HOME BREWING

[stuhan]

 

Blueberry Wine

Ingredients

2Kg frozen blueberries

1.5 Kg sugar

1 tsp pectolase

1 cup of strong tea

4 litres water

yeast and nutrients

METHOD

Boil 2 Litres of water and add sugar to make syrup, pour into bucket. Place blueberries into straining bag and place in bucket. add Pectolase, tea and the remaining 2 Litres of water and leave for 24 hours for pectolase to break down fruit. Take hydrometer reading and add sugar to your chosen requirement. Add yeast and nutrient. Stir and squeeze bag on a daily basis until your happy it`s ready. Remove straining bag (squeezing the remaining liquid out and transfer into a demijohn straining through a muslin cloth. The muslin will get clogged up with the remaining pulp so will need rinsing out every now and then for the liquour to flow through. ( I`ve found that the muslin is stained purple with the pulp but it turns a light blue colour when rinsed with cold water but I digress) More than likely you`ll end up with too much liquor, I put the excess into a 2 Litre bottle with an airlock and use it to top up with rackings, Leave in airlocked demijohn and rack as you see fit.

 

[WaccineChinawatiiRaporn]

Good morning fellers!

OK, about a month ago I tried the for my 1st time so this post will be for the newbies & I don't know all of the technical terms for making wine. I just went the easy beginner way with store bought Melee 100% fruit juice, yeast & sugar. I used the Red Star yeast in the blue package (forgot the name) & about 1 cup of sugar for 1 L of juice. 1 pack of yeast was enough for all 5 L of juice, you really don't need much at all. I'd say a teaspoon. Nothing was done very exact or scientific, I just threw it all together real quick & stuck the bottles in the closet. I didn't want them to ferment to long because I don't like that dry wine taste, I wanted some sweetness & flavor...but I did wait until the bubbles stopped, so around 10-15 days give or take a few for each juice type.

This is my report of each flavor of juice.....

Pineapple - Man, this stuff made some real tuk tuk fuel, it pretty much tasted like pineapple juice & vodka. I'd say it fermented about 12 days before it calmed down. The pineapple & orange juice really foamed up a lot during fermentation which I didn't notice much on the others. But really it was too strong so it didn't taste very good. The 1st sip I took it was like an "oh sh*t 'we gettin' mao maak tonight teerak ja" feeling. I added honey & I think maybe adding a little soda water also would help make a good mixed drink. This stuff will get you more tipsy than Joe Biden on a tightrope.

Orange - the orange was very similar to the pineapple, just a slightly different taste. So you can make 1 L of vodka & OJ for about 60-70 THB going this route. It's not bad, maybe just add a little more orange juice in your glass to calm it down. This will get you drunker than George Jones on a riding lawnmower.

Guava - OK this one stopped fermenting 1st, maybe after about 7 days. I'm not sure what happened but it still tasted rather sweet but had a decent amount of alcohol. I'd estimate 8-10% just by taste & feel. Overall it tasted good just a tad sweet. Maybe if you made this one you could just let it sit for a month or two & check on it then. I'd try to make this one again & wait it out for awhile. If you like farang juice more than a 47 year old freelancer with 4 babies try this one.

Apple - Alright this one & the grape fermented nice & 'smoothly' the entire 10-12 days. Not much foam, just a nice stream of bubbles. But yeah this tasted nice. A good balance with alcohol content & flavor. It was stout but also tasty. Try this one for your 1st time for sure.

Grape - Pretty much the same as apple, these two would be the 2 flavors to keep in rotation if you like keeping some wine/alcohol on standby without having to go buy it from the store all of the time. I wanted to like the other ones more but there is a reason why this one is most commonly used for the easy beginner recipe. If I was considering making wine I'd just load up on apple & grape juice & have a bunch of these fermenting throughout the year and then you could experiment with more in depth stuff like the pros do up above.

Overall it was fun making them & watching the fermentation process. I am always amazed at how things like this work so I really liked making it as much or more than drinking it. Being my first time, I did not know what to expect. If you haven't made any before be warned, the yeast works....very well! I don't really drink wine & I hadn't drank any beer in about 1 month but I can knock back 10 big Singha's & still navigate the BTS & MRT system & remember to brush my teeth before bed.  Man, this wine' f*cked me up. No joke, just guestimating by taste & feel I'd say besides the guava the other were 14-15% alcohol & up....so don't be getting a big red dixie cup of this stuff to fast! Drink it in a wine glass with your pinky finger sticking out until you know how it'll hit you.

