# FAST Wines That Don't Take Long To Bottle/Drink



## critterhunter

A few replies in this thread…

http://www.winemakingtalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=10584

Inspired me to try a new thread on any recipes for fast wine making. When I say “fast” I mean either being able to bottle fast but might need some time to age, or in particular being able to bottle AND drink fast. Probably (?) many of these recipes will involve store bought juice from Walmart or something, but please post any you can so long as they don’t require you to bottle in your twenties and hit middle age before you can enjoy it properly.

I’m hoping others will chime in with other recipes, how-to’s, and so on for those among us that just aren’t patient. I’m being honest here, I’m not making wine because I’m some big wine lover. Truth be known I’d rather drink beer than wine if I had a choice, but I AM into saving money, doing things myself, getting drunk, and did I mention the combination already about saving money WHILE getting drunk. :’)

I’m not going to lie and say that I can taste the subtle differences between a $50 bottle of wine and a $5 one, so I’m also not going to sweat about aging wine for eons in order to squeeze every last bit of quality out of it. I want to make it, make it cheap, bottle it fast, and drink it even faster. Whatever bottles manage to escape my grasp and live on for a year or so is going to be by share luck, because it’s going to take plenty of will power not to slug down everything in site when I don’t feel like driving to the store to buy a six pack.

That’s were I stand, and I’m sure many of you wine experts are cringing in disbelief at somebody even taking this approach and mindset. I’m not into awards, I’m not trying to impress anybody, and I never even eat at restaurants that serve wine. I’m more of a McDonalds/Taco Bell kind of guy and am lucky to sit down in a restraint that doesn’t have a napkin dispenser on the table when I do go in.

I just want something that can surprise me with good flavor here and there and is going to give me a healthy buzz without draining the wallet. My uncivilized class of friends I run with will be more than happy to get a few bottles of something resembling wine so long as it doesn’t taste so bad that they’ll throw up before they get a good buzz on it as well. So, with all the above in mind, maybe somebody else out there is also as impatient as me and would like to share what they have found. Can you at least bottle it fast (like say 3 months or less?), or even better can you bottle AND drink it fast? Post away!

Here’s a few blurbs from that thread to hopefully get things rolling. I’m not sure if this thread will have legs or not, because this might be so anti-wine culture that I get kicked off this forum. :’)…(REPOSTS)…

I think you are an excellent candidate for the Vino Italiano kit from Amazon. They have detailed instructions, many of the supplies and can be done in 4-5 weeks. You will learn a lot about making kit wines for a very affordable price. Keep in mind, you get what you pay for, it is not high quality stuff. 
If you get a Chardonnay you can be drinking in 10-12 weeks. Many on this forum frown on these "basic" kits but I am not one of them. If you do buy this kit let me know, I can give a you a tip or two to make it palatable.
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B001ELJK4G/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20 



Cheap & Fast

White Grape Peach (1 Gallon)

2 64 oz bottles of Great Value White Grape Peach (Walmart)
Sugar to S.G. of 1.080
½ tsp Pectic Enzyme
1 tsp citric acid
1 tsp yeast nutrient
½ tsp yeast energizer
¼ tsp Bentonite
1 Campden Tablet

After 24 hours
Lalvin K1-V1116 yeast

Stir daily until SG = 1.020
When SG = 1.020 rack into 1 gallon Jug 
Insert Stopper and Air Lock
Check SG daily
When fermentation ends (SG = @ 0.996 3 days in a row) rack again. Time is not critical can go a few days if need be.

AFTER RACKING ADD
1 Campden Tablet 
1/2 tsp potassium sorbate
F-PAC made from 1 pound bag of frozen peaches
Sweeten (I sweetened to 1.022 S.G.)
Insert Stopper and Air Lock

BULK AGE 90 DAYS TO CLARIFY
Rack to clean 1 gallon jug
Degass
Filter 
Add 1 Campden Tablet
Wait 14 days
Bottle
Drink in 30 days but longer is better


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## critterhunter

The last recipe above seems right up my alley, although 3 months is still a stretch for me. I was wondering about a few things. To make 5 gallons (7 gallon primary) would I just increase all the ingredients by a factor of 7? Also, would Champain yeast work well for it? And, what is a F-PAC?

Any other fast juice recipies in particular are welcome as I would like to avoid using fruit for the next batch or two. I do have another 30 pounds of pears frozen for down the road but I want to concentrate on juices for now, unless somebody has a fast pear fruit recipe?


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## UglyBhamGuy

For 5 gallons, increase all (except the yeast), by 5. The yeast packets are good for 1 to 6 gallons.
Do not fill the primary bucket! The must will need room to grow depending on what yeast you use.
I would start with 5 & ½ gallons to have a little more than the "required" 5 gallon secondary.
This will minimized head-space in the secondary and give you a few (almost a gallon) samples.

Maybe the use of a clearing agent would drop the 3 months to a few weeks.
Super Kleer works like magic (no... really), but i would let it sit for 2-3 weeks to compact the sediment a little before racking to minimize "dust" in the bottles later on.


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## Arne

Check out Lon's Skeeter Pee recipe. It is a really fast drinker. Arne.


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## Brian

Arne said:


> Check out Lon's Skeeter Pee recipe. It is a really fast drinker. Arne.



