Month: November 2024
latest news
12/13
– start #17, #19
11/29
– rack 18 early rack but needed to get fruit out?
– rack 16
– rack 12
Next likely apple raspberry or maybe apple cherry?
11/26 what if I made a mead from apple raspberry juice concentrate and 2.5lbs of honey?
11/23-11/25 prepped #18 Wild Blueberry, pitch yeast 11/25
11/19 white grape is stalling for no reason…
11/18 more prepping and racking fun today
11/16 bottled #8 and #11. prepped all new fruit
11/11 The last three 1gal batches I’ve been experimenting with–differently. Added another 1/3c sugar to the black cherry and its fermenting again slowly, the apple is ready to be stabilized and then sweetened soon.
11/03-11/04
~ Start #13 (steps 0,1,2)
~ Bottle #8, #10
#18 2024-11-24 Wild Blueberries
#18 2024-11-24 Wild Blueberry
~ Blue Moon
~ primary 1.5gal jar (1gal recipe)
~ Wymans frozen Wild Blueberry 3lbs
~ sugar from juice 57g
~ sugar 4c on fruit, 1c during prep, will back step in secondary
~ ab 2tsp
~ pe 1/2tsp
~ ye 1tsp
~ tea 1/4c black tea
~ IG 10%
~ yeast pitch 2024-11-25 ~ lavlin EC-1118
~ first fermentation 5 days - complete
~ rack 1 2024-11-29 - complete
~ stabilize 1 camden 2025-01-18 - complete
~ stabilize 2 ps 2025-01-26 - complete
~ stabilizing - complete
~ backsweeten/bottle 2025-01-26 - complete
~ notes
~~~ 2025-01-04 Still fermenting beautifully, leave in jar, no rack, wait
~~~ 2024-11-24 really wanted to make my first blueberry really good... today, mashed the wild blueberries, add to primary with water. Took gravity, 7%. Is this because I added the sugar to the fruit last night--bad mixing? Added more water than usual to account for 3lbs blueberry must and two weights. And added 1c sugar syrup bring gravity up to 10% or so... backstep backstep.
Don't think I'll do that again, need an accurate gravity reading, sugar syrup + macerated fruit or
~~~ 2024-11-23 Weighed out 3lbs of wild blueberries tonight, begin prep for #18. Had an idea how to prep the berries and then saw a video from diy fermentation confirming my plan. All 3lbs into large bowl, pour in 4c of white sugar. Mix it up, seal and refrigerate over night.
~~~ 2024-11-20 will be first recipe to use both fruit and juice and 1c black tea for tannins. searching recipes and found this... uses blueberries AND blueberry juice...
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/bjbXwUysMQ8
~~~ 2024-11-20 difficult to find this juice from OO
~~~ 2024-11-20 wow, so experience with fruit in muslin. assume wine will be better than just using concentrate but can't tell for 6-9 months. 3lbs frozen blueberries? Muslin bag with fruit or do i make a puree?
Pearls: Conditioning Fruit Wine
Fruit wine typically needs several months to a year of conditioning and clearing after fermentation is complete. During this time, yeast cells and solids settle out of the wine, producing a clearer final product.
The length of conditioning time depends on the type of wine. Red wines generally require 6 months to 2 years while whites typically need 3 to 6 months.
By racking the wine periodically during this conditioning phase, you accelerate the clarification process and improve the final quality of the wine.
1 gal Mead Recipe
If you don’t have a recipe or protocol, this works… (Is a great way to start learning the process.)
Sanitize everything (Hands included) that touches the Must / Mead.
1 gallon Spring Water
3 Pounds Honey (Warm the honey in some hot water for 15 – 20 minutes)
1 Packet (5grams) Cote Des Blanc Yeast (Or yeast of your choice)
Fill jug with 1/2 gallon warm spring water (100 Deg F +- a bit)
Pour warmed honey in and shake the dickens out of it to dissolve the honey and incorporate some air.
Fill the jug to the top of the shoulder on the jug with additional spring water.
Check your Gravity with a hydrometer. Should be somewhere near 1.105
Add nutrients following the protocol of your choice. (SNA. TOSNA 2.0 or 3.0)
Sprinkle in the yeast and shake it again.
Position an airlock and place in a roughly 65 Deg F location.
Wait for it to complete primary fermentation (Somewhere near 1.010 SG and likely about 30 days then rack from the lee’s.)