If any first timers have in questions let me know.

[Marble-eye]

Does anyone who makes their own wine de-gas it before consumption. The reason I ask is I once took a bottle of pineapple homemade wine to a party and the people that tried it all said it was too gassy, I have never noticed this myself before. However I did de-gas some bottles later and the taste was a lot smoother, incidentally my 2018 pineapple wine I finished off last week and after 3 - 4 years it had de-gassed itself.

[WilliamG]

40 minutes ago, Marble-eye said:

Does anyone who makes their own wine de-gas it before consumption. The reason I ask is I once took a bottle of pineapple homemade wine to a party and the people that tried it all said it was too gassy, I have never noticed this myself before. However I did de-gas some bottles later and the taste was a lot smoother, incidentally my 2018 pineapple wine I finished off last week and after 3 - 4 years it had de-gassed itself.

I use Lalvin EC-1118 Sparkling wine yeast in my fruit juice fermentations but never get any gas in the wine. Any suggestions please.

[WilliamG]

58 minutes ago, WaccineChinawatiiRaporn said:

Good morning fellers!

OK, about a month ago I tried the for my 1st time so this post will be for the newbies & I don't know all of the technical terms for making wine. I just went the easy beginner way with store bought Melee 100% fruit juice, yeast & sugar. I used the Red Star yeast in the blue package (forgot the name) & about 1 cup of sugar for 1 L of juice. 1 pack of yeast was enough for all 5 L of juice, you really don't need much at all. I'd say a teaspoon. Nothing was done very exact or scientific, I just threw it all together real quick & stuck the bottles in the closet. I didn't want them to ferment to long because I don't like that dry wine taste, I wanted some sweetness & flavor...but I did wait until the bubbles stopped, so around 10-15 days give or take a few for each juice type.

This is my report of each flavor of juice.....

Pineapple - Man, this stuff made some real tuk tuk fuel, it pretty much tasted like pineapple juice & vodka. I'd say it fermented about 12 days before it calmed down. The pineapple & orange juice really foamed up a lot during fermentation which I didn't notice much on the others. But really it was too strong so it didn't taste very good. The 1st sip I took it was like an "oh sh*t 'we gettin' mao maak tonight teerak ja" feeling. I added honey & I think maybe adding a little soda water also would help make a good mixed drink. This stuff will get you more tipsy than Joe Biden on a tightrope.

Orange - the orange was very similar to the pineapple, just a slightly different taste. So you can make 1 L of vodka & OJ for about 60-70 THB going this route. It's not bad, maybe just add a little more orange juice in your glass to calm it down. This will get you drunker than George Jones on a riding lawnmower.

Guava - OK this one stopped fermenting 1st, maybe after about 7 days. I'm not sure what happened but it still tasted rather sweet but had a decent amount of alcohol. I'd estimate 8-10% just by taste & feel. Overall it tasted good just a tad sweet. Maybe if you made this one you could just let it sit for a month or two & check on it then. I'd try to make this one again & wait it out for awhile. If you like farang juice more than a 47 year old freelancer with 4 babies try this one.

Apple - Alright this one & the grape fermented nice & 'smoothly' the entire 10-12 days. Not much foam, just a nice stream of bubbles. But yeah this tasted nice. A good balance with alcohol content & flavor. It was stout but also tasty. Try this one for your 1st time for sure.

Grape - Pretty much the same as apple, these two would be the 2 flavors to keep in rotation if you like keeping some wine/alcohol on standby without having to go buy it from the store all of the time. I wanted to like the other ones more but there is a reason why this one is most commonly used for the easy beginner recipe. If I was considering making wine I'd just load up on apple & grape juice & have a bunch of these fermenting throughout the year and then you could experiment with more in depth stuff like the pros do up above.

Overall it was fun making them & watching the fermentation process. I am always amazed at how things like this work so I really liked making it as much or more than drinking it. Being my first time, I did not know what to expect. If you haven't made any before be warned, the yeast works....very well! I don't really drink wine & I hadn't drank any beer in about 1 month but I can knock back 10 big Singha's & still navigate the BTS & MRT system & remember to brush my teeth before bed.  Man, this wine' f*cked me up. No joke, just guestimating by taste & feel I'd say besides the guava the other were 14-15% alcohol & up....so don't be getting a big red dixie cup of this stuff to fast! Drink it in a wine glass with your pinky finger sticking out until you know how it'll hit you.

