please try to find a beginning wine book, it should be a lot more helpful than the bits you get here.
Post by: Kc_Kracker on December 11, 2013, 07:18:56 PM
oh and now im fermenting a special gallon of onion / garlic wine for cooking :tup:
Post by: Kc_Kracker on December 12, 2013, 02:20:56 PM
1 gallon bottles $3 each
air locks $1.50
chemicals $2
then just buy the juice
Post by: lokidog on December 12, 2013, 05:08:02 PM
kennys brewery supply in kent. same road as winco 5 blocks west :tup:
1 gallon bottles $3 each
air locks $1.50
chemicals $2
then just buy the juice
For the same amount of effort, 5 gallon carbouys can be made and you get more than four bottles in the end. :tup:
Post by: Kc_Kracker on December 12, 2013, 07:02:31 PM
Post by: Kc_Kracker on December 15, 2013, 08:24:19 AM
kennys brewery supply in kent. same road as winco 5 blocks west :tup:
1 gallon bottles $3 each
air locks $1.50
chemicals $2
then just buy the juice
oops i meant to say LARRYS Brewery supply
:chuckle: 7405 S 212th St # 103, Kent, WA 98032
(253) 872-6846
Post by: Kc_Kracker on December 27, 2013, 09:18:32 PM
Post by: lokidog on December 27, 2013, 09:54:47 PM
ok so did alot of reading on jack kellers site, good info, but now its been down and i have some wine ready to bottle. so anything i need to do before i bottle and cork it? this will be our first bottled :tup: its down to .999 SG and crystal clear :IBCOOL:
Leave it for another few weeks to make sure it is done working, or put it somewhere after bottling that a mess won't matter. :rolleyes: If you are in a hurry to drink it, you can rack it into a jar or decanter for now. My dad had to repaint our kitchen once due to bottling some Welch's grape wine a little too soon. :yike:
How's it taste and which one is it?
Post by: snowpack on December 27, 2013, 10:10:42 PM
Post by: Kc_Kracker on December 27, 2013, 11:01:32 PM
ok so did alot of reading on jack kellers site, good info, but now its been down and i have some wine ready to bottle. so anything i need to do before i bottle and cork it? this will be our first bottled :tup: its down to .999 SG and crystal clear :IBCOOL:
Leave it for another few weeks to make sure it is done working, or put it somewhere after bottling that a mess won't matter. :rolleyes: If you are in a hurry to drink it, you can rack it into a jar or decanter for now. My dad had to repaint our kitchen once due to bottling some Welch's grape wine a little too soon. :yike:
How's it taste and which one is it?
mango, it has not had a single bubble in the airlock for 3 weeks, so its spent 3 week clearing, its now crystal clear :tup: tastes DAMN GOOD, so i assumed its done, i was worried about it restarting fermentation I keep reading about :dunno:
Post by: Kc_Kracker on December 27, 2013, 11:04:35 PM
Post by: lokidog on December 27, 2013, 11:31:27 PM
Post by: Kc_Kracker on December 28, 2013, 12:06:09 AM
2-is there anything i ad before bottling?
Post by: pens fan on December 28, 2013, 01:38:43 AM
Post by: pens fan on December 28, 2013, 01:41:51 AM
Post by: Kc_Kracker on December 28, 2013, 07:15:42 AM
Post by: Kc_Kracker on December 28, 2013, 09:03:06 AM
I Put a dose of potassium metabisulfate to protect it. then added some sorbate to prevent any live yeast from starting to ferment the leftover sugars, just in case. then ill degas it to be sure, and shelf it :IBCOOL:
Post by: lokidog on December 28, 2013, 12:27:21 PM
Next time, if you are willing to add the chemicals, just add them when the wine is as sweet as you want it to be and then let it settle and bottle. I don't like the chemicals so most of my wines end up actually too dry for my tastes.
