December 2014 Wine of the Month Club

[Jericurl]

I love the idea to use a mix of sugar/honey for your sweetener. And I think the idea to add elderflowers for layered complexity is genius. Are you going for something fairly light floral/fruity or are you wanting something thick and hearty (I ask because you mentioned the oak and vanilla)?

 

[the_rayway]

I'm thinking a nice, medium-bodied white. Not too thick, not too thin. If I do go the oak/vanilla route, it will be with a VERY delicate hand. I would like fresh fruit flavour with solid bass and top notes.

Does this make sense? In my head it tastes really good, but it's always a challenge to get it just the way you're thinking of...

 

[Stressbaby]

Re: candied ginger: you may already know this, but I discovered that there is a WIDE range of flavor intensity in candied ginger. Some you can eat like snack food. Other is so intense you almost can't eat is straight. I found this out the hard way by over flavoring my last batch of lemongrass-ginger wine.

 

[the_rayway]

Funny you should say that @stressbaby as my Mom is a big fan of candied ginger, but the stuff I have she can't eat. Says it's too strong!

Today I added:
Kmeta (this morning)
7 oz Honey (generic)
1.5 Lbs sugar
1L pear syrup (from the kids' tinned pears)
1 Tbl elderflowers
2 bananas, very ripe, no skins

I dissolved the honey and sugar into the syrup - I entirely estimated the sugar level that the pears wold provide, the amount of juice present, and checked the syrup to see it was at 1.030. I used the winecalc to ballpark the sugar additions, hoping to hit 1.095 and darn near nailed it at 1.100! Once the pears give up the rest of their juice, it will likely bring it down by a point or two, but I'm totally happy.

I dumped everything into a 'bag' (pantyhose) so that I could get at the juice for the S.G. check. The pears are rising above the liquid, but I think that they will give up a bit more juice and break down further during fermentation. They're hard as rocks, even after freezing, but if you can get a good grip on one it will squirt out some juice. I'll just keep pounding away at it until I'm happy with the result.

I've got a 1/2 tsp each of BA11 & ICV D254 warming up on the windowsill, ready to make a starter in the morning.

 

[drumlinridgewinery]

Calvin is correct on the cranberry surplus. Almost a 2 year supply in storage. I havenot noticed a price decline in stores though.

I really like following along some month I will join in. Maybe next month with some type of mixed berry. Bottled some the other night and have some empty glass.

 

[wineforfun]

In my head it tastes really good, but it's always a challenge to get it just the way you're thinking of...

That is a classic line.

 

[sour_grapes]

I am planning to participate in the Jan. WOTM post (assuming we have one). Obviously, the question that follows is not specific to WOTM, but who would be better poised to answer this question than you people?

Looking for suggestions on primary fermentation vessels suitable for 1-gallon batches. Is it okay to do it in a 8-gallon bucket? Do you instead find a smallish, food-grade bucket, maybe 2 gallons? Stainless steel stockpot or enameled dutch oven, maybe? (I like that glass canister that Julie has above, whatever it is! )

 

[calvin]

I use a 2 gallon pail that I got from home depot

 

[cintipam]

Hi Paul

2-3 gallon size is perfect, and I have a good 5 of those on hand free from Krogers bakery just for asking. They usually have an icing or cream filling in them. Also good to store scads of small winemaking stuff in when not in use as a primary.

Pam in cinti

 

[Julie]

Paul, I found a 2 gallon glass jug at Walmart, look on page two for a pic of it. It works great for one gallon batches.

 

[the_rayway]

It's alive!!!! Mwahahahaha!!!

I pitched the yeast this morning after getting it started in some warm water and must. The yeast LOVED it, and started partying right away. When I came home from work it was all yeasted up and and fizzing away.

I will plonk in my first addition of FermK this evening.

@sour_grapes I end up using a smallish 5 gal for most 1 gal ferments. Mainly because I use a lot of fruit, and also because I totally don't have a smaller pail. I think it's time to get one though.

 

[Jericurl]

I've started the process for this wine batch.