Iagree with Arne... if you want a fast drinker this is about as fast as it gets..


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## Torch404

I 2nd Skeeter pee.

I also like green tea wine with some ginger. They make a lovely white with a fine flavor. They clear quick and are ready to drink almost immediately.

Here's JK's recipe, the better quality the tea the better the wine.
http://winemaking.jackkeller.net/request216.asp


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## UglyBhamGuy

Torch404 said:


> I 2nd Skeeter pee.
> 
> I also like green tea wine with some ginger. They make a lovely white with a fine flavor. They clear quick and are ready to drink almost immediately.
> 
> Here's JK's recipe, the better quality the tea the better the wine.
> http://winemaking.jackkeller.net/request216.asp



Have you made any changes to JK's recipe that you feel contribute to the wine?
Some people say, "double the fruit and half the sugar" on his fruit wines.


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## mxsteve625

Wine Expert has the "Island Mist" kits that are ready to bottle in thirty days give or take a couple of days. These are ready to drink right after bottling but are sweet and have a low ABV. One way to decrease the sweetness and increase the ABV is to use half of the F-Pack up front instead of waiting as the instyruction say. Add the remaining half of the F-Pack per the time period in the recipe. I've done this a couple of times with good results.


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## Torch404

@UBG

With Tea wines I'm convinced that the quality of the wine is directly related to the quality of tea. Lipton tea, red leaf, etc are pretty average tasting tea and their wine tastes similarly average. 

With tea wine I keep it simple and prefer to use real lemon juice/zest rather then acid blends, I don't know if it affects the taste just personal preference. I always add a little more ginger as I like the flavor and it can cover up some rough edges.


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## Minnesotamaker

If you haven't visited it already, the Skeeter Pee website is skeeterpee.com

Another of my favorite cheap wines is made with white grape & peach frozen concentrate. It's not as fast and cheap as Skeeter Pee, but it makes a nice wine that rates high on most casual wine drinker's lists.


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## ithink2020

Here are two of my favorite Wines:

WELCH'S FROZEN CONCENTRATE WINE
http://winemaking.jackkeller.net/reques65.asp

WELCH'S WHITE GRAPE AND RASPBERRY WINE
http://winemaking.jackkeller.net/request181.asp​
I'm currently making 12 gallons of the Welch's Frozen Grape (Concord) Juice Concentrate wine and 5 gallons of Skeeter Pee made from the slurry of the Concord.

I'm also using Super Kleer to clear help clear the wine. Works great!!!

Matt


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## critterhunter

I’ve got a few questions about the above fast peach/grape juice recipe. First, what is a F-Pac and where do I get that? Second, I’ve never really read up on degassing. What’s that involve and what’s the cheapest/easiest way to do it? Third, when they say filter I’d also like to know the cheapest/easiest way to do that? Also, I have yeast nutrient but is it necessary to have yeast energizer as well?

Onto Skeeter Pee. That sounds right up my alley. I’m wondering about a few things with that as well. What if I don’t have a wine slurry from a batch of wine? Is there a way to make it without that and what does that involve? Also, can I bottle this stuff into plastic pop bottles that have screw on plastic caps, or would I have to use glass wine bottles with screw on metal caps? I don’t have a bottle capper or a corker. And, would the stuff then have to be refrigerated or can it sit at room temperature until I am ready to put it on ice and drink? Finally, besides lemon and lime, are there any other forms of citrus juice that can be used for different flavors like perhaps Pineapple or something?

I could use further info/input/details on the above peach/grape recipe or Skeeter Pee because keep in mind I'm a newbie.

On “Fast” Wines or the appearance there of…

What I plan to do is use two of my three carboys to do “normal” wines that take 6 months to bottle. If I stagger those two carboys by 3 months then I should be bottling something every 3 months to lesson the lag time of “regular” wine making times. In other words, I’ve got pear wine going right now. Once it hits three months then I’ll use my second carboy to make another type of “six month wine”. Three months later I’ll bottle the pear and then immediately make something else with that now free carboy. Three months later I’m bottling the second carboy and immediately making something with that. Three months later it’s time to bottle the first carboy again, and etc.

My third carboy will be devoted to making “quick” wines such as skeeter pee or anything else I can lay my hands on recipes for such as those mist kits. Stuff that will take say 2 or 3 months (with emphasis on 2 months or less) or less to make. Anybody else use similar carboy assignments?


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## ithink2020

*F-PAC:*
An F-Pac is a method of created a concentrated juice to add flavor back into the wine. There are multiple ways of creating F-PACs.

1. Here is a Thread on Creating an F-Pac: http://www.winemakingtalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=7547

2. If you have a Steam Juicer, you can juice the amount of fruit needed. In the case of the peach/grape juice recipe, you would juice the one pound bag of the Frozen Peaches. Then take that juice and put it a pot and bring it to a simmer. Allow the juice to simmer down to about 1/2 to 1/3. This concentrated Juice is now your F-PAC. Sorry cannot find the link to the thread on this.​
*Degassing*
Degassing is done to remove the CO2 gas that is stuck in the wine after it ferments. Degassing you wine will help with the clearing stage and will also help to not have a sparkling wine effect after you bottle a young wine.

