Strawberry Wild Yeast

[ShawnDTurner]

The yeast are weaker which is great, so when he adds the additional fruit and nutrients this will give them a little lift but not aggressive to finish the fruit as well as fermentation.

Extraction of compounds by alcohol..... not vigorous fermentation is key with the additional fruit. As far as the bitterness, he should only be dicing up the berries and not crushing them. Time will allow those compounds to fall out as well as fining. Cheers!

 

[cohenhouse77]

Good, was down to 1.05 yesterday. However, was called out of town yesterday on a death in the family suddenly so I am praying that it is not bubbling over in my wine cubby. That will be nice to come home to!

Sorry for your loss. I'm sure the berries will be on their best behavior while you are gone.

 

[cohenhouse77]

1.035 and bubble bubble bubble.

 

[ShawnDTurner]

Chris, what is your gravity today? Cheers!

 

[cohenhouse77]

1.03 and bubble bubble bubble.

 

[cohenhouse77]

1.027 Moving and bubbling. Even hissed wildly when I stirred it. It's just going slow.

 

[ShawnDTurner]

Still moving and not stuck. Being patient pays off! This time tomorrow you should be in the range or close. Will you be adding the additional fruit, (Fresh or Frozen)? You are in the 9% range I think, with Feral Yeast. How many days of fermentation? This is really fricking cool! Keep me updated. Cheers.

 

[cohenhouse77]

Today is day 9 of fermentation. I am adding 3 lbs of strawberries tonight to replace the handful of scraps in the straining bag. That shouldn't add too much additional sugar. I'm hoping to hit 1.01 by Thursday and can rack on Friday.

 

[ShawnDTurner]

If you add fruit tonight, add the rest of your nutrients, give it a good stir, it will re-suspend the yeast and get them going again.

 

[jrvernon]

Today is day 9 of fermentation. I am adding 3 lbs of strawberries tonight to replace the handful of scraps in the straining bag. That shouldn't add too much additional sugar. I'm hoping to hit 1.01 by Thursday and can rack on Friday.

Chris, did you use any energizer? I have some if you need it in a pinch.

 

[cohenhouse77]

1.02! Energizer would have probably been a good plan, but I have never used much of it as didn't think about it. Thanks James. Lets see what this does over the next day.

 

[cohenhouse77]

This afternoon, I discovered the strawberries I added yesterday to be void of color, and 1/3 of the volume of the original bag. Considering how well that went, I may add some more! I am still 1.02 this afternoon, but slightly below the line, whereas I could see the line this morning. I made myself a homemade batch of energizer, not because I needed it, but because I was fearful of the yeast becoming stressed. I crushed 1/2 tsp of biotin, 1/2 tsp of riboflavin, and 1/2 tsp of thiamine, 1/3 tsp of folic acid, and 1/2 tsp of magnesium sulfate. Crushed it all and blended, and then added it slowly. The yeast was very thankful and is purring in the bucket. The must is still sweet smelling, and the flavor of the must is tart and the alcohol is not overbearing. This shall prove interesting for sure.

Shawn, does adding the strawberries for extraction now reduce the need for an F-pack later?

 

[ShawnDTurner]

IMHO........Yes.........by adding the fruit later during the end of fermentation in my opinion eliminates the need for F-pack, as I stated in earlier posting. You get an alcoholic extraction vs Yeast.. Which is gentlier. I think you will find this works extremely well. If you want it more Strawberryyyyyyyyyyyy then add more Strawberries.

Use this method with your skeeter Pee or other country wines.

Chris.......this will not be an early drinker.....You will probably need to age it a bit to soften it.. The following steps softens tartness

1. Balance with Sweetness
2. Bulk age for 5-6 months (But of course taste it along the way!) then bottle, it will continue to loss its tartness.
3. Fining.

I would be interested in what the PH is currently. Cheers

 

[cohenhouse77]

1.01 and ferocious hiss this morning. Energizer late in the game was the trick.

 

[ShawnDTurner]

You are well on your way! This is what true wine making is all about! Cheers!

 

[cohenhouse77]

Racked to carboy last night at .99 and looks great. Already clearing and looks like it's gonna be a gorgeous red color. I thought I had enough to rack to a 1 gallon, but it turned out to be almost 3/4 gallon of lees and debris. I transfered that right over to another 6 lb batch of strawberries for my Feral Dragon. It is fermenting beautifully this morning.

Good times!

 

[fivebk]

You will know if your color will stay after you add your first dose of K-Meta. Mine looked just like yours untill I added K-Kmta then it turned orange. The taste was the same, so don't be surprised if it changes color. Nice job!!! I've been watching this post since the start. I have thought about using wild yeast, but always ended up throwing in what I knew would work. I guess I'm not much of a gambler.

BOB

 

[ShawnDTurner]

Chris......now you are a winemaker! You fought the urge to go with the accepted status quo and now you are being rewarded. You took a risk and gained valuable experience. I hope more people are paying attention. If you attempt this again. I got some other tips on Oak layering for you. I think you can take this Feral Berry to a whole different level!

Keep us updated......Cheers

 

[cohenhouse77]

Thanks Shawn! You were a fantastic help and a huge encouragement. I do intend to add some oak to this one. I'm still doing some research to determine which type of cubes I want to add once I am entering the bulk age stage. Any suggestions?

 

[ShawnDTurner]

I would use a Medium toast french oak cubes. Understand when you use the oak you will need to let it age for awhile to incorporate. At first the oak will seem up front but in time it should blend back in allowing the Strawberry to come forward. Are you still going to use the slurry to do a Skeeter Pee? Cheers.