I put 9 lbs of cranberries in my big mouth bubbler to thaw out, along with some camden tablets and a wee bit of water.

After 24 hours, I've added pectic enzyme last night. Looking at them this morning, they don't look like they are even considering breaking apart. Hmmmm....I really don't want to have to fish them all out and run them through the food processor tonight. But if they don't start breaking down at least a little bit, I'm thinking I may have to....

 

[Julie]

What if you took a potato masher and mashed them down some? That might break them up enough for the pectic to start working

 

[Jericurl]

You know....I don't think I even own a potato masher.

I use the kitchenaid for my potatoes.

I'll have to take a look but I'm 99% sure we don't have one.
Well futz. I'll just sanitize a bucket, pour everything I've got so far in there, and I guess just dip out some a bit at a time, run it through and then pour it back into my primary.




Also, I haven't totally written out my recipe because apparently I am feeling the need to fly by the seat of my pants and wing it as I go.

I have rough outline, so I guess I'm not flying totally blind. Only partially. Still not sure if adding bananas and cranberries will be enough fuel for the yeast or if I will need to step feed like a normal mead.

 

[the_rayway]

I racked my pear today. S.G. 1.004 and I totally missed the 2nd addition of FermK - blew right by me in the first two days! There are no off odours though, so that's positive.

The pears gave me much more juice than anticipated. I ended up racking to a 3 gal carboy and it's definitely 2/3 full. It's got far less sediment than my first try at pear with bottled juice. I squeezed the fruit (not too hard) and will see if it finishes up under 1.000.

 

[Jericurl]

Ok,

Got home from work, sanitized like mad, then ran the cranberries through my food processor. It took forever!

So far, I've mixed in 3 lbs of honey into about a gallon of water I had heating on the stove. Got sidetracked with some other stuff, but I'm about to go add 6 more pounds. Once it cools down, I'll add it to the must.
I'm letting everything sit overnight again, trying to give the pectic enzyme a little more time to do it's job.

I'll be using this recipe:

Cranberry Mead 3 gal recipe

9 lbs cranberries, frozen then thawed
2 crushed campden tablets mixed in a bit of water to to sanitize cranberries
2 quarts cranberry juice
3 tsp pectic enzyme
1 can orange juice concentrate
2 small cinnamon sticks
2 small pieces of crystallized ginger
3 T oak powder
2 bananas
vanilla beans (left over from making vanilla extract...dried and dessicated but still have a lot of flavor)
small tip of rosemary sprig


I'm on the fence about adding 3/4 tsp potassium carbonate. I'm a little worried about it being a bit acidic for the honey and yeast.

I will pitch RC-212 in the morning. Considering making a starter using GoFerm, then :

¼ tsp DAP at beginning, 1.06, and 1.03
½ tsp Fermaid K beginning, 1.06, and 1.03

Any thoughts?
Oh, and Merry Christmas eve everyone!

 

[Jericurl]

I've screwed up.

Oh man, have I screwed up.
With the excitement of Christmas, plus having to go to work early in the morning, plus lack of coffee....
Well, I had everything laid out to make my yeast starter yesterday morning.

And apparently I grabbed the package of yeast, sprinkled it on top of my must and waltzed out the door yesterday morning.
I didn't even realize I hadn't made the starter until I got to work.

I just checked on it....I don't see any bubbles, no fizzing.
The must is at 68 degrees.

I can order new yeast today and have it here by Monday.
I used RC 212, and of course it was my only packet of that type. Will my must stay good until Monday?
Ugh, I can't believe I did this!

 

[Stressbaby]

I've done that very thing. Mine took off on its own, though it took an extra day or two.


Sent from my iPad using Wine Making

 

[Julie]

I would stir it to see if it has a slight fizz, it maybe fermenting but very slow. And it should be fine til Monday

 

[Jericurl]

I stirred the smack out of it.

There were some bubbles, but nothing even close to what I usually see.
Just a wee bit of bubbles on the top that very quickly went away.

I'm not going to fret about it for now, will just keep an eye on it and keep stirring it.