Author: admin
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
#13 2024-11-03 Apple Strawberry Banana
#13 2024-11-03 Apple Strawberry Banana
~ Grandpa Frederich
~ primary 1.5gal jar (1gal recipe)
~ oo apple strawberry banana 100% juice concentrate 2x cans
~ sugar from juice 372g
~ sugar 4c+more later
~ ab 2tsp ~ pe 1/2tsp ~ ye 1tsp
~ IG 1.11 15% holy cow
~ yeast pitch 2024-11-04 ~ red star premier blanc
~ first fermentation 13 days - complete
~ rack 1 2024-11-16 - complete
~ backstep 1 2024-11-16 - 1/4c
~ backstep 2 2024-11-19 - 1/4c
~ stabilize 1 camden 2024-12-11 - complete
~ stabilize 2 ps 2024-12-12 - complete
~ stabilizing - complete
~ backsweeten/bottle 2024-12-13 - complete
~ notes
~~~ 2024-11-20 pretty dead now, add 1/4c sugar diluted
~~~ 2024-11-19 Calmed down, added diluted 1/4c sugar... go to sleep darling and in the months that come bring forth a delicious ice cold beverage.
~~~ 2024-11-16 Big rack and 1/4c sugar, foamed up, calmed down in 30 seconds, topped with new airlock. go to sleep darling and in the months that come bring forth a delicious ice cold beverage.
~~~ 2024-11-04 6x31x2cans = 372grams of sugar, think this is the highest sugar content yet.
~~~ 2024-11-03 fun day watching football, prepping another fermentation and racking two previous.
HowToDoneRight
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Sustainable Dan
“My mission for this channel is to teach individuals fun and useful skills and to empower others to become more self sufficient and sustainable. I hope you enjoy!”
This video got me started but I used 64oz wide mouth jars… Small Batch Recipes
diy Fermentation
“Starting out with Wine/Meads/Beer fermentation at home for as little cost, and as few additives as possible. This channel is not to show you how to make technically perfect wines. I’ll show you step-by-step how to make wine. Most if not all ingredients can be picked up at the local grocery store.”