Best way to degass you wine is with at WIne Whip or Mixer. Here is a link to a video that I found helpful: http://www.finevinewines.com/ccvideo/015wine.html​
*Filter: *
Easiest and Cheapest way: http://www.finevinewines.com/evideo/002evideo.html

*Yeast Energizer*
If the recipe calls for it, it is best to use it. Example, it is need when making Skeeter Pee, because the yeast need the extra help it provides.


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## ithink2020

I hope the above helps. I'll look at the other questions in a few, out of time at the moment.


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## Dugger

There are also accelerator packs for kit wines that claim to make the wine drinkable in a week or so. I haven't made these so can't attest to them but you may want to check them out.
Also, since getting hosed with the guys is part of your plan, check out the video link from another thread, " Graphic reminder..." under General Chit Chat section, if you haven't already seen it - sorry, I don't know how to post a link.
(tehttp://www.youtube.com/watch_popup?v=Z2mf8DtWWd8st)


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## Arne

If you are going to be drinking it soon, I imagine the pop bottles would work. I have been using a capper with old returnable pop bottles and any other bottles that can be capped. Think screw top bottles should work too if you stick with the screw tops. The way you talk, it wont be sitting aroung for long, so you should be ok. ARne.


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## mxsteve625

As far as your skeeter pee question, if you don't have a slurry pitch Lavin Ec1118. Keep temps right and stir the snot out of it twice a day. I have had good success with the Lavin EC1118.

I am sure Lon or others will soon respond.


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## mxsteve625

Oh, also you can pretty much bottle it into anything you want such as 1 gallon juice refrigerator bottles or used soda bottles. Just make sure they are sanitaized and plan on drinking accordingly.


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## Savana123

One of my friend made a fast wine and it tastes very good but, at the same time I dont find it that fast as it do require some observation at the regular intervals which is very necessary.


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## ithink2020

Sorry, I wasn't able to complete my thoughts yesterday. I also hope I didn't come across as being short or anything. I was just trying to quickly provide you with some answers.

If you don't have a wine Slurry, I've seen suggestions about using a Yeast Starter. For making a yeast starter, check out Luc's Post. I've personally not done this before, but after reading his post, I think I'm going to start doing this with all my wines.

As for bottling in plastic pop bottles, there may be a debate here. Personally I wouldn't do it. You can get a gross (120) Caps and a good Capper for under $20. For the bottles, I just get a couple cases of beer (that is in non-screw top bottles) that I like. Then drink to empty, clean, sanitize and reuse. Also, if you want to look for Grolsch style bottles, just buy some Grolsch beer. You can get the beer cheaper than just buying the bottles and they are pre-filled!!! 

I like your plan for your carboy rotation. Personally, I just make wine when I have time. Normally I do multiple batches at once. There is no wrong way to rotate your carboys. However, try not to rush a wine if it needs more. You don't want a cloudy wine, just because you were trying to keep to a schedule.

One more thing I will add. If you want to look for more Carboys. Check out your local water supply company. The companies that supply the 5Gal jugs of water for water dispensers. Some of those companies offer Spring water bottled in Glass Carboys and will sell the empties. I can pick up a 5 Gal carboy from a local company for only $20. I can get 2.5 Gal one for $10. Just a suggestion.

Let us know if you have any questions. Also, if there are any more seasoned wine makers that have any corrections or addidtions to my answers, please chime in!!! 

Matt


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## ithink2020

Dugger said:


> There are also accelerator packs for kit wines that claim to make the wine drinkable in a week or so. I haven't made these so can't attest to them but you may want to check them out.
> Also, since getting hosed with the guys is part of your plan, check out the video link from another thread, " Graphic reminder..." under General Chit Chat section, if you haven't already seen it - sorry, I don't know how to post a link.
> (tehttp://www.youtube.com/watch_popup?v=Z2mf8DtWWd8st)




Good video to watch...good reminder! 

Here is the direct link: http://www.youtube.com/watch_popup?v=Z2mf8DtWWd8


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## critterhunter

I also stole this quote from another recent thread about using store bought juice. This one also appears to be a very fast recipe from what he says, but the darn link is in another language. Anybody have a translated version?

"One of my all time favorit wines is this one:
http://wijnmaker.blogspot.com/2008/05/klaar-voor-de-zomer-ready-for-summer.html

Made from apple-peach juice from Aldi's. I make 10 gallon each year in spring and its always gone before the end of summer !!!

This can be bottled witin 2 months after it is started. Your mileage my differ depending on the juice, yeast and other variables.

I never rack mine. I bottle it as soon as it's finished and like said that is usually within two months."

What, no racking and he's bottling in two months or so! Sounds like another good candidate for me. Just need somebody to translate it to english.


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## UglyBhamGuy

critterhunter said:


> I also stole this quote from another recent thread about using store bought juice. This one also appears to be a very fast recipe from what he says, but the darn link is in another language. Anybody have a translated version?
> 
> "One of my all time favorit wines is this one:
> http://wijnmaker.blogspot.com/2008/05/klaar-voor-de-zomer-ready-for-summer.html
> 
> Made from apple-peach juice from Aldi's. I make 10 gallon each year in spring and its always gone before the end of summer !!!
> 
> This can be bottled witin 2 months after it is started. Your mileage my differ depending on the juice, yeast and other variables.
> 
> I never rack mine. I bottle it as soon as it's finished and like said that is usually within two months."
> 
> What, no racking and he's bottling in two months or so! Sounds like another good candidate for me. Just need somebody to translate it to english.



