Xandra
Junior Member
- Joined
- Jul 23, 2013
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Yay, I got my hydrometer! First of at least two, I know I'm gonna break this one, but... one for now 
This is what I've done so far, please let me know if you see any potential issues... ingredients are from several recipes, built it on what sounded right, and steps are my own logic coupled with what I've been trying to learn.
15 lbs. beets, cleaned and thinly sliced.
10 lbs. sugar
Zest and juice of 3 lemons and 2 oranges
20-25 whole cloves
2” of ginger root, grated
5 Campden tablets, crushed
6 gallons of tap water
1 package wine yeast
Zest the oranges and lemons, and juice them through a strainer. No pulp, no seeds. Into the primary fermentation bucket, place the sugar, the orange and lemon juice and the Campden tablet powder.
Boil the beets, the orange and lemon zest, the cloves and the ginger root, roughly divided between however many cooking vessels you need to use to achieve about 6 gallons of liquid. When beets are tender but not mushy, line a colander with a flour sack dishtowel and place it on top of the primary bucket. Pour the beets and liquid into the colander. Stir the sugar mixture and juice once you’ve got a couple gallons of liquid, so it’s easier to dissolve. Once the bucket is full nearly to the brim with liquid, stir carefully then siphon off 2 gallons into a second container. This is so the full bucket doesn’t overflow during the primary fermentation process, and a 5 gallon bucket will potentially overflow if it contains 5 gallons of fermenting liquid. You’ll lose some wine later when you siphon it into secondary, so this extra will help replace the loss enough to fill the carboy properly.
Take a hydrometer reading, after noting the temperature of the liquid. This calculator http://hbd.org/cgi-bin/recipator/recipator/hydrometer.html?16280467 will correct your hydrometer reading since your liquid probably isn’t at the standard 60 degrees. You should be starting out at about 1.091. If it’s lower, add sugar to each container until you reach that mark on both. Cover loosely and let stand. The Campden powder needs 24 hours to kill any stray bacteria that might harm the wine. Start timing when everything is in the bucket and stirred up, you don’t have to wait until it’s cooled to start the clock. By the way, the juice in the buckets tastes positively scrumptious before adding the yeast
After 24 hours have passed, activate the yeast, and divide it proportionally into the two containers. Stir. Cover the containers with a cloth tied down, or rubber-banded, and set aside for 5 days, stirring twice a day. Don’t cover tightly, it needs to breathe.
* 7/28/13 – 4 gallons in bucket, added 2 cups sugar; 2 gallons in kettle, added 1 cup sugar, to reach 1.090 SG in each.
* 7/29/13 – Divided and added 1 packet Lalvin Bourgovin RC 212 yeast to both containers. Temp 83 degrees in the house.
* 7/30/13 - Fermenting very nicely as you can see here in the smaller container!!
I promise my subsequent posts will NOT be this long, and I thank you for your patience, for all the great info on the forum, and for your expertise
This is what I've done so far, please let me know if you see any potential issues... ingredients are from several recipes, built it on what sounded right, and steps are my own logic coupled with what I've been trying to learn.
15 lbs. beets, cleaned and thinly sliced.
10 lbs. sugar
Zest and juice of 3 lemons and 2 oranges
20-25 whole cloves
2” of ginger root, grated
5 Campden tablets, crushed
6 gallons of tap water
1 package wine yeast
Zest the oranges and lemons, and juice them through a strainer. No pulp, no seeds. Into the primary fermentation bucket, place the sugar, the orange and lemon juice and the Campden tablet powder.
Boil the beets, the orange and lemon zest, the cloves and the ginger root, roughly divided between however many cooking vessels you need to use to achieve about 6 gallons of liquid. When beets are tender but not mushy, line a colander with a flour sack dishtowel and place it on top of the primary bucket. Pour the beets and liquid into the colander. Stir the sugar mixture and juice once you’ve got a couple gallons of liquid, so it’s easier to dissolve. Once the bucket is full nearly to the brim with liquid, stir carefully then siphon off 2 gallons into a second container. This is so the full bucket doesn’t overflow during the primary fermentation process, and a 5 gallon bucket will potentially overflow if it contains 5 gallons of fermenting liquid. You’ll lose some wine later when you siphon it into secondary, so this extra will help replace the loss enough to fill the carboy properly.
Take a hydrometer reading, after noting the temperature of the liquid. This calculator http://hbd.org/cgi-bin/recipator/recipator/hydrometer.html?16280467 will correct your hydrometer reading since your liquid probably isn’t at the standard 60 degrees. You should be starting out at about 1.091. If it’s lower, add sugar to each container until you reach that mark on both. Cover loosely and let stand. The Campden powder needs 24 hours to kill any stray bacteria that might harm the wine. Start timing when everything is in the bucket and stirred up, you don’t have to wait until it’s cooled to start the clock. By the way, the juice in the buckets tastes positively scrumptious before adding the yeast
After 24 hours have passed, activate the yeast, and divide it proportionally into the two containers. Stir. Cover the containers with a cloth tied down, or rubber-banded, and set aside for 5 days, stirring twice a day. Don’t cover tightly, it needs to breathe.
* 7/28/13 – 4 gallons in bucket, added 2 cups sugar; 2 gallons in kettle, added 1 cup sugar, to reach 1.090 SG in each.
* 7/29/13 – Divided and added 1 packet Lalvin Bourgovin RC 212 yeast to both containers. Temp 83 degrees in the house.
* 7/30/13 - Fermenting very nicely as you can see here in the smaller container!!
I promise my subsequent posts will NOT be this long, and I thank you for your patience, for all the great info on the forum, and for your expertise
