Saturday, November 16, 2013

Update

I racked the pineapple wine after a month in the secondary with a PA of - 3% and a total ABV around 13%.
The blueberry wine continues fermenting, bubbling steadily after a month.
The citrus wine (3 weeks in) has about stopped bubbling but hasn't started clearing yet.
The tart cherry wine is still bubbling briskly after a week in the secondary.

Saturday, November 9, 2013

Cherry Wine, Day 6

I racked the cherry wine to the secondary with a PA of under 1 %. It's a repulsive opaque pink, but I'm sure once the yeast settles out it will be better-looking.
Ch ch ch ch ch cherry bomb
Meanwhile, the pineapple wine has cleared up nicely, the blueberry wine continues bubbling pretty strongly (3 weeks so far!) and the citrus wine has slowed to the occasional bubble. I'm out of space now, so I have to wait until something gets bottled to start something new.

Monday, November 4, 2013

Cherry Wine, Day 1

I took a recipe from Terry Garey's book The Joy of Home Winemaking, with only slight modification. Here it is:
3 1/2 quarts of water
3 cans of tart red cherries in water (Oregon brand Montmorencies)
2 1/4 pounds of sugar
1 tsp acid blend
1 tsp yeast nutrient
1/2 tsp pectic enzyme
1 pkg Montrachet yeast (Red Star dry)

I boiled the water and added the juice from the cherries and the sugar.
I put the cherries in a straining bag at the bottom of my primary fermenter.
I poured the boiling sugar water over the cherries.
I added the acid blend and yeast nutrient.
When the must cools, I will add the pectic enzyme and 24 hours later I will pitch the yeast.
I plan to let it go in the primary for five days, drain the fruit without squeezing and rack to the secondary.
I expect it to remain in the seconday (racked a couple of times) for 3 to 6 months before bottling.
Pie? No.

Sunday, November 3, 2013

Citrus Wine, Day 6

The wine has fermented vigorously and got down to a PA of about .5% so I squeezed out the fruit and racked it to a secondary.
It's not just for breakfast anymore.
Meanwhile the pineapple wine is clearing up as the fermentation slows to a crawl and the blueberry continues bubbling merrily away with no sign of any clearing as yet.

Tuesday, October 29, 2013

Citrus Wine, Day 1

The primary was empty so . . . next batch.
Here is the recipe I slapped together:
4 lbs juice oranges
4 big tangerines
4 lemons (this might be too many lemons)
1 pkg Red Star Pasteur Champagne yeast
2 lbs sugar
1/4 tsp grape tannin
1 tsp yeast nutrient
1/2 tsp pectic enzyme
3 3/4 quarts of water

I put the zest of 2 oranges, 2 tangerines, and 1 lemon in a nylon bag. Then I peeled and sectioned all the fruit, removing as much of the white pith as possible. This is a big pain in the ass. Then with freshly scrubbed hands I squooshed all the fruit in the nylon bag in the primary fermenting bucket. Meanwhile I boiled the water and dissolved the sugar in it. Once the fruit was squooshed, I poured the boiling sugar water over it and then added the tannin and nutrient. When it is cool, I will add the pectic enzyme, and then tomorrow I will pitch the yeast.
All the fruit, pre-squoosh
Edit: Potential Alcohol before I pitched the yeast on 10/30 was about 12%

Monday, October 28, 2013

Blueberry Wine, Day 12

I went ahead and racked to the secondary. PA is still 4.5%
Purplish, but not grapey
Bubbling slowly . . .

Saturday, October 26, 2013

Blueberry Wine, Day 9

Fermentation stuck at about 6% potential alcohol for the last couple of days (and was never very vigorous), so I decided to send in the marines.
The stormtroopers of yeast
I dissolved a packet of Red Star Premier Cuvee dry yeast dissolved in a 1/4 cup of warm water. These beasties are supposed to have a high tolerance for environmental conditions and ferment aggressively. 
Go get 'em fellas!

Sunday, October 20, 2013

Blueberry Wine, Day 4

Yesterday I added the sugar, acid, nutrient, then twelve hours later I mixed in a crushed campden tablet.
I measured the potential alcohol at 13.5% and today I pitched the activated Red Star Pasteur Red dry yeast.
Looking good, meanwhile the pineapple wine keeps bubbling gently along . . .

Thursday, October 17, 2013

Blueberry Wine, Day One

As the pineapple wine bubbles away in the secondary, I start a new batch. This is the recipe I'm using (cobbled together from multiple sources):
50 oz. Frozen Wild Blueberries
9 oz. dark raisins, soaked in warm water, then chopped in the blender.
1 pkg. Red Star Pasteur Red dry yeast
3 1/2 quarts of water (including the raisin soaking water)
2 lbs sugar
1 1/2 tsp Acid blend
1 tsp Wyeast yeast nutrient
1/2 tsp pectic enzyme.

Wild Blueberry Must


I started today by bringing the water to a boil, then pouring it over the blueberries and chopped raisins which are in a straining bag in the primary fermenter.
I'm going to let that steep, covered for two days before I continue with the rest as recommended in an article by Jack Keller in the August/September 2013 issue of WineMaker.
+Jack Keller

Wednesday, October 16, 2013

Pineapple Wine, Day 5

Potential Alcohol dropped all the way down to 1%, so I racked it. It's very cloudy; still the color of pineapple; smells yeasty.
Cloudy with a chance of pineapple.

Sunday, October 13, 2013

Pineapple Wine, Day 2

Today I pitched the Cotes des Blancs yeast with a dose of Motorhead in order to stimulate the "Kilmister Effect" in which organisms continue to survive in high alcohol environments. This is an established scientific fact which I just made up.
For some reason the specific gravity went down after I added the fruit and nutrient and pectic enzyme. Maybe that's normal.

Saturday, October 12, 2013

Pineapple Wine, Day One

Let me start by saying that, I AM NOT AN EXPERT in this area. I don't need to be, and I'm not.

Today I started a batch of Pineapple wine, based on the recipe in Terry Garey's The Joy of Home Winemaking.
Must Ingredients: Canned Pineapple, Golden Raisins, Sugar and Red Star Cotes des Blancs dry yeast
Heres the recipe as I used it:
1 3/4 pounds of sugar dissolved in
3 1/2 quarts of water with the juice from
2 20 oz. cans of crushed pineapple which went into the primary fermenter with
1/2 lb. of chopped golden raisins and
1 tsp of Wyeast Wine Nutrient.

I boiled the water and dissolved the sugar in it. Then I added the pineapple juice from the cans and measured the PA (about 13%.) I poured the sugar water over the fruit (which I put in a nylon straining bag) in the fermenter and added the nutrient. When the must is cool I'm going to add 1/2 tsp. of pectic enzyme, and tomorrow I'm going to pitch the yeast. Stay tuned . . .
Pineapple Must. Smells Pineppley.