So , first time wine.

[BostonJoey]

Hello. I'm new to this. I've read up on it a good bit. Here's what I got going on I'm looking for some comments.
I bought a house last year and it has 2 huge fig trees. We are at the tail end of our first harvest.
I had canned alk the figs I wanted to and didn't want the rest to just go to waist si I started to try making wine.
I have 2 separate 5 gallon buckets full
First bucket I took about 3 gallons of figs and put them in a pressure cooker added about 3 cups of sugar. I let that boil for about an hour.
I dumped it in a 5 gallon bucket and filled rest of the way with boiling water. Cooled some and added yeast and an ounce of vodka. Topped the bucket and cut a small square out the top of it and covered with medical tape. It's bubbling.
2nd bucket. It's been raining a good bit so I went out and got another 5 gallon bucket filled with figs. They were pretty heavy with water. And I was felling pretty lazy from the ladder work getting the figs. So I went to bed doing nothing with the figs. By the next day figs have settled some and was almost completely filled with liquid and was fermenting . So I covered the bucket as was with tinfoil it's now bubbling like a soda. Top layer of figs is kinda gross. but it looks decent under top layer.
I'm asking for s0me advice because I haven't seen much abiut making a wine type beverage from figs. Any responses / advice is welcome.

 

[BostonJoey]

Any advice? Or seems good?

 

[sour_grapes]

Well, the first piece of advice is to buy a hydrometer (about $5) at you local home-brew store (LHBS). This will tell you how much starting sugar you have (and therefore, how alcoholic the final result may turn out to be). More importantly, it will allow you to monitor the progress of the fermentation.

 

[Scott]

Well, the first piece of advice is to buy a hydrometer (about $5) at you local home-brew store (LHBS). This will tell you how much starting sugar you have (and therefore, how alcoholic the final result may turn out to be). More importantly, it will allow you to monitor the progress of the fermentation.

Ummm buy two while you are at it, just sayin!!

 

[Boatboy24]

Definitely get a hydrometer - fast. While you're at it, get some EC-1118 yeast. If the batch you added no yeast to stops fermenting, the EC-1118 will come in handy to get things going again.

You'll want to stir those daily - if not twice a day. This is especially true of the batch with the whole figs floating on top. Once you have your hydrometer, take readings daily. When you start to approach 1.000, rack the wine off the sediment and into a carboy with an airlock.

 

[BostonJoey]

I'll go stir that up now then.

 

[BostonJoey]

I have no local brewery stores. But I have a hydrometer for my salt water fish tank. Is that the same thing?

 

[BostonJoey]

Here's a picture of it.

 

[francois_du_nord]

Nope, that isn't what we're talking about. This looks like an old school clear glass thermometer, with a bigger diameter at the bottom, weighted at the bottom with shot, and a slender pencil upper part where the measurement takes place.

Joey, your hydrometer for your tank is the same principal, however it might be marked with measurements to assist in salinity.

Do you have a scale that is marked in thousandths from about 0.990 to 1.110? If so, straight old tap water should be a 1.000 if your hydrometer is well calibrated. (I think it is 68 F if I remember right).

 

[BostonJoey]

It don't go that low. It is well calibrated. My coral would tell me if salt levels were off from what hydrometer tells me it is.

 

[BostonJoey]

I'll have to order one. Thanks for the help folks.

 

[cintipam]

Like Scott said, get 2. Esp if you have to order them. That way if one breaks in transit you at least have another to do what you need done NOW. But they do break a lot, esp if you don't have a back up ready to go.

Pam in cint

 

[Arne]

Unless the figs were super sweet, the alcohol by volume will probably be pretty low.Without knowing what the starting specific gravity it is pretty hard to tell. Anyway, if it was me, I would probably add about a pound of sugar per gal. Also, some nutrient to help the ferment. I would add the sugar over the course of a few days and add it slowly, stirring it in. Only use about half the recomended amount of nutrient to start with, then add the rest with the last sugar addition. Make sure you have plenty of headspace in the primary as these additions can make the wine foam. Good luck with it, others will probably have some more ideas to help. Arne.

 

[BostonJoey]

Thanks for the tips. I have hydrometer in now.
When you dry figs out they form a white mold looking substance. That's sugar, they are loaded with sugars.
I transfered to charboy and tried the fluid. Was great. I don't know why people use figs more often.
A friend of mine tried it too. He said it was better than boons farm I don't drink at all, but I didn't want my 10 gallons of figs go to waist. They have a short shelf life. And me and the family had more than our share. And canned 3 dozen quarts.

 

[Tom_S]

Thanks for the tips. I have hydrometer in now.
He said it was better than boons farm

I should certainly hope so.