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First attempt at wine tonight. My daughter and I picked a couple buckets of grapes, and found this very simple recipe on the web:
1. Pick grapes in clusters, leaving them on the stems. 2. Place grapes in just enough water to cover them, bring just to a boil, simmer 'til skins pop. Mash the grapes in the water. Strain juice into a non-metallic container. 3. Measure the juice. Add equal amounts of sugar and water, (i.e.: 1 gal juice, 1 gal sugar, 1 gal water). Put mixture in clean crock. 4. Sprinkle a package of dry yeast on a dry bread crust and allow it to float on top of the mixture. Cover crock with a clean dish towel. Let ferment for 3 days. 5. Strain into non metallic container, wash the crock, put wine back into the crock, allow to ferment for 4 more days, stirring every day and skimming the foam from top. 6. Strain the wine again as before, wash the crock again, put wine back in the crock, allow to ferment 4 more days, stirring and skimming every day. 7. Strain the wine once more. This time it's ready to bottle. The older it gets, the better. We've got a five-gallon bucket of the stuff in the bathtub right now, covered with a towel. Hope we don't end up with vinegar. We'll have persimmons ripe in a couple weeks, might try another batch with those. Missed elderberry season, there were an awful lot of them, too. We also have 8 beehives, I think I'll try mead in the spring. |
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3. Measure the juice. Add equal amounts of sugar and water, (i.e.: 1 gal juice, 1 gal sugar, 1 gal water). Put mixture in clean crock. I'm a beer brewer and it's been an awful long time since I've made any wine (I was a 15 yo kid then). The "gallon" of sugar kind of throws me. It's not much in the way of a measurement. Table sugar will pretty much ferment out pretty dry in a beer and I suppose it will do the same in wine. Just be aware of that. I guess to expand on that a bit, your recipe should probably have a set specific gravity you should be shooting for with your grape juice (it may be higher or lower) and adjust with sugar from there. |
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Is there a way to guestimate that without a hydrometer? IDK, you can look around on some of the wine making sites. A hydrometer only costs a couple 5-7 bucks (good thing as they break pretty easily)  . Or you can pick up a refractometer pretty cheap on ebay. (I have both) There's online brix to SG conversion sites. A refractometer is pretty good pre fermentation as you don't have to account for any alcohol.
There's a reason you want to know the starting gravity as you really don't want to kick your wine up with too much sugar or it will just end up dry and with a hot alcohol taste. (Unless you're kind of an aqua velva drinker)  You measure SG and FG then get an idea of the alcohol content. It pretty much depends on the sugar content of the grapes at the time of picking, that's where you measure, and maybe delay picking (or not) it depends on the style of wine you're making and the amount of body you're looking for in it.
BTW, if you have both honey and grapes you should look into making melomel. Especially if you have something else like blackberries to throw in it. 
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I racked my braggot that I made in August to a secondary today. I guess I know what solvent and hot taste like now but I'm in no hurry to bottle. I may add equal parts honey and LME to bring the liquid level just below the neck, and then forget about it for a few months. I also found a lead on a cider press in the area––headed there tomorrow––I've been picking apples from the trees at the farm, and I hope to have cider fermenting by the weekend
Next a question for the experienced brewers here. ––My American Stout from Brewing Classic Styles came out "sweet"––my last stout did too. I was blaming it on: attenuation (This time I did use a repitched yeast and it went crazy!), using LME, and inexperience. But, after reading some in the HBT forum could it be lack of hops utilization, or did (damn all of you  ) you guys just turn me to a hop head?