Usual Luc's posts have English translation at the bottom, he says (at the bottom) of this post that the juice in the recipe is not available in Aldi's in English speaking areas, so he did not provide a translation.


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## ithink2020

critterhunter said:


> I also stole this quote from another recent thread about using store bought juice. This one also appears to be a very fast recipe from what he says, but the darn link is in another language. Anybody have a translated version?
> 
> "One of my all time favorit wines is this one:
> http://wijnmaker.blogspot.com/2008/05/klaar-voor-de-zomer-ready-for-summer.html
> 
> Made from apple-peach juice from Aldi's. I make 10 gallon each year in spring and its always gone before the end of summer !!!
> 
> This can be bottled witin 2 months after it is started. Your mileage my differ depending on the juice, yeast and other variables.
> 
> I never rack mine. I bottle it as soon as it's finished and like said that is usually within two months."
> 
> What, no racking and he's bottling in two months or so! Sounds like another good candidate for me. Just need somebody to translate it to english.



Try this link: http://translate.google.com/transla.../05/klaar-voor-de-zomer-ready-for-summer.html

This is using Google Translate to translate the site.


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## critterhunter

Thanks for all the replies thus far. Much of this stuff is confusing to use newbies. It's a shame that the 2 month recipe above doesn't use a juice found in English speaking stores. Does anybody have any more say 3 month or less juice recipes they can post using juice?

Right now I think I'm going to start off with making Skeeter Pee in one of my free carboys to sit along with my pear wine which we started about 7 weeks or so ago. I still have a third free carboy and I'd like to make some kind of fast juice wine with it, so that's why I am pushing hard for some recipes in this thread. I want at least one carboy being used for "fast" wine recipes all the time while the other two I'd like to at least get by with 3 month recipes or less. I just don't have the kind of patience to be making stuff that has to sit 6 months to a year, but I guess (?) that pear wine I made needs to sit at least 4 to 6 months?

I figure Skeeter Pee is a good way to get things rolling quick. I'll buy a capper and caps, but I need to get bottles. Anybody figure raiding the dumpster at a bar might be a good source of beer bottles I can cap for the Skeeter Pee?

I'm still wondering where F-Pacs are bought. Only through wine supply stores or do Grocery stores carry them?

Degassing- So that has to be done even if you are using Sorbate and Campden? Do I just take an egg wisk and froth around in there for a bit, then wait a few weeks to bottle, or do it right at bottling?

Thanks again for all the info. One more thing for now. Making Skeeter Pee with no slurry- Thanks for the tip on using EC1118 yeast. Any other things I need to alter about his recipe when using that?

I'm sure I'll have more questions soon here, as I'm going back over the Skeeter Pee instructions before heading out for that stuff.


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## ithink2020

*Frozen Juice Concentrate Wine*

Start to finish takes about 35 days to get into the bottle. Bottle age for 30 days. 

This is for a 1 Gallon batch, just times everything by the number of gallons you want to make. Example, for a 6 gallon batch, use 6 times everything listed below. I've made this using the Welch's Grape (concord) flavor. I've also made it with Welch's White grape Raspberry...Yummm!

**This is my adaptation of the WELCH'S FROZEN CONCENTRATE WINE recipe on Jack Keller's Site.

Here is the recipe and steps. 

* 2 cans (11.5 oz) 100% frozen grape concentrate (Any flavor Welch's, Old Orchard, etc.)
* 1-1/4 lbs granulated sugar
* 2 tsp acid blend
* 1 tsp pectic enzyme
* 1 tsp yeast nutrient
* Campden Tablets
* Potassium Sorbate
* Super Kleer
* water to make 1 gallon
* wine yeast 


Bring 1 quart water to boil and dissolve the sugar in the water. 
Remove from heat and add to Primary.
Add frozen concentrate. 
Add additional water to make one gallon. 
If you have a hydrometer, add sugar in small amounts until SG is at 1.095. If you do not have a Hydrometer, just add all sugar.
Add Acid Blend, Pectic Enzyme and yeast nutrient. 
Place lid on Primary, do not snap down. 
Wait 12-24 hours.
Sprinkle Yeast on top of juice, snap down lid and fit Airlock.
Stir wine Daily and Check SG (if possible).
When SG gets to 1.010 or when active fermentation slows down (about 5 days), rack into Secondary
Top up with water
Fit airlock.
When SG stops dropping for 3 consecutive days or when Fermentation stops...go to next step.
Rack wine to Clean Primary
Add 1 Campden Tablet per Gallon
Add Potassium Sorbate per package instructions
Degass for two minutes with drill mixer or whip: alt. 30 sec right, 30 sec left.
Wait 20 minutes
Degass for two minutes with drill mixer or whip: alt. 30 sec right, 30 sec left.
Optional: Use VaccuVine to do additional degassing. 
Add Super Kleer per packet Instructions
Rack into your carboy (clean first)
Wait atleast 2 weeks for wine to clear
Once clear, rack wine to Primary

If NO sediment was picked up:
back sweeten (to your taste)
bottle. 

