wine No1 a few questions ...

[haggis@home]

hi all

i am going to be starting my journey in wine making by following bobs wine No1 , i am quite looking forward to it (as is every one i have told about it , cant think why) . i have two beer brewing buckets on stand by , and was hoping to make 15Lt of wine for my first attempt , would i just be able to times the ingredients by three to make the 15Lt ? and after fermentation then put the wine into demijohns to settle a bit more before i bottle ? or seeing as how its my first time would you suggest i try raspberry and some thing else and make three different flavours ?

or should i just learn to walk before running

sorry for all the questions , but if you don't ask you don't get ..

thanks

Scott

[fatbloke]

hi all

i am going to be starting my journey in wine making by following bobs wine No1 , i am quite looking forward to it (as is every one i have told about it , cant think why) . i have two beer brewing buckets on stand by , and was hoping to make 15Lt of wine for my first attempt , would i just be able to times the ingredients by three to make the 15Lt ? and after fermentation then put the wine into demijohns to settle a bit more before i bottle ? or seeing as how its my first time would you suggest i try raspberry and some thing else and make three different flavours ?

or should i just learn to walk before running

sorry for all the questions , but if you don't ask you don't get ..

thanks

Scott

The questions are good Scott.

To start with, what size are the brewing buckets ? If they're in the 15 to 18 litre sort of size then you can make a single batch (personally I'd make 3 different ones as you can't always be sure that you'll like a particular combination of tastes).

If the bucket is large enough (and you have DJ's ready), then I'd be thinking that yes you can make a 15 litre batch by multiplying the ingredients by 3, except for the yeast as a 5g sachet is enough for 5 gallons (though you couldn't split 1 sachet into 3 DJ's, you'd put a sachet into each DJ - normally).

If, for example the bucket is a 5 gallon one, then you can mix it and start it in that but then when the gravity has dropped, to say something like 1010/1020, then that's when the yeast should have finished the stage when it needs some oxygen, so that's when I'd be racking it over to the DJ's.

As I said above, it might be better to make 3 separate 1 gallon batches, that way, if you don't get 1 spot on, first time, it shouldn't affect the others.

Have a look through the resources section, plus if you follow the "new wine makers" stuff closely, then you should be fine. It's up to you which juice flavours you actually use though.

I think that your thought of the "walk before running" is probably the best one to follow though. It'd be just as easy to ruin a whole 15 litre batch etc.....

good luck with your efforts

regards

JtFB

p.s. I made some raspberry based wine last year and found that it can be quite powerful as a fruit flavour - but that might be just me being picky...

[haggis@home]

heh heh heh you just also reminded me of an other question i was going to ask , i was always lead to believe that air and wine were a no no . it was things like that , that has stopped me from doing this years ago .

thanks for posting FB

both my buckets are 25Lt ones , only problem is one is missing lid and i can not find any replacement from any were . i understand what your saying about going wrong on a big scale , its on my mind i do admit . what steralisation fluid do you use ?

[solly]

Hello Haggis – Only ever done one of Bobs number 1 wine (its due to be bottled in the next few days along with Bob’s number 3 Red wine) and being new to this like me, if its your first number 1 then maybe you could make one as per recipe and try different variants on the other two?

Looking at the Bob’s recipe again you may not need a bucket (I made mine in a DJ from the start) for the primary stage, just make it in a DJ but only top it up to just over ¾ full and once the vigorous part of the fermentation is over (normally 2 – 3 days) then you can top up the DJ.

Like the sound of Raspberry wine and might just make one with you, just checked the Tesco site and they do a Cranberry & Raspberry juice so you could try that for your Raspberry wine.

If you go as per recipe then there’s not a lot that you can go wrong and there are lots of people here to help if you do have problems

BTW.............on the bucket that is missing the lid you could a Tea Towel as a cover, from the posts that I have seen quite a few people seem to cover the bucket in this manner at the primary stage.

Regards

Cash

[lockwood1956]

You can make it in the Dj's as there is little sediment, as there isnt any pulp.

If making in buckets annd then transferring to DJ's....make that transfer when the SG is at 1.010 (approx)

Careful using Raspberry, it has a tendency to completely overpower everything else, and whilst that is nice in an ice cream sundae, it isn't in a wine.

