HOME BREWING

[Marble-eye]

12 minutes ago, stuhan said:

That vinolab spirt calculator. When they say wine volume is that in liters ?

and spirt addition is that in ml.

cheers

It doesn't matter Stu, if you have two gallons of wine you add 3.6 gallons of spirit, likewise if you have 2 litres of wine you would add 3.6 litres of spirit and so on.

[stuhan]

14 minutes ago, Marble-eye said:

It doesn't matter Stu, if you have two gallons of wine you add 3.6 gallons of spirit, likewise if you have 2 litres of wine you would add 3.6 litres of spirit and so on.

Ha ha I'm not saying love me love me I'm thick but 3.6L of spirt to 2L of wine seems an awesome amount 

[Marble-eye]

5 minutes ago, stuhan said:

Ha ha I'm not saying love me love me I'm thick but 3.6L of spirt to 2L of wine seems an awesome amount 

It is Stu but it is the figures that you have entered, shooting for a 30% drink is going to take some spirit to get it up there.

These are the figures I am hoping to achieve for the port. This is based on 4 litres of wine and the fermentation stopped about 8%, so I will need to add about 2 bottles of spirit. Does this sound a little more feasable? 

 

 

 

[stuhan]

13 minutes ago, Marble-eye said:

It is Stu but it is the figures that you have entered, shooting for a 30% drink is going to take some spirit to get it up there.

These are the figures I am hoping to achieve for the port. This is based on 4 litres of wine and the fermentation stopped about 8%, so I will need to add about 2 bottles of spirit. Does this sound a little more feasable? 

Yes I see where I have gone wrong, what a plank, I will try again tomorrow. Ha ha 

Cheers 

[stuhan]

The Tesco store in Chok Chai had some really good deals on juices last week ,buy 2 get one free, so i was'nt going to start any wines until november but could'nt resist those offers 120B for 3L of apple,cherry berry,and pineapple. That's better than macro's cheapest 135B.

Thanks marble-eye for putting me straight on that vino spirit calculator, i have now got the numbers correct and pleased that my cherry brandy recipe numbers were just about right.

[WilliamG]

20 hours ago, Marble-eye said:

Did you leave a recipe for the cherry brandy Stu on here, I am correct in assuming that is a fortified wine too i.e adding brandy to the mix.

Do you know which Thai brandies are made from grapes, I think that Regency may be from grape, will do a recce today hopefully.

This guy from Youtube simplifies the port making process.

My goodness can't this guy go on. Could have done the whole video in less than 5 minutes. But I shall give it a go with Regency, without the Wood Screw. 

[Marble-eye]

47 minutes ago, WilliamG said:

My goodness can't this guy go on. Could have done the whole video in less than 5 minutes. But I shall give it a go with Regency, without the Wood Screw. 

I actually went down to my local booze shop yesterday and enquired about the brandy they had, they did have Regency but it was 700 baht which I thought was a little pricey for the job involved. They also had Meridian (made with pineapples) which was 499 baht so bought a bottle and when I got home I opened it and it smelled very nice indeed, so decided to keep that just for special ocassions.

I did some research on the net and found that you can use any spirit of your choice, I like using the odourless spirits like rouge big hen. Yesterday afternoon I put the 4 litres of red grape juice with 15 ounces of sugar and pitched the yeast, the fermentation probably started a few hours later and by this morning it was bubbling away quite merrily, will take a alcohol reading tomorrow and if somewhere near 6% - 8% will stop the fermentation.

A rough cost of the project should work out at:

4 litres of grape juice .........240

15 ounces of sugar...............20

25 grams of oak chips...........50

Half a packet of yeast ...........30

And roughly 3 bottles of RC...400

So that works out at 740 baht, and by adding 2 litres of spirit you have actually made 6 litres of port. So a 70cm bottle of port works out at just over 80 baht.

[WilliamG]

12 minutes ago, Marble-eye said:

I actually went down to my local booze shop yesterday and enquired about the brandy they had, they did have Regency but it was 700 baht which I thought was a little pricey for the job involved. They also had Meridian (made with pineapples) which was 499 baht so bought a bottle and when I got home I opened it and it smelled very nice indeed, so decided to keep that just for special ocassions.