If sediment was picked up
back sweeten (to your taste)
rack into your carboy (clean first)
top up with water
wait 1-2 weeks until clear again
rack wine to Primary
Bottle

Let me know if you have any questions about the above recipe. 

Enjoy!

Matt


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## ithink2020

By the way, start the above Juice wine first, then you can use the Slurry from it to start the Skeeter Pee!


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## ithink2020

critterhunter said:


> Anybody figure raiding the dumpster at a bar might be a good source of beer bottles I can cap for the Skeeter Pee?



Go to your favorite bar and ask the bartender if they would save some bottles for you. Some have had good luck with this, esp. if you go to that bar often! Just make sure the are non-screw top bottles!



critterhunter said:


> I'm still wondering where F-Pacs are bought. Only through wine supply stores or do Grocery stores carry them?



To my knoweldge, you have to make your own. Unless someone else knows of a place...then please share!!! 

For the Juice Wines, I've heard some have used one or two cans of juice they made the wine from as an F-Pac.



critterhunter said:


> Degassing- So that has to be done even if you are using Sorbate and Campden? Do I just take an egg wisk and froth around in there for a bit, then wait a few weeks to bottle, or do it right at bottling?



It doesn't HAVE to be done, but it really helps. You want to do this when you add the Sorbate, Campden and Clearing Agent. Degassing will really help in aiding in the clearing of the wine.



critterhunter said:


> Making Skeeter Pee with no slurry...any other things I need to alter about his recipe when using that?



I'd recommend creating a yeast starter the same night you start the Skeeter Pee, then you can use the "Slurry" on day 2.


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## ithink2020

You might also enjoy an Apfelwine. Here is the link:
http://www.winemakingtalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=3641

I just stumbled on this one, but have put it on my To Try list. It looks like it just takes 8 weeks to make.

Ok, I'll stop hogging the Thread now...Sorry!


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## Savana123

ithink2020 said:


> Good video to watch...good reminder!
> 
> Here is the direct link: http://www.youtube.com/watch_popup?v=Z2mf8DtWWd8




I will definitely go through the links you provided and I am feeling like getting into this to see deeply.


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## critterhunter

I've been getting some home brewing/wine making books from the library. Thus far every one I've rented has been pretty bad content wise for a newbie like me, but I just got a new book that I think was just released and so far it's much better. This book contains info on making wines, ciders, perrys, beer, and a few other drinks. The name of this book escapes me at the moment but I'll post it next time.

Anyway, since my first wine making attempt is pear I thought I'd flip right to that section to see what it has to say on that. This book says that wine made from pears is called a Perry. I've never heard that before so I read on with intrest. It also says that Perry can be bottled and drank within a few weeks of making it. That jives with what I was thinking because this stuff tastes pretty darn good already only 7 weeks or so out and is fairly clear, or at least way clearer than I thought it would be at this time. I believe this recipe calls for either apples or grapes to go with the pears or pear juice. We had use 6 pounds of white rasins with our cooking pears to make ours, and we didn't follow this recipe but it looks pretty similar to ours.

I'll post the recipe from this book soon as I think it fits in nicely with the theme of this thread. Now I just have to wonder who to listen to...bottle it not or wait like 6 months.


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## UglyBhamGuy

Bottle it... He who hesitates is lost.
Wait to bottle... Good things come to those who wait.


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## Julie

critterhunter said:


> I've been getting some home brewing/wine making books from the library. Thus far every one I've rented has been pretty bad content wise for a newbie like me, but I just got a new book that I think was just released and so far it's much better. This book contains info on making wines, ciders, perrys, beer, and a few other drinks. The name of this book escapes me at the moment but I'll post it next time.
> 
> Anyway, since my first wine making attempt is pear I thought I'd flip right to that section to see what it has to say on that. This book says that wine made from pears is called a Perry. I've never heard that before so I read on with intrest. It also says that Perry can be bottled and drank within a few weeks of making it. That jives with what I was thinking because this stuff tastes pretty darn good already only 7 weeks or so out and is fairly clear, or at least way clearer than I thought it would be at this time. I believe this recipe calls for either apples or grapes to go with the pears or pear juice. We had use 6 pounds of white rasins with our cooking pears to make ours, and we didn't follow this recipe but it looks pretty similar to ours.
> 
> I'll post the recipe from this book soon as I think it fits in nicely with the theme of this thread. Now I just have to wonder who to listen to...bottle it not or wait like 6 months.




A perry is similar to making apple cidar but you use pears and there are different steps.

"Traditional perry making is broadly similar to traditional cider making, in that the fruit is picked, crushed to make pomace, and pressed to extract the juice, which is then fermented using the wild yeasts found on the fruit's skin. The principal differences between perry and cider are that pears must be left for a critical period to mature after picking, and the pomace must be left to stand after initial crushing to lose tannins, a process analogous to wine maceration. After initial fermentation, the drink undergoes a secondary malolactic fermentation while maturing." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perry

I would be interested in the recipe.


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## critterhunter

I'll get to posting the pear Perry (wine) recipe soon as it says to bottle in a few weeks. It's very similar to the recipe we used so I would assume there is no such thing as pear "wine" by rather it should be called a Perry. I know the stuff tasted pretty good a few weeks after making it and now at around 7 or 8 weeks it tastes good too, but we are going to bulk age it a bit more because it's still got a bit of haze to it, though much clearer than I would have thought.