If any first timers have in questions let me know.

I find the Cherry Berry juice makes a very palatable little vintage. 8 litre at a time, 1 kg sugar, lemon juice & tea bag, 2 weeks in the fermenting bucket, 2 weeks in a water dispenser from which I can dispense via the tap on the bottom. B0ll0x to leaving it 6 months or more. 

[Marble-eye]

1 hour ago, WilliamG said:

I use Lalvin EC-1118 Sparkling wine yeast in my fruit juice fermentations but never get any gas in the wine. Any suggestions please.

An interesting link here explaining why we should de-gas or not de-gas. It seems to me that those of us who don't have much patience need to de-gas but if you are prepared to wait 6 - 12 months the wine will degas itself over time.

https://wineturtle.com/degas-wine/

[WilliamG]

13 minutes ago, Marble-eye said:

An interesting link here explaining why we should de-gas or not de-gas. It seems to me that those of us who don't have much patience need to de-gas but if you are prepared to wait 6 - 12 months the wine will degas itself over time.

https://wineturtle.com/degas-wine/

Thanks, but my problem is NO GAS in the wine at all. She who must be obeyed likes it a bit sparkly.

I know a splash of soda will sort it, but I want it naturally.

Edited September 12, 2021 by WilliamG

[Marble-eye]

5 minutes ago, WilliamG said:

Thanks, but my problem is NO GAS in the wine at all. She who must be obeyed likes it a bit sparkly. I know a splash of soda will sort it, but I like it naturally.

Never made sparkling wine, but made beer and added sugar to it when bottling to give it the fizz, be carefull with the amount of sugar you add as the bottles could become as lethal as land mines, I use the bottles from Ikea with the locking stoppers. It does say add yeast too at the same time as the sugar.

https://dorsethomebrew.co.uk/how-to-make-sparkling-wine/

[WilliamG]

14 minutes ago, Marble-eye said:

Never made sparkling wine, but made beer and added sugar to it when bottling to give it the fizz, be carefull with the amount of sugar you add as the bottles could become as lethal as land mines, I use the bottles from Ikea with the locking stoppers. It does say add yeast too at the same time as the sugar.

https://dorsethomebrew.co.uk/how-to-make-sparkling-wine/

Thanks, will give it a go. I put mine into Singha bottles and crown cap them.

[Faraday]

15 minutes ago, WilliamG said:

Thanks, will give it a go. I put mine into Singha bottles and crown cap them.

Which crown capper do you have?

It's my intention to make some beer at some time; just making a list of everything I need.

 

I made some Raspberry wine a few weeks back- the recipe is posted on here.

It's drinkable now, & has an absolutely great taste.

 

 

[Marble-eye]

1 hour ago, WilliamG said:

Thanks, will give it a go. I put mine into Singha bottles and crown cap them.

I don't think beer bottles are designed for the pressure of sparkling wine William, be carefull.

[stuhan]

3 hours ago, Marble-eye said:

Does anyone who makes their own wine de-gas it before consumption. The reason I ask is I once took a bottle of pineapple homemade wine to a party and the people that tried it all said it was too gassy, I have never noticed this myself before. However I did de-gas some bottles later and the taste was a lot smoother, incidentally my 2018 pineapple wine I finished off last week and after 3 - 4 years it had de-gassed itself.

I don't de-gas as a rule but i rather let it do on it's own, if you don't want to wait just attach a long handled spoon to a drill and give it a good spinning to de-gas it.

[WilliamG]

5 minutes ago, Marble-eye said:

I don't think beer bottles are designed for the pressure of sparkling wine William, be carefull.

Would the crown cap not blow off before the glass broke. Just asking, as beer is quite pressurised.

[stuhan]

1 hour ago, WilliamG said:

Thanks, but my problem is NO GAS in the wine at all. She who must be obeyed likes it a bit sparkly.

I know a splash of soda will sort it, but I want it naturally.

Try adding a half tsp of sugar when bottling it, that will activate any residual yeast and that will give you a little sparkle, be carefull don't add to much sugar it might blow up and use the correct bottles, carbonated drink bottles will do.

