Hi from TX

[-Bumbleclot-]

So many threads in here I don't know where to look. I'm hardly a winemaker, only make a few gallons each year and know so very little about it. I suppose what I make would be called hooch, as I do it in such a primitive fashion.
Originally found this forum when looking for a description of how to use honey instead of sugar, but I've only tried mead once and didn't care for it. Now more interested in using different types of sugar, like turbinado or dark brown sugar. Would that simply be a matter of swapping out an ingredient, or would it call for different amounts depending on the kind I use? And how much of a difference in flavor would that cause? Would my very simple process need to be changed in order to use a different sugar?

 

[Julie]

Hi -Bumbleclot-,

Welcome to winemakingtalk.

 

[jamesngalveston]

welcome to the forum...lots of good info here...for sure.

 

[Arne]

Welcome to the forum. Don't know what the turbinado is, but brown sugar molassas (don't think I spelled that right.) in it. I have never used it, but it might give you a little trouble when clearing. Other than that, use a hydrometer and you can get your specific gravity to where you want it for the amount of alcohol by volume you want. The hydrometer will also tell you what your wine is doing while it is fermenting. Arne.

 

[-Bumbleclot-]

Where do I get a hydrometer? I would imagine it comes with instructions
Turbinado is regular sugar, but unbleached. Had a tan to brown color, depending on the brand.
My second batch is clear, but very dark. If brown sugar has molasses, and that may effect clarity, I'd rather go with a turbinado, it has no additives and I know I can use it as a direct replacement for white sugar.
How do I know the alcohol content? Is that something that would be part of the hydrometer instructions? The tech terms get me confused, only one I've figured out is sg, tho don't really get its significance

 

[Julie]

Do you have a local homebrew shop? You can get one there or you can check one of our vendors. ABV is calculated by taking the starting hydrometer reading (sg) minus the final hydrometer once fermentation has completed (fg) and multiply by 131.

And I have used brown sugar to backsweeten an apple wine, turned out pretty good.

 

[jamesngalveston]

what part of texas

 

[Duster]

welcome to the forum, How's the heat treating you? I have been getting raked over the coals this year for the AC systems we sell in Texas. 130K to 180K BTU systems and I being told they can't recover this summer.

 

[-Bumbleclot-]

Central Texas, out in the country between Waco and Temple. Don't mind the heat, kind of enjoy it. Humidity on the other hand...yuck.

ABV is alcohol something volume? I should be getting in to town before my mash is ready for sugar, I'll look up some brew shops.

I participate in historical reenactments, I know "back in the day" they didn't have access to a lot of what I see y'all talking about, and tho I would like to make a quality wine I also don't want to break from my primitive style any more than I absolutely have to. I have yet to even add yeast to what I've made. It's my mother's recipe plus half again the sugar. She has never added a thing either, other than water to top off her bottles. (I just left mine, whatever volume I lost in the process was just less finished product.)

 

[jamesngalveston]

there is a lot of ways to make wine, and of course they all require sugar.
wine has been made for 1000s of years, and many ways.
they(old winemakers_) had things they used that are about the same (chemicals) we use today...
they used eggs,crabs,horse hoofs, and ox blood,for clearing agents.
used all kinds of things as a preservative, all kinds of sugars.
i am not saying the old way is wrong, but if your going to put the time into it, you might as well make a decent, and safe wine.

 

[WI_Wino]

ABV is alcohol something volume?

ABV = alcohol by volume

 

[-Bumbleclot-]

Safe? Oh goodness, I didn't know I could end up with something that wasn't. Unpleasant perhaps, as my first attempt was. Can one of y'all post a couple links for me? I have tried to dig thru some of these forums, but really don't know what I'm looking for or where to find it, it all seems to start a bit more technical than I can follow. I don't even know what is meant by oxidizing, what it does or how it effects things, if that's an indication of my...lack of sophistication 8|

And please don't get me wrong, I would like to keep what I'm doing as simple as I can, but I also understand that to make a better quality I will have to start doing some newfangled thinks along the way. Not against it, but I do have my druthers.

 

[jpike01]

I was lucky and found this thread early on, helped me out a bunch.
http://www.winemakingtalk.com/forum/f71/wine-making-dictionary-8465/

http://www.winemakingtalk.com/forum/f71/

Welcome and good luck!

 

[-Bumbleclot-]

Thank you pike, the dictionary is much more helpful than the first I found. Couple things I am wondering still. "Sg" and "fg" are starting and final gravity?

How does oxygen effect the wine? In another 9 days, I take my mashed grapes and strain/squeeze all the juice out, and again once fermenting had stopped. Literally pouring from one container to another. Once I bottle it, I'm much more careful as I rack, syphoning and making sure I splash as little as possible.

And I read the thread about hydrometers, very helpful indeed. But I saw mentioned that a higher sg at the start makes a "hot" wine. What does that mean? Higher abv was my guess, but really don't want to assume when there's so much knowledge in here. If that's the case, how hot can it be, before it causes problems?

 

[jpike01]

First let me advise you that I made my first batch back in June so the is a lot more experience on this forum than what you will get with me.
SG = specific gravity or I guess it could mean startig gravity. you want to take a hydrometer reading before you add yeast. That way you can determine about how much alchohol is in your finished product. 1.000 is the SG of water at 60 degrees on my hydrometer. If you add sugar to 1.080 and let your must erment to a reading of 1.000 the you can do the following calculations: 1.080 - 1.000 = .080 x 131 = 10.5% alcohol by volume(ABV) Read the instructions that come with your hydrometer.
I am no expert on oxygen and wine but yeast need a certian amount of it to multiply and live. Too much oxygen on your finished wine will cause it to change its flavor for the worse and most likely allow other contaminants in and eventually turn it to vinegar. Please get another opinion on this subject.
Hot equals high alcohol content. I think I read that most wines need to be at 10% so that the alcohol can act as a preservative. Some yeast cannot survive high alcohol so you may want to research the different types of yeast.
How hot can it be before it causes problems? I guess it is according to how much of it you drink! LOL! It probably depends on your taste, the wine you are making and how long you are willin g to age it. Soemone else needs to help answer this one.
This is what I think I know. Please keep asking and reading.

 

[jpike01]

Go to the beginers wine making forum and post your questions. It won't take long to get them answered.