This new book that just came out is called Strong Waters I believe. Having got a bunch of books from the library and not reading them after skimming through the content and being somewhat let down, thus far this book seems to be real good. Not only does it take the time to explain details in simple fashion to newbies about all aspects of wine making, but it also goes into the more complex topics. It seems to cut out the cr*p and get straight to the point about various topics. It also has both quick/fast recipes as well as longer ones, and covers everything from wine, to cider, to perry, to beers and herbal drinks. I find it's explaination of various topics very direct. For instance, it covers Hydrometers and acid testing, yet the author fully admits that these items are not really needed in wine making and that she doesn't use them most of the time, or at least after having success with the first batch of something.

Please keep the fast wine and other drink recipes coming. Stuff that takes say three months or less to make and bottle and be able to drink. Like I said, one or two of my carboys will be devoted to conventional stuff that takes 6 months or more to make, but my third carboy is going to be devoted to stuff taking three months or less.


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## gird123

I think the key to a quick apfelwein is to keep the ABV low. I'm first batch had an abv of 8% and was cleared in 3 weeks bottled in 2 months and tasted great. The next batch I upped the abv to 12 to 13 thinking i would get the same thing with higher abv. 3 months later still not clear.

Skeeter pee is great. 1st batch bottled. Thanks Lon.


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## critterhunter

Does anybody have any other "fast" wines (3 months or less, though 2 or less would be more prefered) recipies to post? In particular, I'm looking for some kind of peach/apple, peach/something else like perhaps peach/cherry, or any other combo juice recipes that can be bottled in 3 months or less and the juice can be bought somewhere like Walmart or Aldis. I just printed this entire thread and recipes out to read later and refresh my memory but can always use more "fast" recipes. Mainly I've talked my neighbor into making another batch of wine with one of my other free carboys (she has the basement space) and she seemed intrigued about doing a peach/apple or something similar that can be done fast. Have to read over this thread again to see what's already been covered so there might already be something she'll want to do, but just the same I could use some others to lure her into making something with.


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## cold

*Sultana Banana Wine - What has Fermented the Fastest so far*

5 Pounds Bananas Peeled (weight after peeling)
1 Tea bag
4.2 liters water (1 Gallon)
3 cups sugar
1 cup raisins
Juice of 1 Lemon
Juice of 1 Lime 
Lalvin EC1118 Yeast

Yield = 3.5 Liters








*200 Watt Stick Blender*






*Business end of Stick Blender*


The primary fermenter was an 8 liter stainless steel stock pot. It was not quite large enough as it overflowed once the yeast got going. 3 inches of headroom was not enough.

I sterilized the stock pot by putting water in it, brought it to a boil and then discarded the water. I repeated this 3 times to get any 'flavor' out of the stock pot which had just been used to make turkey soup.

Put half the water, the sugar, the lemon juice and lime juice into the stock pot.

Use the stick blender to aerate, invert and blend the sugar. Let sit a couple of minutes, and then scoop the scum off the top. Your sugar might not throw up scum on the top.

Toss in the bananas and the raisins. Use the stick blender to atomize the bananas and raisins. 

I used only half the water during the stick blendering phase, otherwise I would have sprayed banana bits all over the kitchen. 

Through dumb beginner luck, the Raisins I used were seedless.

I had used some dark, organic raisins in another batch, but these had seeds. The rule of thumb is that seeds left too long in the primary fermenter add a nasty bitter taste. 

Add the rest of the water, and take the stick blender to it. But only enough to make the final mixture the same consistency throughout. 

I put the yeast into a measuring cup with 1/4 cup of water at room temperature and left for 15 minutes as per directions on the back of the yeast packet.

I started the yeast re-hydrating, and then began to make the banana/raisin brew. Unboiled banana is supposed to go 'bad' quickly, so I wanted the yeast ready to go as soon as the banana brew was ready.

I put the teabag in about 1/3 of a cup of boiling water right after starting the yeast.

The tea was for tannin, and added a nice bite to the banana / raisin brew. The resulting banana/raisin/tea mix was quite tasty and fairly sweet. It would have made a good beverage for a 5 year old's birthday party. Banana hyperactivity juice.

Everything was at 25 degrees Celsius.

I stirred the yeast / quarter cup water with a fork, and then poured it on top of the banana brew in the stock pot.

In less than 5 minutes, there were strong signs of the yeast going. In about an hour, the entire top of the stock pot was covered with yeast.

At this point I stirred the whole thing with a large slotted spoon to mix the yeast in well.

The banana forms quite a thick layer on top.

When you punch it down, the top layer reforms quickly. After about the third or forth punch down, all of the banana does not rise to the top anymore.

On day four, there were an incredible amount of fruit flies hovering about the brew. 

On day 7, I skimmed off as much stuff as I could. Let sit a bit, and then skimmed off more.

Then I strained it through 2 layers of cheese cloth into a 4 liter jug.

It only yielded 3.5 liters, so there was quite a bit of empty space on top. 

I added about 1/4 cup of sugar, on the theory that the yeast would generate enough C02 to keep the wine from oxidizing, but this was unnecessary and only increased the ferment time.

About 4 days later, the secondary started bubbling again, and bubbled for about another 5 days.