Post by: Kc_Kracker on December 28, 2013, 07:16:17 PM
Post by: lokidog on December 28, 2013, 08:02:27 PM
Post by: Kc_Kracker on December 28, 2013, 08:54:30 PM
Post by: lokidog on December 28, 2013, 09:08:34 PM
I wouldn't worry about it, I'd be more worried about getting O2 into the wine than CO2 out.
Post by: Kc_Kracker on December 29, 2013, 09:26:16 AM
Post by: lokidog on December 29, 2013, 09:33:47 AM
i want to bottle it today but i dont have any potassium metabisulfate or sorbate yet the dumb brewery supply is closed :bash:
I never use these before bottling, the sulfites make me congested, that's why I wait extra time before bottling. I have never had a bottle blow up or pop a cork.
Post by: Kc_Kracker on December 29, 2013, 10:09:37 AM
Post by: lokidog on December 29, 2013, 10:22:16 AM
Do you have one of the bottle filling tubes that has the little push-pin valve on the bottom? You should. This allows you to fill the bottle without aerating the wine like it would if you just used your tubing and did not make sure it was on the bottom of the bottle.
As far as how full, I use the valve tube and fill the bottle until the liquid hits the rim and then pull the tube out. The volume that the tube took up will be just right for the fill level of the bottle.
Post by: Kc_Kracker on December 29, 2013, 11:53:27 AM
Post by: lokidog on December 29, 2013, 07:40:24 PM
The only tough thing with it is filling the bottles that have the big hump on the bottom.
Post by: NOCK NOCK on January 05, 2014, 07:39:23 PM
Post by: Kc_Kracker on January 06, 2014, 10:26:19 PM
and fermenting is
more mango
cranberry
rasberry
blackberry
white grape
yakima cab
:tup: needless to say we have to buy some bottles but CL is the place, a local guy is hooking us up with 5 dozen cleaned and de-labeled clear bottles for $20 (happy dance) :IBCOOL:
now i just need a corker :sry:
Post by: NOCK NOCK on January 07, 2014, 10:30:13 AM
We save all our bottles from store bought wine, and also have friends save them for us. Most clean up easily, if they don't, use some goo gone orange cleaner on the old labels, followed by soapy water and sanitizer :tup:
The Mango sounds awesome, will try that when I free up a jug
Post by: swinters on January 10, 2014, 11:36:19 AM
so, you have water in the air lock, we have the juice were using in the air lock. does it matter?
also, one of the flavors we tries was pomegranate, and we made sure it was NO preservatives, but 16 hours after adding yeast all are making foam and bubbling, BUT that one. ideas? :o
I've been brewing beer for years and have had problems a couple of times with water in the airlock so started using vodka. I buy the cheapest junk vodka in the store and use it for all kinds of stuff, like sanitizing stuff that will come in contact with the batch, like racking canes and so on. Just to be sure the vodka hasn't gone bad I sip on a bit of it from time to time too. Can't be too careful.
Post by: Kc_Kracker on January 10, 2014, 04:36:47 PM
Post by: Kc_Kracker on May 11, 2014, 11:09:30 PM
I just started 5 gallons of strawberry wine with 50 lbs of fresh everbearings nice and ripe, I went with 50 lbs to keep the strawberry flavor from getting covered up by alcohol flavor because am going to back kick it with some everclear and shoot for 18-20%, ya some serious strawberry flavored nitro we shall see how it turns out :IBCOOL:
Post by: lokidog on May 11, 2014, 11:43:41 PM
so i can say after a thorough testing of this hobby its alot of fun! We had to buy a 200 bottle wine rack and were up to around 70 bottles done. I just cracked opwn my first bottle of Pomegranate which is sitting right at 12%, very full aromatic and tad sweet, with a heck of a kick :chuckle: Its goes great wit smoked oysters and smoked cheese on crackers i will say :drool:
I just started 5 gallons of strawberry wine with 50 lbs of fresh everbearings nice and ripe, I went with 50 lbs to keep the strawberry flavor from getting covered up by alcohol flavor because am going to back kick it with some everclear and shoot for 18-20%, ya some serious strawberry flavored nitro we shall see how it turns out :IBCOOL:
One bottle of Pomegranate sounds about right for my consulting fees... I love sweet wines. ;)
The strawberry sounds like it will be great. I like doing pure juice wines instead of the 4-5 pounds per gallon as most recipes seem to call for. If you add a little citric acid it will help maintain the color and keep it from oxidizing toward brown. The "acid blend" that you get from the wine supply stores probably does something similar.