I did some research on the net and found that you can use any spirit of your choice, I like using the odourless spirits like rouge big hen. Yesterday afternoon I put the 4 litres of red grape juice with 15 ounces of sugar and pitched the yeast, the fermentation probably started a few hours later and by this morning it was bubbling away quite merrily, will take a alcohol reading tomorrow and if somewhere near 6% - 8% will stop the fermentation.

A rough cost of the project should work out at:

4 litres of grape juice .........240

15 ounces of sugar...............20

25 grams of oak chips...........50

Half a packet of yeast ...........30

And roughly 3 bottles of RC...400

So that works out at 740 baht, and by adding 2 litres of spirit you have actually made 6 litres of port. So a 70cm bottle of port works out at just over 80 baht.

Just love your measurements....litres, ounces, grams, packet, bottles.   LOL

Do you mean 3 x 70cl bottles of the Red Clock stuff (or would Black do? )?

That's 2.1 litres to 4 litres of juice so roughly 2:1 wine/spirit.

Edited September 26, 2021 by WilliamG

[Marble-eye]

20 minutes ago, WilliamG said:

Just love your measurements....litres, ounces, grams, packet, bottles.   LOL

Do you mean 3 x 70cl bottles of the Red Clock stuff (or would Black do? )?

That's 2.1 litres to 4 litres of juice so roughly 2:1 wine/spirit.

I have never tried the Black version William, but am I correct in believing that it has some sort of vodkery taste to it, the red is totally odourless and tasteless which means you will get all the flavour we have added and not one from the bottle.

But don't quote me as it is all new to me too and I am gleaning the info daily, so basically I am winging it. But thanks to @stuhan for giving us this topic where we can ask questions and bounce ideas of one another.

And as for "packet," what is the metric equivalent........paquet?

[Faraday]

38 minutes ago, WilliamG said:

or would Black do? )?

The Black 'un doesn't have a neutral taste, in fact imo, tastes vile.

 

[WilliamG]

3 hours ago, Marble-eye said:

I actually went down to my local booze shop yesterday and enquired about the brandy they had, they did have Regency but it was 700 baht which I thought was a little pricey for the job involved. They also had Meridian (made with pineapples) which was 499 baht so bought a bottle and when I got home I opened it and it smelled very nice indeed, so decided to keep that just for special ocassions.

I did some research on the net and found that you can use any spirit of your choice, I like using the odourless spirits like rouge big hen. Yesterday afternoon I put the 4 litres of red grape juice with 15 ounces of sugar and pitched the yeast, the fermentation probably started a few hours later and by this morning it was bubbling away quite merrily, will take a alcohol reading tomorrow and if somewhere near 6% - 8% will stop the fermentation.

A rough cost of the project should work out at:

4 litres of grape juice .........240

15 ounces of sugar...............20

25 grams of oak chips...........50

Half a packet of yeast ...........30

And roughly 3 bottles of RC...400

So that works out at 740 baht, and by adding 2 litres of spirit you have actually made 6 litres of port. So a 70cm bottle of port works out at just over 80 baht.

Would these do the job? https://www.lazada.co.th//products/i2273769578-s7639257083.html?spm=a2o4m.cart.0.0.48196108nnB8xd&urlFlag=true

[Marble-eye]

24 minutes ago, WilliamG said:

Would these do the job? https://www.lazada.co.th//products/i2273769578-s7639257083.html?spm=a2o4m.cart.0.0.48196108nnB8xd&urlFlag=true

Yes those will be just fine, might be an idea to put them in some sort of bag to save filtering later on, according to what I've read they are quite powerful, so don't leave them too long in your brew.

 

"Recommended usage is 3 oz. of cubes for every 6 - gallons with a contact time of 4-8 weeks. You should taste your wine two to three days after you have added the oak. Continue until you notice the oak flavor. Then taste on a daily basis.

When your wine has reached the level of oak you wish, rack it off the oak into a clean container."

https://www.midwestsupplies.com/blogs/bottled-knowledge/how-do-i-use-oak-chips

Tasting it on a daily basis sounds a bit of a chore.

 

[stuhan]

On 9/26/2021 at 1:32 PM, Marble-eye said:

Yes those will be just fine, might be an idea to put them in some sort of bag to save filtering later on, according to what I've read they are quite powerful, so don't leave them too long in your brew.