I thought this was because the yeast needed time respond to the new sugar and to multiply to large enough numbers.

But I have found that after racking in other batches, to the secondary, no matter what the ingredients, the yeast get pissed off and shut down for about 4 days and then start to bubble again. This seems to pretty consistent with and without sugar added to the secondary.

What was amazing, it that this wine was always clear. There never was any haze. The banana bits may float around, and it is a bit of a pain to get rid of them, but even after an hour, the wine was clear.







*8 liter stock pot* A bit too small


What does it taste like?

Like a white wine with a slight banana after taste. I cannot taste the lime. The wine tasted good every time it was sampled.

Even with sugaring the secondary, all fermenting was stopped at about 6 weeks and the wine was clear.


The bananas were 59 cents a pound. The lemons were 50 cents a piece. I used the lime because they were only 25 cents a peice and hoped they might add some variety to the flavor.

The raisins were light in color and very tasty, from bulk bins. 

The bananas had about 40 percent of the skin covered with black spots when they were used.

I had bad luck finding bananas since. Quite a number of smelt of chemicals. Some never did ripen, and the browning did not appear normal.

It is tough to find cheap fresh fruit this far north. But they seem to almost give bananas away, so it was an obvious choice for experimentation.

Even though total liquid was about 4.5 liters, it only yielded 3.5 liters. The banana and raisins soaked up quite a bit.

As for fast fermenting, 1 gallons batches seem to go a lot faster than 5 gallon batches.

Somewhere between 7% and 10%, fermentation starts to take a lot longer. Where, I have no clue.

I need a lab. 

Oh, and Santa, if you are reading this, a couple of hydrometers would make good stocking stuffers.

And if the sleigh is not too crowded, I think I really, really need a vacuum pump.


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## critterhunter

Received this "fast" wine recipe in a PM. Thanks for that, and feel free to take credit for it if you want your name known or not...

White Grape Peach is a real good combo. Dry or sweet it is a pleasing drink for any type of dinner or swill. I will dig up a recipe. Just started one 2 nights ago. 4 frozen juice concentrates and water, 4 cups table sugar, red star Montrachet yeast packet, and I like to add 1 cup brown sugar, pectic enzyme, 2 tsp yeast nutrient, and for the holidays.....1 tsp nutmeg. 4 cup starter pack warmed to 105* add nutrient and yeast. Let stand over night. Add to primary in the morning. should start about 1.080 ferment to 1.020, rack to secondary, ferment to .995, clear-stabilize-degass-bottle. takes 3-4 weeks. Makes 1 Gallon. Juice concentrate says add 3 cans water, I do 2 1/4. You could do the full 3, and the remainder use as f-pack. I use a fresh can for a thicker f-pack. Less watering down and better flavor this way. 

Takes anywhere from 3 to 6 weeks.


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## critterhunter

I'll soon post that Perry (that's what wine made from Pears is called) recipe I got from a book. This book says it can be bottled in a few weeks. We didn't use this recipe but it's very similar to the one we used with the only real difference in that we used 6 pounds of white raisins while they are using apples as the secondary fruit to the main being Pears. Anyway, we are like 8 or 9 weeks out I think on this stuff and it's real clear now. Wow, just a few days ago it still looked a little cloudy and then today it's crystal clear. Must be the cooler weather keeping the basement cooler.

We had used 10 pounds of sugar and champain yeast along with 30 pounds of pears and 6 pounds of white rasins in the primary. About 3 weeks ago at our last racking the wine was very dry having converted all the sugar to alchohol. It tasted fine, it's just that we don't care for dry wine, so we added like 2 to 4 cups (forget exactly) of sugar and Sorbate and 2 or 3 Campden tablets on the same day. Is that OK or should the sugar go in a few days after the Campden/Sorbate? I doubt the yeast is alive anyway in that high of alchohol with 10 pounds of sugar converted and all. Anyway, tomorrow we plan to bottle. Now, if we don't find the wine is still sweet enough can we add more sugar right at bottling or should we just sweeten to taste when we open a bottle? My concern is that we didn't use enough Campden with the Sorbate and that the yeast might blow the bottles if we add the sugar right at bottling. We are using screw cap wine bottles if that matters. Also, should we add more Campden at bottling and if so then that means wait 2 weeks to drink, right? I'm concerned that with the only 3 tabs in the primary, 1 tab per racking (about 4 rackings....we didn't know what we were doing with how to get rid of sediment...first batch of wine ever), and only 2 or 3 at the last racking a few weeks ago with the Sorbate/sugar, we might not have enough Campden to stop the yeast...Or, if we don't add more Campden when we bottle then the wine won't age well? Will it?


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## critterhunter

Cold, good info. How soon to bottle/drink?


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## cold

*Sultana Banana - Could have bottled after 6 weeks.*



critterhunter said:


> Cold, good info. How soon to bottle/drink?



It could have been bottled after 6 weeks. 

It is still sitting in the gallon jug (secondary fermenter) though.


