Anybody makin' their own homemade wine? :D

[Neb]

@Neb, if you wouldn't mind, could you tell us what kind of yeast you're using, OG, FG, nutrient - what kind, how much (if any)? I keep a workbook of what I did and how I did it so that if anything comes out particularly amazing, I have a shot at recreating it.

We scaled up this process to make the elderberry wine.




This is the yeast we used.

Initially I thought I screwed something up because I never sae any bubbling. We let it sit for a few months. When I opened it up it smelled like wine! We both tasted it and agreed it was wine. It was a nice dry wine.

Aside from scaling it up for 4 gallons of wine, we will repeat the process but will move the fermentation bucket to a warmer location.

Ben

 

[Frodo]

When I was making wine I learned 2 important things
1). After fermintation
Siphonthe liquid off , (Do Not Pour ) of the yeast poop
Let the wine settle for a WEEK, siphon this process is called. Racking
Do it again
Now---pour the wine through a cheese cloth filter
This step is critical for a tasty drop
Yeast poop gives your wine a bitter taste and is also the reason for a hang over
The 2nd thing
If you are using fresh fruit and a store bought yeast I use champagne yeast
You have to kill the natural yeast of the fresh fruit, if not. The 2 different yeast will go to war for dominance in the ferment tank and spoil the batch
Freeze the fresh fruit, then freeze a second time, this will kill the natural yeast
3rd. And this was found out by accident
After your product is finished. Remove the lid or cap from your bottle and let it sit for 24 hours and breath. Place your cheese cloth over it.
4th
What you make today is not ready to drink till next year, Yes it CAN be consumed, but for a TASTY drop it HAS to age. AND lay your bottles on their sides and turn them a 1/4 turn every week to keep them from turning into vinegar

 

[bkt]

Acetobacters are bacteria found in just about everything to do with fermentation. If there is oxygen in the brew and if the ABV is below 10%, it will eventually turn to vinegar. If you want to rotate the bottle a quarter turn, that's fine. It won't prevent or cause anything to happen with regard to turning to vinegar.

You DO want oxygen in your must at the beginning of the process because the yeast need it. When racking, always use a siphon and try not to splash your brew because that will introduce oxygen. When degassing, I suggest using a wand made for it. It will get the carbon dioxide out without mixing oxygen in. Also, when racking, make sure the head space - the area between the surface of your brew and the airlock in the carboy - is not very big. The bigger the head space, the more oxygen can interact with your brew.

 

[randyt]

I think the real question is who drinks their homemade wine? Lol

All funning aside I set up a place for my brewing been using a lot of flip top bottles

 

[viking]

We have about six 5 gallon glass Carboys, the big bottles spring water used to be sold in, those bottles are now made out of a safe to use plastic, the best yeast for good flavored wine was champagne yeast.

 

[Neb]

We brewed up 3.5 lbs of elderberry wine yesterday. I still about same amount in the freezer..

The elderberry was from the backyard and some oranges from our orange tree.

Ben

 

[snappy1]

I just ordered the carboys. What kind of yeast do I need or is there a substitute for the recommended ones?

 

[bkt]

I just ordered the carboys. What kind of yeast do I need or is there a substitute for the recommended ones?

You can use bread yeast from the grocery store, honestly. But that won't be as effective or taste the same as using brewing yeast.

I tend to go to Lalvin EC-1118 yeast. It's cheap and just gets the job done. There are a ton of other yeast strains out there, and you can experiment with them. They're all inexpensive.

 

[Tim Horton]

Um... I tried that once sometime in the 1970s... Glass one gallon A&W root beer bottle, grape juice and I don't remember the rest of the recipe.. Put the balloon on top and waited.. The balloon rotted off, the formula turned to a 1 gallon ...multi color science experiment... Gave up..

 

[shanrose]

The topic came up on another thread and it was suggested maybe it should have it's own.

Anybody makin' their own homemade wine? Or other happy tonics beverages for medicinal purposes??

I know some people make quite the process out of it while others add a little plain ol' yeast and a little sugar to some cheap fruit juice, and a few weeks (or months, or years) later, wine!

Thought maybe it's something that might be interesting to read about, what you may like or what you may be doing at home.

This is a good idea if for no other reason than pain relief in case a hospital closes down. What is the easiest process to use? When you get older "easy" is very important.

 

[randyt]

This is a good idea if for no other reason than pain relief in case a hospital closes down. What is the easiest process to use? When you get older "easy" is very important.

A fascinating read is opium for the masses.

 

[Neb]

Batch 1 of elderberry wine done.

Ben

 

[Magus]

I need a decent recipe for rice wine.