Strawberry Wine

[ffemt128]

I pitched the yeast yesterday late afternoon and punched down the bag before I went to bed. I forgot to punch down the bag this am prior to work and when I arrived home, I could smell a distinct strawberry smell. Yep you guessed it, the must done foamed over the bucket. Siphoned 1/2 gallon from the bucket and placed into a jug. Should have ample room now I hope.




Yeasties are very happy.

 

[Tom]

Did you add all the berries in one bucket? Small wonder you had blow off.
I use 2 buckets when doing fruit.

 

[ffemt128]

Did you add all the berries in one bucket? Small wonder you had blow off.
I use 2 buckets when doing fruit.

Yes, I did add all to one bucket. Should have thought ahead about the overflow. Live and learn

 

[smokegrub]

I suspect that most, if not all, of us who having been making wine for some time have had foam overs. That is why I now use a very large primary and place it in a location where a foam over would do little damage. Have fun! Do this long enough nd you will make lots of mistakes!

 

[Tom]

Thought so. Currently I have 18 gallons of Peach wine in 6 buckets in primary. Since I got such a deal on them I used about40-45# per 6 gal.

 

[ffemt128]

Thought so. Currently I have 18 gallons of Peach wine in 6 buckets in primary. Since I got such a deal on them I used about40-45# per 6 gal.

I'd love to find a deal like yours. You have a good source for fruit...

 

[ffemt128]

Since I'll be getting the steam juicer tomorrow, what amount of berries should I save for the purpose of an fpac. 4 lbs sufficient or should I go more?

 

[Tom]

get more. You will love it. I think I stick about 8# strawberry in mine

 

[ffemt128]

get more. You will love it. I think I stick about 8# strawberry in mine

I have 20 lbs in the freezer now, I'll reserve 8 for the fpac.


Aldi's as them in their flyer again this week at .99 /lb may pick up some more just to have and maybe make jelly.


Everything is fermenting quite vigorously still. Punching down the bag 2x a day and giving the extra gallon jug a littte shake to keep mixed. Will check sq over the weekend and possibly transfer to secondary.

 

[Tom]

Remember you can "juice" and save them in "mason" jars for future use.
Yesterday I steamed some peaches I had in the freezer. Got 13 quarts in mason jars.

 

[Tom]

remind me.. How big is you batch?
What I do is simmer the steamed juice I'm using for a f-pac to reduce the water and make the juice more concentrated. If using 2 qts reduce to 1 qt.

 

[ffemt128]

Remember you can "juice" and save them in "mason" jars for future use.
Yesterday I steamed some peaches I had in the freezer. Got 13 quarts in mason jars.

I need to pick up some mason jars, never did any juicing before. I saw them at big lots the other evening reasonably priced.

remind me.. How big is you batch?
What I do is simmer the steamed juice I'm using for a f-pac to reduce the water and make the juice more concentrated. If using 2 qts reduce to 1 qt.

My recipe was for a6 gallon batch of strawberry wine. I used 30 lbs of berries in the primary, and filled to just over 6 gallons in hopesof ending up with rightaround 6gallons when I transfer to secondary. I'm figuring (hoping) to end up with 5 gallons after clearing.


I followed your directions regarding simmering down when I made my batch of apple wine. Produces a very concentrated, very sweet juice without diluting the wine as much.

 

[ffemt128]

Well just got home and went to puch down the bag of fruit. There was no more foam on the surface. I went and got the hydrometer to check the sg, guess what, it was at .992. I have to say that was probably the fastest fermentation I ever had. I'll transfer into a carboy tomorrow or should I wait until the weekend as originally planned?

 

[Tom]

If U put 30# in a bucket and filled w/ water to 6 gal you will be very short
Split it in 2 primaries. Add 3 gal water then add 1/2 berries to ea

 

[ffemt128]

If U put 30# in a bucket and filled w/ water to 6 gal you will be very short
Split it in 2 primaries. Add 3 gal water then add 1/2 berries to ea

I lifted the fruit bag out and the level in the bucket was over 5 gallons with juice still dripping. I also have another 3/4 of a gallon in a jug now. I think I'll be able to fill a carboy (6 gallon) and end up with 5 when done.

 

[Tom]

sounds like U R good to go. Dont worry if you are a little short the f-pac and back sweetening will add more volume.

 

[ffemt128]

sounds like U R good to go. Dont worry if you are a little short the f-pac and back sweetening will add more volume.

Thanks Tom, As I said, I should end up with just over 5 gallons when clear. I think my total volume after transferring to carboy will end up just over 6 gallons based on levels now.


These forums are wonderful. Glad Runningwolf told me about this one also.

 

[Fly*guy]

remind me.. How big is you batch?
What I do is simmer the steamed juice I'm using for a f-pac to reduce the water and make the juice more concentrated. If using 2 qts reduce to 1 qt.

Tepe..... isn't the juice from the steamer concentrated enough?

would it be OK just to add sugar to that and be finished with the Fpack or is the reason for reduction a space issue with topping up??

 

[Tom]

No, far from concentrated. Depending on the fruit you will get different gravity readings. Today I steamed 18# of Peaches and got 9 qts (so they had alot of water). The avg gravity was 1.035. Now if you just froze peaches and thawed in water w/ pectic you may get 1.020 on a good day. Each fruit gives diferent gravity.