[stuhan]

3 hours ago, WilliamG said:

I find the Cherry Berry juice makes a very palatable little vintage. 8 litre at a time, 1 kg sugar, lemon juice & tea bag, 2 weeks in the fermenting bucket, 2 weeks in a water dispenser from which I can dispense via the tap on the bottom. B0ll0x to leaving it 6 months or more. 

I will be making a cherry berry melomel for christmas, might add some cinnamon and nutmeg to spice it up.

[WilliamG]

1 hour ago, Faraday said:

 

 

 

Edited September 12, 2021 by WilliamG

[WilliamG]

1 hour ago, Faraday said:

Which crown capper do you have?

I think I got it off Lazada together with caps.

 

https://www.lazada.co.th/products/manual-bottle-capper-toolcrown-capperbottle-sealer-for-home-brew-beer-making-or-glass-bottles-i2529654587-s8992149271.html?spm=a2o4m.searchlist.list.3.62dc6da8sEgwpO&search=1&freeshipping=1

Edited September 12, 2021 by WilliamG

[Marble-eye]

1 minute ago, WilliamG said:

Would the crown cap not blow off before the glass broke. Just asking, as beer is quite pressurised.

 

6 minutes ago, WilliamG said:

Would the crown cap not blow off before the glass broke. Just asking, as beer is quite pressurised.

Just checked a homebrew forum forum, regular beer bottles are designed to a pressure of 35psi where sparkling wine bottles are 90psi.

These are the bottles I use.

[WilliamG]

9 minutes ago, stuhan said:

I will be making a cherry berry melomel for christmas, might add some cinnamon and nutmeg to spice it up.

That sounds lovely, after I had Googled MELOMEL. 

[WilliamG]

7 minutes ago, Marble-eye said:

Just checked a homebrew forum forum, regular beer bottles are designed to a pressure of 35psi where sparkling wine bottles are 90psi.

These are the bottles I use.

Like these? I am sure they have the price wrong!

https://www.lazada.co.th/products/supreme-swing-top-10l-bottle-set-of-2-i2740110838-s9942512907.html?spm=a2o4m.searchlist.list.7.e17b3b19DYFRg7&search=1

[stuhan]

Dry to Sweet White / Golden Wine
Dry Gooseberry Wine
2L White Grape Juice
908g Gooseberries
224g Browning Bananas
112g Strawberries
510g Sugar
5g Pectic Enzyme, Yeast, Nutrient & Bentonite

Dry White Wine
700g Gooseberries
1L Apple juice
400ml / 500g White Grape Concentrate
500g Sugar,  Yeast, Yeast Nutrient, 1 Vitamin B Tablet, Pectic
Enzyme and 2g Bentonite

Blackberry & Apple Wine
1L Apple Juice
600ml / 750g White Grape Concentrate
700g Blackberries (2 X 350g packs)
320g Sugar
5g Pectic Enzyme, Yeast, Nutrient & Bentonite

Banana & Fig Dry Wine
Recipe
454g Dried Figs
454g Raisins
908 Browning Bananas
410g Sugar
5g Pectic Enzyme, Yeast, Yeast Nutrient & 2g Bentonite

 

Mead Style Wines
Cyser (Apple Mead, Winner 2016 NAWB National Dry
Mead Class, James Smith) 13%
4L Apple Juice
908g Honey
creating a sweet mead as it will suit the extra acidity)
5g Pectic Enzyme, Yeast, Nutrient & Bentonite

Pyment (Grape Mead) 14%, 0.57%TA
800ml / 1Kg White Grape Concentrate
680g Honey
5g Pectic Enzyme, Yeast, Nutrient & Bentonite

Apple & Grape Mead 14.5%, 0.7%TA
400ml / 500g White Grape Concentrate
2L Apple Juice
908g Honey
Wine Yeast, 4g Nutrient, 5g Pectic Enzyme, 2g Bentonite

Sultana Mead 13.4%, 0.62%TA
1Kg Sultanas
680g Honey
Wine Yeast, 4g Nutrient, 5g Pectic Enzyme, 2g Bentonite

Apricot Mead 10%, 0.7%TA
1L White Grape Juice
454g Dried Apricots
680g Honey
Wine Yeast, 4g Nutrient, 5g Pectic Enzyme, 2g Bentonite

Use your hydrometer to adjust the amount of sugar for whatever alc% you want.