I was supposed to use 1.4 oz magnum for 60 min (which I was out of) so I used cascade and hallertau to get to me to an equivalent of bitterness units (HBUs?) and 1 oz centennial at 10 min (which I had). ––I also read that with a big blow-off that your hops bitterness goes out with the kruasen. Yeah / Nay? I reached my target OG and FG, almost three weeks in the primary, and it's been in a keg since the 15th of Sep. I had to leave for Ft Bragg for a while, so its had a couple weeks to condition. So what does the experienced crowd say? I ordered a pound (each) of 4 kinds of hops from hopsdirect.com, so I (hope to) not have a lack of hops again––and, next year I'll be planting my own. |
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Just threw together a small batch of black cherry mead with my brother and a friend http://i51.tinypic.com/2ik386a.jpg Recipe? My braggot is a gallon batch too, just waiting for it to settle out in the secondary. I think I have a line on bulk honey from a local beekeeper; I'm going to start buying it by the gallon! |
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Quoted: Quoted: Just threw together a small batch of black cherry mead with my brother and a friend http://i51.tinypic.com/2ik386a.jpg Recipe? My braggot is a gallon batch too, just waiting for it to settle out in the secondary. I think I have a line on bulk honey from a local beekeeper; I'm going to start buying it by the gallon! We're all just getting started into it so it's nothing too fancy. 3 quarts of organic black cherry juice 1 quart of organic cranberry juice (Because I bought out the rest of the black cherry )3lbs of local honey (I need to try to find a local beekeeper myself) A small handful of raisins Pasteur champagne yeast The orange mead we made a couple months ago turned out pretty good so hopefully this batch turns out alright too |
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Does anyone add Campden tablets to their mead? All my wine recipes call for it at the start of the recipe but the mead recipes I've been finding don't call for it at all, at least not until the point of bottling. I've listened to a few podcasts on the subject and I've read most of Ken Schramm's The Compleat Mead Maker, and I'd say no it's not necessary. I have, to date, a whopping total of one (incomplete at that) batch of mead under my belt so pro I am not.
Multiple yeast additions and degassing of the must seem to be the current strategies to ensure a timely and complete fermentation. I added yeast nutrients and stirred mine 12 hours after pitching (which was early am for me) then repeated that for the next two mornings. I racked it to a secondary this week (It was made the last week of August) and I'll top it off with some more honey here now that I have some to add to it. Basic Brewing Radio, Beersmith, and the BN (Brewer's Network) all have podcasts on mead, cysers, and cider if anyone's interested. Basic Brewing Radio seems to be my new favorite of the three. HTH |
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Just threw together a small batch of black cherry mead with my brother and a friend http://i51.tinypic.com/2ik386a.jpg Recipe? My braggot is a gallon batch too, just waiting for it to settle out in the secondary. I think I have a line on bulk honey from a local beekeeper; I'm going to start buying it by the gallon! We're all just getting started into it so it's nothing too fancy. 3 quarts of organic black cherry juice 1 quart of organic cranberry juice (Because I bought out the rest of the black cherry )
3lbs of local honey (I need to try to find a local beekeeper myself) A small handful of raisins Pasteur champagne yeast The orange mead we made a couple months ago turned out pretty good so hopefully this batch turns out alright too
Thanks, I have a word doc of recipes for meads, ciders, cysers and the like, so I'm going to add this one to it. I'm on my first batch too, so fancy I most certainly am not! I just want it to taste good
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Quoted: Quoted: *snip* Thanks, I have a word doc of recipes for meads, ciders, cysers and the like, so I'm going to add this one to it. I'm on my first batch too, so fancy I most certainly am not! I just want it to taste good That isn't too bad of an idea, I might have to start doing that as well. I'll let you know how this one turns out though, if it's a flop you can add in a "Don't try this" section |
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I've got a starter of WLP810 going (I think) as I want to brew tomorrow. First time using that as I usually use 2112 while it's warm(er), but the LHBS was out and I had shitcanned my last 2112 slurry since it was getting pretty far out generation wise. Not sure about it at all. Smells like someone shit a can of creamed corn in the flask.  And I can't tell if it's even doing anything after 24 hrs.
