Newbie 2nd batch (1st real batch)

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kirr45

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Hey guys just about to start my 2nd batch. My 1st batch had too many bad variables.....full of preservatives, not fully the same juice, artificial sweeteners. Now I finally went to the organic store and made sure I bought pomegranate juice without preservatives. The kind that says to consume within 3 days of opening. Funny enough they didn't have any grape juice.

It's a 1 liter glass container. I was thinking to just use it for fermenting as well. I'm using DCL Saf Levure bread yeast. I don't have a cork so I can use my airlock as it comes with a metal lid.

What do you think are my chances of success in this batch?

Oh yeah, I'm using bread yeast because my resources are limited.
 
For a 1 liter bottle of pomegranate juice, how much table sugar should I put in it? Also, the yeast packets come in 11g sizes. Is 1 packet enough?
 
We probably can't answer the how much sugar to put into it. There are way to many questions, like what is the current sugar concentration?? You really need at least a hydrometer to have any chance of success in this hobby.

Other questions that come to my mind is what is the ph of the existing juice, should you increase or decrease it and just because it tastes good doesn't mean the ph is good for making wine. I can answer the amount of yeast question. 1 packet is more than enough, that sounds like enough to do 6-10 gallons of juice. But bread yeast isn't something you will see many of us trying to use. It just doesn't have the ability to ferment very much alcohol, unless you treat it really well and feed it lots of nutrients.
 
I have a concrete suggestion for you. You may be able to get your hands on a hydrometer that is meant for testing engine coolant solutions, i.e., antifreeze, in you car. The range of densities of solutions of water/ethylene glycol are about the same as what you need for winemaking. (You can also find similar hydrometers for salt-water fish tanks, but the density range they cover is pretty close to 1.0, so they are only useful near the end of fermentation. The ones meant for testing your car battery cover densities that are way too high for winemaking.)

The hydrometer for the antifreeze application probably won't be labeled in "specific gravity," but rather in temperatures that the coolant is good to. You can make the correlation with the table on this page:
http://www.engineeringtoolbox.com/ethylene-glycol-d_146.html


They typically look like one of these pictures:

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22981479_ezr_ezrs102_pri_larg.jpg

s-l300.jpg
 
Ooooh pomegranite wine. Im gonna try that, sounds like it will be a good one. Just pick up a hydrometer at your local wine store, there cheap. Mix up your juice and add sugar or grape concentrate till you get to your desired abv. Ill be watching to see how this turns out, keep us posted. Pick up a pack of ec1118 at the wine store too, only cost about a buck for the proper yeast. Im sure theres better yeasts for pomegranite wine out there but for newbies like us ec1118 never let me down.
 
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My hydrometer was only $7 at my local homebrew store. It's the one investment you really have to make.

I'm new to this too, so I don't have a lot to add, except if your juice has a short shelf life you might consider freezing it until you have a chance to do the research to make it the best way for your financial situation. Pomegranate wine sounds like it would be wonderful. Good luck!
 
Ooooh pomegranite wine. Im gonna try that, sounds like it will be a good one. Just pick up a hydrometer at your local wine store, there cheap. Mix up your juice and add sugar or grape concentrate till you get to your desired abv. Ill be watching to see how this turns out, keep us posted. Pick up a pack of ec1118 at the wine store too, only cost about a buck for the proper yeast. Im sure theres better yeasts for pomegranite wine out there but for newbies like us ec1118 never let me down.

My hydrometer was only $7 at my local homebrew store. It's the one investment you really have to make.

I'm new to this too, so I don't have a lot to add, except if your juice has a short shelf life you might consider freezing it until you have a chance to do the research to make it the best way for your financial situation. Pomegranate wine sounds like it would be wonderful. Good luck!

In another thread, the OP told us he or she does not have access to normal winemaking supplies. I'm just trying to help him or her out.
 
In another thread, the OP told us he or she does not have access to normal winemaking supplies. I'm just trying to help him or her out.

I appreciate the help. I'm gonna try to find some sort of hydrometer but is there some sort of ball park amount of sugar and yeast I can put for the 1 liter of pomegranate juice?
 
I appreciate the help. I'm gonna try to find some sort of hydrometer but is there some sort of ball park amount of sugar and yeast I can put for the 1 liter of pomegranate juice?

Id highly advise waiting to get a hydrometer but i believe 1 pound of sugar per gallon of water raises the sg by .020, so 4 pounds of sugar per gallon should get you to 1.080 but you still need to calculate the sugar in your juice. Double check that formula. Im not 100% on it being correct
 
Not yet. Will do that. On another note, I think bread yeast doesn't work at all with pomegranate juice. Maybe because its too acidic? I mixed a little yeast, sugar and pomegranate juice. 10 minutes later....no foam.
 
Not yet. Will do that. On another note, I think bread yeast doesn't work at all with pomegranate juice. Maybe because its too acidic? I mixed a little yeast, sugar and pomegranate juice. 10 minutes later....no foam.

You have a wine kit store anywhere nearby? You can buy a pack of Ec1118 for a buck, that will boot it up. Im pretty sure bread yeast is for bread :) although my father inlaw is super old school backyard wine maker and hes been successful with bread yeast. Myself would stick to wine yeast for wine, leave the bread yeast in the baking cupboard.
 
Some good news. After 20 minutes, the yeast started to foam. Today is the first full day of fermentation and it's bubbling like a soda does in a glass. No foam at all, just the kinda of bubbling you see in champagne.
 

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