[WilliamG]

1 minute ago, stuhan said:

Dry to Sweet White / Golden Wine
Dry Gooseberry Wine
2L White Grape Juice
908g Gooseberries
224g Browning Bananas
112g Strawberries
510g Sugar
5g Pectic Enzyme, Yeast, Nutrient & Bentonite

Dry White Wine
700g Gooseberries
1L Apple juice
400ml / 500g White Grape Concentrate
500g Sugar,  Yeast, Yeast Nutrient, 1 Vitamin B Tablet, Pectic
Enzyme and 2g Bentonite

Blackberry & Apple Wine
1L Apple Juice
600ml / 750g White Grape Concentrate
700g Blackberries (2 X 350g packs)
320g Sugar
5g Pectic Enzyme, Yeast, Nutrient & Bentonite

Banana & Fig Dry Wine
Recipe
454g Dried Figs
454g Raisins
908 Browning Bananas
410g Sugar
5g Pectic Enzyme, Yeast, Yeast Nutrient & 2g Bentonite

Mead Style Wines
Cyser (Apple Mead, Winner 2016 NAWB National Dry
Mead Class, James Smith) 13%
4L Apple Juice
908g Honey
creating a sweet mead as it will suit the extra acidity)
5g Pectic Enzyme, Yeast, Nutrient & Bentonite

Pyment (Grape Mead) 14%, 0.57%TA
800ml / 1Kg White Grape Concentrate
680g Honey
5g Pectic Enzyme, Yeast, Nutrient & Bentonite

Apple & Grape Mead 14.5%, 0.7%TA
400ml / 500g White Grape Concentrate
2L Apple Juice
908g Honey
Wine Yeast, 4g Nutrient, 5g Pectic Enzyme, 2g Bentonite

Sultana Mead 13.4%, 0.62%TA
1Kg Sultanas
680g Honey
Wine Yeast, 4g Nutrient, 5g Pectic Enzyme, 2g Bentonite

Apricot Mead 10%, 0.7%TA
1L White Grape Juice
454g Dried Apricots
680g Honey
Wine Yeast, 4g Nutrient, 5g Pectic Enzyme, 2g Bentonite

Use your hydrometer to adjust the amount of sugar for whatever alc% you want.

From where do you buy your Grape Juice Concentrate please?

[Faraday]

26 minutes ago, WilliamG said:

From where do you buy your Grape Juice Concentrate please?

Here, but it's a bit expensive:

http://www.jamago.net/th/home

[Marble-eye]

1 hour ago, WilliamG said:

Like these? I am sure they have the price wrong!

https://www.lazada.co.th/products/supreme-swing-top-10l-bottle-set-of-2-i2740110838-s9942512907.html?spm=a2o4m.searchlist.list.7.e17b3b19DYFRg7&search=1

8,900 baht does seem a lot but don't forget you get two!

[stuhan]

Grape Juice, Strawberry & Raspberry Wine
11%,
3L White Grape Juice
2 X 410g Tins Strawberries
300g Tin Raspberries
300g Sugar
5g Pectic Enzyme, Yeast, Nutrient & Bentonite

Apple, Peach, Strawberry & Raspberry Wine 11%,
2L Apple Juice
410g Tin Strawberries
2 X 300g Tins Raspberries
450g Sugar
5g Pectic Enzyme, Yeast, Nutrient & Bentonite

 

Dry Blackberry & Dried Banana Wine (No
Concentrate)
227g Dried Bananas
1.75Kg Blackberries (5 x 350g frozen punnets)
908g Sugar
5g Pectic Enzyme, Yeast, Nutrient

 

Medium Dry Cherry Wine (No Concentrate)  11%,
1.5Kg Black Cherries
225g Raisins
430g Sugar

 

Strawberry & Blueberry Dessert Wine
 18%
1.4Kg Strawberries (4 X 350g packs)
700g Blueberries (2 X 350g packs)
500g Raisins
400ml / 500g Red Grape Concentrate
1L Red Grape Juice
350g Sugar to start
5g Pectic Enzyme, Yeast, Nutrient

Concentrate is not easy to find, i just double the red grape juice and for white grape concentrate i use double apple % grape juice instead which you can buy in Thai stores.

 

Edited September 12, 2021 by stuhan
edit