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I've got a starter of WLP810 going (I think) as I want to brew tomorrow. First time using that as I usually use 2112 while it's warm(er), but the LHBS was out and I had shitcanned my last 2112 slurry since it was getting pretty far out generation wise. Not sure about it at all. Smells like someone shit a can of creamed corn in the flask. And I can't tell if it's even doing anything after 24 hrs.So what'd you end up doing? Did this yeast ever take off? Having grown up on a farm, I've always known what corn smell like (nothing new there). When I started reading about off flavors in beer (or desired flavors in some cases) and the creamed corn smell/taste was mentioned, I had to wonder just obvious this could be. Well, I wonder no more. I was working in the hospital at Ft Bragg for a few weeks at the end of Sept, and the Mash House is a good microbrewery in Fayetteville that I like to visit. I brought a growler of their blonde ale back with me. Now I've brought their growlers back with me before with no issues. Not this time! It was cold, sealed, and out of light the whole time, but man! tastes like sweet corn as much as beer Not Good Eats––as AB would say.
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| A friend of mine just got his hot hands on a apple grinder and press. We have access to a very large amount of apple "drops", and we would like to make a drum or two of hard cider. My question to the better informed is this, what is a good recipe for a batch this large? We have made cider with Aldies juice and sugar but never with fresh pressed cider. Is there anything special we should be aware of?? I await your words of wisdom. |
| I started my first Ale this past weekend and it has been going good all week. Now the temp dropped outside and in the house. Got up and it was like 64 degrees on my thermometer. My airlock wasnt going at all. I figured it was to soon to be done and to cold. I turned the heat up and it slowly started bubbling again. Is this going to affect my beer at all? I just got a heat wrap and temp controller but my thermowell is for a carboy not a bucket. |
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I started my first Ale this past weekend and it has been going good all week. Now the temp dropped outside and in the house. Got up and it was like 64 degrees on my thermometer. My airlock wasnt going at all. I figured it was to soon to be done and to cold. I turned the heat up and it slowly started bubbling again. Is this going to affect my beer at all? I just got a heat wrap and temp controller but my thermowell is for a carboy not a bucket. The short answer based on my reading and podcast listening is: Yes, it will affect it. but (The longer answer follows) unless your taste buds are at the extreme end of the bell curve, you won't be able to taste it under real world conditions. The best part is you're cognizant of the fact and adjusted for it. Something else from my reading and listening, it's frequently mentioned in books and podcasts is that many people state "I figured it was too soon to be done" or something along those lines. This may or may not be the case. With out knowing the OG and FG it's hard to tell where you are with regards to how complete your fermentation is. Lots of variables as to how long it "should" take. After screwing up a batch or two of beer myself, what you're making––IMHO––is still better than the BMC stuff you buy in the store! : ) Enjoy the hobby, it's harder to screw this up than you think!
Some of the other more experienced brewers may chime in with something different; this is just my 2cents |
| Well I have one week till bottling. Gravity is 1.015. Starting was 1.050. Its almost stopped. Bubbles have started to move into the beer. I took a chance and racked it into a carboy to get rid of the access yeast and sludge. I hooked up my temp controller to be safe. I also racked a white zinfindel. Bottled my cider. Hopefully I didn't screw up the beer. |
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Just threw together a small batch of black cherry mead with my brother and a friend http://i51.tinypic.com/2ik386a.jpg Recipe? My braggot is a gallon batch too, just waiting for it to settle out in the secondary. I think I have a line on bulk honey from a local beekeeper; I'm going to start buying it by the gallon! We're all just getting started into it so it's nothing too fancy. 3 quarts of organic black cherry juice 1 quart of organic cranberry juice (Because I bought out the rest of the black cherry )
3lbs of local honey (I need to try to find a local beekeeper myself) A small handful of raisins Pasteur champagne yeast The orange mead we made a couple months ago turned out pretty good so hopefully this batch turns out alright too
Might want to try a different yeast. My experience w/ champagne yeasts is that they ferment out quite dry and will be "hot" for a long time! K |
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Quoted: Quoted: We're all just getting started into it so it's nothing too fancy. 3 quarts of organic black cherry juice 1 quart of organic cranberry juice (Because I bought out the rest of the black cherry )3lbs of local honey (I need to try to find a local beekeeper myself) A small handful of raisins Pasteur champagne yeast The orange mead we made a couple months ago turned out pretty good so hopefully this batch turns out alright too Might want to try a different yeast. My experience w/ champagne yeasts is that they ferment out quite dry and will be "hot" for a long time! K Damn . What yeast would you recommend for a slightly less dry end product? |
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I made a cider and a cyser today. I followed a simple recipe for the cider to (hopefully) imitate woodchuck cider. The recipe. I gathered––approximately––20 gallons of apples and a local Amish family pressed them for me at his cider press. Cost me a whole $6 and I ended up with 10gal of cider! Everything was cleaned and sanitized just like when I make beer. After putting 5.5 gallons of cider in a bottling bucket, I added Campden tablets to kill any wild yeast. This cider was unfiltered, unpasteurized, and without added chemicals (until the campden tabs). I then let it set 36 hours til I made it back home from work this morning. I put the lid on loosely so the sulfur fumes could escape. I'm unsure if this was necessary or would even work, but it was mentioned in the cider book I have.
