[joeyfmx]

Hey all, I bought 2 32 oz bottles of lakewood 100 percent cranberry juice , it containes no additives or presevatives, and is not from concentrate. It is low on sugar (8 gm per serving) so I know I will need to add sugar. Im figuring one 32 oz bottle plus one gallon of water will do, plus sugar to get the 1.085 ish range. I am wondering if anyone has used this type of pure cran juice and the ph, adding tannis or pectic enzyme measurements you have gone by. I see some recipes call for raisins, but some dont. Plus this is pure cran juice and no water added. It states on the bottle over 3 or more lbs of cranberrys used per bottle. Any recipes or suggestions are highly appreciated, thanks!!!

[Tom]

Do NOT add water.
Make a starter.
Can be hard to start.
Do a TA test
Gravity no higher than 1.085
I would NOT make 2 quarts of wine
Get 3-5 gallons of 100% juice from Costco.

[JasonH]

I agree with above. The only time I add water to a batch is if I'm using fresh or frozen fruit.

[joeyfmx]

wont it be too tart or acidic? I have a gallon of pure apple juice as well I thought about mixing with the cran juice before fermenting. Any thoughts? Ratios? I was thinking 32 oz cranberry plus a gallon of pure apple juice, maybe some white raisins and cinnamon stick.

[joeyfmx]

Originally Posted by Tom

Do NOT add water.
Make a starter.
Can be hard to start.
Do a TA test
Gravity no higher than 1.085
I would NOT make 2 quarts of wine
Get 3-5 gallons of 100% juice from Costco.

Thanks for the tips, I guess the ta test would tell me a bit. I planned on a gallon with the 2 32 oz bottles, just an experiment really. Ive heard good things about apple cran wine but not sure if people ferment them together.

[JasonH]

Originally Posted by joeyfmx

wont it be too tart or acidic? I have a gallon of pure apple juice as well I thought about mixing with the cran juice before fermenting. Any thoughts? Ratios? I was thinking 32 oz cranberry plus a gallon of pure apple juice, maybe some white raisins and cinnamon stick.

You will probably still need to add acid to get a good TA. The only fruit wine I've made that didn't require atleast a little acid addition was grapefruit.

Personally, I would make separate batches of apple and cranberry and then blend the wines to taste after they were finished. In this case, I would think that the apple flavor would be lost if you fermented them together. Still, if you want to ferment them together, I'm sure it wouldn't be bad.

[Zwetschgen]

It can be very hard to get started! Mine ended very similar as it began and was still very tart. All sound advice.

[joeyfmx]

Originally Posted by Zwetschgen

It can be very hard to get started! Mine ended very similar as it began and was still very tart. All sound advice.

24 hours later no bubbles, still waiting. Did a yeast starter today as well too by warm water and sugar till yeast bubbled. Pure cranberry juice is high in acid. Repeated tests and dilutions brought it from 14 ml of hydroxide solution down to 9 ish, the 90's! Good enough I suppose! May buy some 1118 in case its not fizzing in a few days.

[Tom]

Patience. Cranberry is a slow starter.