"Recommended usage is 3 oz. of cubes for every 6 - gallons with a contact time of 4-8 weeks. You should taste your wine two to three days after you have added the oak. Continue until you notice the oak flavor. Then taste on a daily basis.

When your wine has reached the level of oak you wish, rack it off the oak into a clean container."

https://www.midwestsupplies.com/blogs/bottled-knowledge/how-do-i-use-oak-chips

Tasting it on a daily basis sounds a bit of a chore.

Think i will give these a try in my spiced apple after it finishes for some extra flavor,never used them before but had a look at that link , very useful.

[Marble-eye]

10 minutes ago, stuhan said:

Think i will give these a try in my spiced apple after it finishes for some extra flavor,never used them before but had a look at that link , very useful.

Gave the 'hopefully taste like port project' a test on Tuesday and it was giving a reading of 9.5% abv, so in went the 3 bottles of spirit 2 coque de rouge and 1 Hong Thong along with the oak chips, didn't follow my own advice of putting them in an infusion bag, just dumped them in, they are supposed to sink to the bottom, time will tell. The problem I had that I still had a very slight fermentation still going on so yesterday I put fermentation bottle in the fridge to cold crash.

Took a reading of the red wine, it's been fermenting now for 11 days and it came back with a very healthy reading of 12% abv but still getting a bubble every 9 seconds in the airlock, so it looks like it is getting somewhere near completion. Might cold crash that in a few days too.

Got my peach and mango juice, just waiting to make a start on that.

[stuhan]

2 hours ago, Marble-eye said:

Gave the 'hopefully taste like port project' a test on Tuesday and it was giving a reading of 9.5% abv, so in went the 3 bottles of spirit 2 coque de rouge and 1 Hong Thong along with the oak chips, didn't follow my own advice of putting them in an infusion bag, just dumped them in, they are supposed to sink to the bottom, time will tell. The problem I had that I still had a very slight fermentation still going on so yesterday I put fermentation bottle in the fridge to cold crash.

Took a reading of the red wine, it's been fermenting now for 11 days and it came back with a very healthy reading of 12% abv but still getting a bubble every 9 seconds in the airlock, so it looks like it is getting somewhere near completion. Might cold crash that in a few days too.

Got my peach and mango juice, just waiting to make a start on that.

Busy man,let us know how everything turns out.

[stuhan]

This is a very simple rice wine recipe i came across in one of my f.b wine groups, well worth trying and i will try a bit later myself.

1gallon rice wine [according to the recipe do not cook the rice]

1.5kg white rice

1.5kg sugar

500g raisins

juice of 2 lemons

1tsp yeast [I will use D47] not koji yeast

Method

Put everything in a fermenting bucket except the yeast, add boiling water stir to dissolve the sugar,top up with cold water, when cooled add the yeast, put lid on wait a week then rack into a d.j sieving out the solids,air lock and let finish fermenting and clears easy.

 

[stuhan]

This is another unusual recipe popular back in the uk, i might try this one with dried elderberries same amount and available from lazada,  they don't seem to have dried elderflowers.

 

Dried Elderflower Wine

 

 

 

50gms Dried Elderflowers/elderberry

1/2 lb Raisons

3lb Sugar

Water

General purpose Wine Yeast

Yeast Nutrient

Tannin

Pectic Enzyme.

2 Lemons

 

Place the sultanas and the dried elderflower and the sugar in a plastic bucket and pour on 1 gallon of boiling water , stir.

When cool add the rind and the juice of the 2 lemons , the nutrient , yeast, tannin and pectic enzyme. Cover closely stirring once a day for 5 days.

Tranfer through Muslin to a DJ fiited with airlock and ferment out as usual.

 

[stuhan]