For the yeast, I boiled 1 cup of water, added 2.5 tsp of yeast nutrient (mostly nitrogen) and 2.5 tsp of yeast energizer (nitrogen, vitamins, trace elements) and allowed the water to cool. Once it was just barely warm, I added 7.5gms of red star Pasteur Champagne yeast and slowly stirred it in and allowed it to set ~20 mins. Next, I pitched the yeast and areated the must for 10 mins. I put the lid on the bucket, set the airlock and now to wait. ...and wait. The bucket sitting with the campden tablets added 
My campden tablets will add 150ppm of sulfites to one gallon of must. For the 5.5 gallons of cider I used 3 crushed tablets. 
This is the cider pre-yeast and pre-areation. 
This is the yeast/nutrient slurry about to be pitched 
The cider being aerated. The OG is 1.048 
The cyser recipe was taken straight out of Ken Schramm's The Compleat Meadmaker page 168. I simply halved the recipe to make 2.5 gallons total. I used: 4lbs local honey 0.5lbs brown sugar 0.5lbs raisins Cider to total 2.5 gallons. 5gms Lalvin EC-118 yeast––rehydrated as above. Note: For nutrients I used 2tsp each of: energizer and nutrients. I plan to do multiple nutrient additions as per an interview of Ken I listened to. The honey and brown sugar were added to 1/2 gal of cider heated just enough to make it dissolve. (It was barely warm to the touch) The raisins were added directly to the carboy. This must like the cider, was aerated for 10mins. Added carboy cap and airlock and placed in my basement at 65* F. My OG is 1.102 ETA: Almost forgot––The mandatory accessories!
Cyser in my temp stable crawlspace 
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Just out of curiosity what will the alc. be when done? If the cider ferments to dryness like everything I've read says it should and has a FG of 1.000 it will be ~6% The Cyser, operating off of a 1.010 FG will be right about 12%. If it ferments dryer it will have more ETOH, conversely a 1.020 Cyser will be about 10.5––11% ETOH. |
| Has anybody mentioned that we now have an ARFCOM Homebrewing Forum ? |
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Had some buddy's over for a brew day on Sunday after church. As a club we have 11 of us who brew a 5-6 gal batch each of Flanders Red every year in Nov. In the beginning of Jan we all get together, drain the year old, aged beer from a bourbon barrel, and re-fill it w/ the fresh brew.
Sunday three of us brewed up about 15 or so gal of Flanders Red in two batches. Then two of us mashed in 40 lbs of grain for a Russian Imperial Stout. We also took a second runnings off of that brew for a mild, or North English Brown. We screwed up w/ the hops in both of those beers, so it'll be interesting to see what we get! Don't drink and brew! Last night the RIS fermentation was going crazy and overflowing onto my wife's laundry-room countertop, so I took it into the basement where its a bit cooler and cleaned up. Today I put an air lock on it, and its bubbling away. I can't wait to taste that beer. The chocolaty, coffee smell that was coming from the ferment was AMAZING! K ETA: Didn't know about the homebrewing forum! I guess I'll have to add that to my daily reading! |
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