I had a cherry wine finish at 21% once with no fortification, yowza, that's my "happy wife" wine. :chuckle:
Post by: RadSav on May 12, 2014, 01:54:09 AM
I had a cherry wine finish at 21% once with no fortification, yowza, that's my "happy wife" wine. :chuckle:
Might need to test that on the Angry Squaw. Always wondered what it would be like to be married to a happy wife :chuckle:
Post by: Kc_Kracker on May 12, 2014, 11:56:32 AM
Post by: lokidog on May 12, 2014, 12:50:01 PM
KC, I just went to look for one of my old labels and discovered two boxes of Pomegranate wine from 2008... forgot all about it. I'd still love to try yours. ;) We'll have to have ours with backstrap tonight for dinner. I'll try to find one of my old labels, they were pretty cool.
Post by: Kc_Kracker on May 12, 2014, 03:14:34 PM
Post by: NOCK NOCK on May 12, 2014, 03:35:12 PM
no problem loki ill save ya one :tup: the wife named our stuff finally, since we have boxers she named it boxer drool :chuckle: now i need to make some labels somehow
Office supply stores should have an arched label made by avery. Thats what we use, easy to design, and they come off the bottle fairly easy when its time to re bottle. Look with all the other printer labels
Post by: Kc_Kracker on May 13, 2014, 10:22:34 AM
Post by: NOCK NOCK on May 13, 2014, 08:22:18 PM
Post by: NOCK NOCK on May 17, 2014, 10:22:18 AM
They were right, tastes like banana fire water right now (aprox. 20% ABV), but with time will become a mellow banana flavor. Who knew the ugly colored mash would come out so pretty :dunno:
Post by: lokidog on May 17, 2014, 10:26:43 AM
Post by: NOCK NOCK on May 17, 2014, 11:22:38 AM
winemaking.jackkeller.net/
Tons of recipes, and info there.
I love anything banana so its killing me to have to wait so long to try it. :(
Post by: Kc_Kracker on May 18, 2014, 02:13:55 AM
Post by: Kc_Kracker on May 24, 2014, 07:27:02 PM
Bottled a small batch of fresh banana wine today. 6 months of fermenting done, needs to age for a year now :yike: :bash:(according to the recipe)that seems a tad off since everything ive read on whites says to drink within a year and never age over 6-12 months. :dunno:
They were right, tastes like banana fire water right now (aprox. 20% ABV), but with time will become a mellow banana flavor. Who knew the ugly colored mash would come out so pretty :dunno:
Post by: lokidog on May 25, 2014, 08:53:25 AM
Bottled a small batch of fresh banana wine today. 6 months of fermenting done, needs to age for a year now :yike: :bash:(according to the recipe)that seems a tad off since everything ive read on whites says to drink within a year and never age over 6-12 months. :dunno:
They were right, tastes like banana fire water right now (aprox. 20% ABV), but with time will become a mellow banana flavor. Who knew the ugly colored mash would come out so pretty :dunno:
Don't believe everything you read. We just had a 2007 bottle of plum (not a white, but not real dark either) and a bottle of 2008 pomegranate last night at a neighbor's barbecue. Both tasted the same, or maybe better, than when bottled.
Post by: NOCK NOCK on November 10, 2014, 10:04:50 PM
Post by: viva_che1363 on November 11, 2014, 03:10:16 PM
Post by: NOCK NOCK on March 20, 2016, 12:29:01 PM
T.R.E,s- stands for our 3 Labs--Timber, Raven, Echo :)
Post by: grundy53 on March 20, 2016, 12:40:17 PM
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