I would make three batches....

one as per recipe and method (omitting no detail ne matter how slight )

and vary the other two, but I would, if using raspberry make a batch as standard and add perhaps only 1/4 litre of raspberry to it

the other...... a 1 litre white grape juice/1 litre of juice of your choice kind of thing

hope this helps
regards
bob

[haggis@home]

three separate ones it is then

one other question , what water do you use ? and do you filter it ? or just brew with it from the go ?

scott

[solly]

You can use just ordinary water and it will do the job but if you have got a filter then all the better, there was a thread about water usage in home brew a couple of weeks ago.

http://www.winesathome.co.uk/forum/s...ead.php?t=3397

http://www.winesathome.co.uk/forum/s...ead.php?t=3172

[haggis@home]

muhahahah i got my juice ...

3 x fresh press white grape juice
1 x pear
1 x red grape
1 x cranberry

i start tomorrow , when i get my citric acid

[haggis@home]

only problem is one is missing lid and i can not find any replacement from any were

bob i noticed in your wine No1 post that you have the same brewing bucket as me (the clear one up to 25 Lt) can your remember were you got it from as i would love to try and get a replacement lid ?

[lockwood1956]

It camf from a shop in doncaster, but your bucket will be either a youngs or a ritchies one, and your local Home brew store should be able to organise a replacement. Failing that why not talk to Karl about hobbywinesupplies getting you one?

[haggis@home]

wow that was a early time to post bob

thanks for the tips , if my local can not help me i will get a new one from the site you suggested ( god help us when i get hit with the postage cost )

any how i got all i needed today and was a bit embarrassed when i went to get the citric acid ... the store owner wanted to check my fore arms for needle marks !!! . they don't keep it on the shelf as (i did not know this) addicts that inject use lots of the acid when the shoot up , he has had lots of problems with addicts coming in and shoplifting the stuff .

so any how i got home and followed the instructions , but when taking the SG i had lots of different readings ?

my red had a SG of 1110 the cranberry was 1092 and the peach was 1096 . do you think this will cause any issues ? . i can not believe the red was so high , and i know i had measured the sugar accurately (700g)

but now its in the brewery (airing cupboard) and the air locks are bubbling as we type .


one other question , but this is aimed at bob solely . i asked if there was a winemaking club in the inverness area on the free cycle forums and no one knew of any , so a few of us are setting one up . would you mind if i direct them to this very helpful forum ? and could we use your wine 1,2,3&4 recipes to start us off in the wine making world ? of course all credit for the wine recipes would go to your self bob .

lots of thanks

scott

[lockwood1956]

my red had a SG of 1110 the cranberry was 1092 and the peach was 1096 . do you think this will cause any issues ? . i can not believe the red was so high , and i know i had measured the sugar accurately (700g)

you may use the recipes freely, and invite anyone you like to become a member here.

perhaps you could all become members of the virtual wine circle?


the SG levels?

well....never add sugar to a set amount of weight, rather add it (as sugar syrup) checking with your hydrometer to get the start SG you require....and 1.080 is a very good start point.


the higher SG 1.110 will likely be too alcohol hot, and out of balance. And in wine....balance is absolutely EVERYTHING!

hope this helps
regards
Bob

[spritzer]

any how i got all i needed today and was a bit embarrassed when i went to get the citric acid ... the store owner wanted to check my fore arms for needle marks !!! . they don't keep it on the shelf as (i did not know this) addicts that inject use lots of the acid when the shoot up , he has had lots of problems with addicts coming in and shoplifting the stuff .

It the same in my HBS...
I always have to ask for it.


Also... is there not any way you can dilute your musts a little, to lower the SG's slightly ??

[haggis@home]

thank you bob i will post the good word now in a min

and thank you spritzer . i suppose we will see how the red turns out . but tbh i did not think about diluting the must ... (utter noob here)

[plonky]

wow that was a early time to post bob


any how i got all i needed today and was a bit embarrassed when i went to get the citric acid ... the store owner wanted to check my fore arms for needle marks !!! . they don't keep it on the shelf as (i did not know this) addicts that inject use lots of the acid when the shoot up , he has had lots of problems with addicts coming in and shop lifting the stuff

scott

!
Im sorry I have to comment on this if I went into a home brew shop and they wanted to check my forearms before selling me anything I would simply tell them to............. politely and take my business elsewhere.

You are asking for a bloody cooking ingredient not a class A substance for goodness sake!

Try your local chemist !

If I order citric acid via the internet do I have to mail them a photograph of my forearms before they will sell me any ?.