Add 3 pounds blueberries – Freeze them for at least 24 hours prior – Helps break down the skin and release the juice. You can thaw them prior to adding if you want but not necessary. (You could add the berries to primary instead and remove when primary is nearly complete just be sure to thaw them prior to adding them.)
After 10 days if added in secondary remove the berries and rack from the lees. Check your SG again if not at 1.000 then let it “finish” for a few weeks.
Rack form the lees as necessary
After it is done taste it. It may need to be clarified and require a little vanilla and acid to round out the flavors.
Bottle and age it for 3 – 9 months (Longer is better)
Pearls: Adding Sugar to Fermenting Wine
What is the best way to dissolve sugar in wine must?
When adding sugar to wine must, it is crucial to ensure that the sugar is thoroughly dissolved to prevent any issues with uneven sweetness in the finished wine. One effective method for achieving this is to create a sugar syrup by dissolving the sugar in a small amount of hot water before adding it to the must. This will help ensure that the sugar is evenly distributed throughout the must, leading to a more consistent and balanced final product.
#16 2024-11-18 Apple Peach Mango
#16 2024-11-18 Apple Peach Mango
~ King Diamond
~ primary 1.5gal jar (1gal recipe)
~ oo apple peach mango 100% juice concentrate x2 cans
~ sugar from juice 324g
~ sugar 4.5c and more later
~ ab 2tsp ~ pe 2tsp (mistake) ~ ye 1tsp
~ IG 15%
~ yeast pitch 2024-11-19 ~ lavlin 71b
~ first fermentation 11 days - complete
~ rack 1 2024-11-29 - complete
~ stabilize 1 camden 2024-12-29 - complete
~ stabilize 2 ps 2024-12-30 - complete
~ stabilizing - complete
~ backsweeten/bottle 2025-01-04 - complete
~ notes
~~~ 2024-11-24 neglected this darling so far. robust fermentation to start, foam then foam disappears, blubbles then back to foam. haha. 
#15 2024-11-16 Frozen Blackberries/Blended Berries
#15 2024-11-16 Frozen Blackberries/Blended Berries
~ Xanadu
~ primary 1.5gal jar (1gal recipe)
~ frozen blackberries (2lbs), frozen blended berries (1lb)
~ sugar from juice 84g
~ sugar 2c mashing fruit... so far +2c +more later, almost 1c 11/23
~ ab 2tsp ~ pe 1/2tsp ~ ye 1tsp
~ IG 12%
~ yeast pitch 2024-11-17 ~ lavlin 71b
~ first fermentation 7 days - complete
~ rack 1 2024-11-23 - complete
~ backstep 1 2024-11-23 - 1c
~ second fermentation 31 days - complete
~ rack 2 2024-12-23 - complete
~ stabilize 1 camden 2025-01-26 - complete
~ stabilize 2 ps 2025-02-02 - complete
~ stabilizing - complete
~ backsweeten/bottle 2025-02-02 - complete
~ notes
~~~ 2024-11-23 had to rack to get this fruit tannin out... almost 1c sugar added, it's weak, will need to continue stepping this. ahh it's bubbling now... deep purple-red color, opaque.
~~~ 2024-11-21 tip... After a week lift out the straining bag with the pulp and allow to drain as much as possible, avoid squeezing the bag. that's 7 days from pitch. leaving it in too long adds to many tannins from berry skin.
~~~ 2024-11-16 Using up these frozen blackberries, blended have some strawberries plus raspberries and more blackberries. Low sugar so I'll need to back step this with sugar to raise abv to 14%. Second time using a muslin bag, messy, we'll see of the wine is so much better...
#14 2024-11-08 White Grape
#14 2024-11-08 White Grape
~ Crescent Park
~ primary 1.5gal jar (1gal recipe)
~ oo white grape 100% juice concentrate x2 cans
~ sugar from juice 432g
~ sugar 4c+more later
~ ab 2tsp ~ pe 1/2tsp ~ ye 1tsp
~ IG 1.11 14%
~ yeast pitch 2024-11-09 ~ red star premier blanc
~ first fermentation 10 days - complete
~ rack 1 2024-11-18 - complete
~ stabilize 1 camden 2024-12-11 - complete
~ stabilize 2 ps 2024-12-12 - complete
~ stabilizing - complete
~ backsweeten/bottle 2024-12-13 - complete
~ notes
~~~ 2024-11-19 small bubbles, fermenting continues
~~~ 2024-11-18 add 1/2c sugar today