Staged re-start for Stuck Ferment
This is a method to restart a stuck ferment. First of all establish if you can why the ferment stuck and rectify it the best you can. Too muchsugar. Yeast reached it’s alcohol limit can be rectified by dilution, lack of nutrient for the yeast adsome etc Stuck ferments can be difficult to restart, because fresh yeast has not built up any tollerance to
the amount in stuck wine which causes problems as normally the yeast colony builds this tollerance
generation by generation, until it can no longer cope Using this method gives the yeast a fighting chancen to aclimatise to the alcohol already in thewine. Yes it is a faf and takes a few days before the whole DJ is going, but it has never failed me(Yet!)
1) In say a sanitized 2pt jar make up a starter with something that you know is a good fermenter say1/4pt ogange juice, fresh carton whatever and water. Pitch with a suitable yeast of reasonable alcohol tol-lerance. leave for 24 hrsto establish a good strong ferment,2) Top up starter with 1/2 pt of the problem wine. Leave for 24hrs or so to re-establish ferment3) With the ferment re -stablished top up the jar again with another lot of the problem wine. ( a 2 pint jarwill now be near full). Leave for another 24 hrs4) Pour the starter jar and an equal amount of of the problem one into a sanitized DJ (it will be nowroughly half full. Leave for another 24 hrs or so to establish a good strong fermenting colony5) Assuming all is well and the ferment is progressing, top up with the rest of the problem ferment.

[stuhan]

 

General Recipe for Carton Wine [1 GALLON]]

Thought I'd post a beginner's guide to making carton wine. The carton MUST be pure juice, avoid anything that is labelled as juice drink, it contains water & other additives.
You will need: 2 demijohns, an airlock, a funnel, 6 wine bottles ( i always use screw top bottles), siphon tube & kitchen scales.
Ingredients: 2L carton of fruit juice of your choice, sugar, 3lbs makes a strong, sweet wine, 2 1/2lbs makes a milder, dryer wine. Wine yeast, pectic enzyme (pectolase), yeast nutrient.
Sterilize a demijohn, the airlock & the funnel. Dissolve the sugar in 1.5 litres of warm water & pour into the demijohn using the funnel. add 1 tsp each of yeast, nutrient & pectolase. Add the juice & fill the demijohn to approx 3/4 full with tap water. Or bottled water if required. 1/2 fill the airlock with water & pop it in the demijohn neck.
You'll see bubbles passing through the airlock after a day or so. After the initial fermentation has died down the demijohn can be topped up with water.
Fermentation is complete when the bubbles are passing through the airlock at less than 1 per minute & the wine should have a good sediment & be clearing from the top. Sterilize the 2nd demijohn & the siphon tube. Without disturbing the sediment, siphon the wine from one demijohn to the other. Top up with water if required, refit the airlock & leave to clear.
When the wine is fully clear it's time to bottle! Sterilize the bottles & lids & the siphon tube. At this point you could carefully pour some into a glass & taste to see if you need to add sugar. (I doubt it!). Siphon into the bottles, put the lids on & that's it. There may be a little left over, the spoils of war!

 

[stuhan]

Don't know if you are interested but this guy on you tube has great 1 gallon fruit wine recipes and other stuff, have a look he is the one i subscribe to, great channel,

DIY Fermentation

[Marble-eye]

Thought I'd try a little taste of the 'port & slurry' project yesterday and it didn't taste too bad, I'm sure a banged up homicidal maniac would have no problem drinking it. But early days yet, very hazy and cloudy so have ordered some Betonite to help clear it. The oak logs have still not sunk yet, will have another test in a week or so, so I have every faith it will be ready for Christmas.

[stuhan]

Been to my local Tesco lotus this morning, all 1L juices on offer buy 2 get 1 free so 3 for 138B, So bought 3 granny smith apple and 3 red grape, just to keep busy. Also ordered some new 5L bottles, lalvin 1116 yeast,air locks and grommets, 100g yeast nutrient, and 100g of cinnamon sticks from Lazada.

Happy days

[WilliamG]

On 7/28/2021 at 7:14 AM, stuhan said:

As for wine making,that's a little more involved and will talk about that later

I find wine making much easier than boiling up the grains, adding the hops,  etc etc. 

[stuhan]

I just started these, red grape and granny smith green apple&grape from malee juice, both O.G 1.120 should get 17% abv when finish at 0.995, these bubbling away after 14hrs.

 

Edited October 8, 2021 by stuhan

[Marble-eye]

@stuhan

Did you buy one of those 12L fermenting bins Stu off Lazada, I have just removed the lid and it was like taking part in the Krypton Factor, I had a lid remover what I used to use on the beer fermenting bins but it doesn't fit this bin. I was pulling, pushing and prising, it was like trying to move Paddy Mcgintys goat. Finaly it succumbed to a little application with a steel bracket and adjustable grips.

So added some Bentonite to both the port and the red wine, then got the peach and mango started.

@WilliamG Did you make a start on a port project, anyone else got anything on the go?