I have a Loquat tree in my yard, but I don't really use the fruit for much. It produces so many Loquats each year that I could never eat them all and most of them end up going to waste or being eaten by birds. Thinking about ways to use them I looked around online where I found a number of loquat wine recipes. It seems interesting so I'm trying it. I didn't know which recipe to use so just picked one that seemed good. Right now I'm 4 days into my primary fermentation, and I find myself worrying about whether or not I have any idea what I'm doing. I would appreciate any comments on what I've done so far.
Working of the recipe I gathered 20 pounds of loquats. I cut each one into four pieces and removed the seeds. I put them into the Primary fermentor.
I also added:
1. 10 pounds of sugar (I used cane sugar).
2. 2 1/2 teaspoon Pectic Enzyme.
3. 5 teaspoon Acid Blend.
4. 1 1/4 teaspoon Grape Tannin.
5. 2 1/2 teaspoon Super nutrient.
6. Something called DAP that the people at the store I bought supplies at felt I should have. As per their instructions I mixed it in with the super nutrient.
7. Then I added tap water until I had 5 gallons of fluid.
8 Lastly I added 5 crushed Campden Tablets.
I let it sit for 24 hours. I then measured the specific gravity. I probably should have measured it the day before, but I didn't think of it. The specific gravity was at 1.104. Based on what I've seen on the internet so far that seems high. I considered boiling some water letting it cool down then adding it, but I was afraid of messing things up so I just left it like that. I then added the yeast. The yeast I used was called Lalvin 71B-1122. I put the yeast in warm water with some sugar in it and let it sit for 15 minutes before adding it. The next day there were signs of activity (foam, and a fizzing sound). I've been stirring the mixture once per day sense then. For the first few days it smelled strongly of yeast. Now it doesn't really smell much at all. I don’t know if that's good or bad. The yeast is still making fizzing noise so I know it's still alive. Some of the hunks of fruit seem kind of rotten after a few days of sitting in there. I hope that's normal. I wonder if I should have cut them into smaller pieces or maybe put them in the blender. Well, too late now.
The recipe says that I should move to the secondary fermentor after 7 days, but I've read various places on the form that I should move to the secondary after the specific gravity reaches a certain level (maybe 1.02-1.01). Some advice on that would be helpful. Any comments are appreciated. Thanks.
Working of the recipe I gathered 20 pounds of loquats. I cut each one into four pieces and removed the seeds. I put them into the Primary fermentor.
I also added:
1. 10 pounds of sugar (I used cane sugar).
2. 2 1/2 teaspoon Pectic Enzyme.
3. 5 teaspoon Acid Blend.
4. 1 1/4 teaspoon Grape Tannin.
5. 2 1/2 teaspoon Super nutrient.
6. Something called DAP that the people at the store I bought supplies at felt I should have. As per their instructions I mixed it in with the super nutrient.
7. Then I added tap water until I had 5 gallons of fluid.
8 Lastly I added 5 crushed Campden Tablets.
I let it sit for 24 hours. I then measured the specific gravity. I probably should have measured it the day before, but I didn't think of it. The specific gravity was at 1.104. Based on what I've seen on the internet so far that seems high. I considered boiling some water letting it cool down then adding it, but I was afraid of messing things up so I just left it like that. I then added the yeast. The yeast I used was called Lalvin 71B-1122. I put the yeast in warm water with some sugar in it and let it sit for 15 minutes before adding it. The next day there were signs of activity (foam, and a fizzing sound). I've been stirring the mixture once per day sense then. For the first few days it smelled strongly of yeast. Now it doesn't really smell much at all. I don’t know if that's good or bad. The yeast is still making fizzing noise so I know it's still alive. Some of the hunks of fruit seem kind of rotten after a few days of sitting in there. I hope that's normal. I wonder if I should have cut them into smaller pieces or maybe put them in the blender. Well, too late now.
The recipe says that I should move to the secondary fermentor after 7 days, but I've read various places on the form that I should move to the secondary after the specific gravity reaches a certain level (maybe 1.02-1.01). Some advice on that would be helpful. Any comments are appreciated. Thanks.