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## critterhunter

I'm happy to say that our first wine making attempt using Pears (wine made with pears is called a Perry) came out great! We just bottled it yesterday at almost 9 weeks, and I'm sure we could have bottled it sooner as the first 3 or 4 rackings we didn't know what we were doing and kept putting most of the sediment back into the jug. At our last racking about 3 weeks ago we knew not to try to recover any juice from the sediment by running it through a mesh bag and then about a week ago the wine really got super clear with no clearing agents used or anything. At that last racking 3 weeks ago the wine was a dry wine, so we put in Sorbate, Campden, and two cups of sugar to insure the sugar wouldn't be converted. We got lucky, because we didn't use a hydrometer yet the wine is just slightly sweet like we wanted it. Having used 10 pounds of sugar along with 37 pounds of pears and 6 pounds of white rasins along with champain yeast in the primary it had converted all that to alchohol, so though it doesn't taste strong it sure will hammer you back after about 16 ounces of the stuff. Gave me a nice buzz.

I couldn't be happier with it and I'll post the recipe in a day or so along with another "wine" (perry) recipe using pears that uses apples as the secondary fruit instead of the rasins. This one also says it can be bottled in weeks as well.


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## critterhunter

Here is a pear "wine" (really pear wine is called a Perry) recipe from an excellent book called "Strong Waters...A simple guide to making beer, wine, cider and other spirited beverages at home". It's not the recipe we used that I just talked about above but it's very similar. Really the big difference is they used apples as the secondary fruit where as we used 6 pounds of rasins in our 7 gallon primary along with 37 pounds (before cutting) of pears along with 10 pounds of sugar and champain yeast. About 6 or 7 weeks out we stopped fermation by adding Sorbate and Campden on our last racking along with 2 cups of sugar and two cups of water to make up for the lost volume. Really we would not have lost that much at that racking but like I said we kept putting most of the sediment back in because we kept putting the sediement through a mesh bag. Really that should only be done on the first and second racking probably (1st being moving it from primary to secondary). Anyway, here's their recipe and I'll post ours in a day or two...

In a blurb in this book the author says "pears have more sugar than apples and more unfermentable sugar as well, so perry is naturally stronger and sweeter than cider". We found ours was a dry wine until we added the two cups of sugar once fermation was over and we put in the Sorbate to insure no further conversion of the two cups. We hit it right on, as the wine isn't too sweat. Somewhere between a dry and a sweet wine I'd say in sweetness. The book also mentions the fact that perry's and ciders take much less time to make than "conventional" wines using grapes and such.

"Basic Perry

Check the labels when buying pear juice. Many brands already blend pear and apple juices. If this is the case with your juice, simply use 1 gallon of blend.

2 quarts apple juice
2 quarts pear juice
1 teaspoon yeast nutrient
1/2 teaspoon pectin enzyme, if using unfiltered juice
1/2 teaspoon grape tannin, or a cup of black tea
1 packet yeast: Premier Cuv'ee or Lalvin KIV-1116
7 teaspoons corn sugar, if making sparkling perry

1. Pour the juices into the primary fermenter. Stir in the yeast nutrient, pectin enzyme, and tannin (or tea).
2. Add the yeast, snap on the fermenter lid, and attach the airlock.
3. Fermentation is usually complete in 7 to 10 days. You can bottle it as is, or if you want a sparkling perry, add 7 teaspoons corn sugar and bottle the perry in Champagne-style bottles, beer bottles, or soda bottles. Whether you make a still or sparkling perry, you don't need to age it more than a couple of weeks, but it does become better conditioned after a couple of months.

Serving Suggestion: Served chilled in a white wine glass with blue or creamy cheeses."

(END QUOTATIONS)

I'm not sure if it's important or not but with ours we added the yeast 24 hours after adding everything else. Maybe it's because we used fruit while the above is using juices? Either way, I'll post our recipe/steps soon for comparison. Like I said, we bottled yesterday at almost 9 weeks and it's clear and tastes great. I bet if we would have racked properly early on we could have bottled it in half that time.


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## critterhunter

Still looking for more "fast" recipes that take say 2 or 3 months or less to bottle/drink. In particular right now I'm looking for any ones using cheap juice from Walmart or something, with cherry, peach, blueberry, blackberry, or other fruits being used (in that order of preference).


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## Daisy317

If you are looking for a fast recipe, you can do that with pretty much any 100% juice. The frozen welch's that many others have recommended is one of the easiest. However, pretty much any juice will work it just may take a little more work to get fermentation started. That will get you practically any flavor you want.

Cheap, fast, and good tasting would probably be skeeter all the way!

You can also speed up pretty much any wine by doing things like adding clarifiers and using a drill mounted stirrer to degas. 

There are so many flavors to try, I bet you'll be busy for a while! Good luck!


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## millwright01

I actually make the WE selections Chilean Merlot as my fast drinker. By fast drinker I mean that I fill one of those "Wine bags in the garbage pail" for a daily drink as soon as it is done and then bottle the rest. 

Some of it has reached a decent age and is better but you really need to make a lot of wine at my house if you want any of it to age for a couple years! (hasn't happened yet) I also need to be able to hide it well. (from myself!!!)


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## Minnesotamaker

critterhunter said:


> Still looking for more "fast" recipes that take say 2 or 3 months or less to bottle/drink. In particular right now I'm looking for any ones using cheap juice from Walmart or something, with cherry, peach, blueberry, blackberry, or other fruits being used (in that order of preference).



Are you writing a book and need lots of recipes?


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## deboard

Almost all of the wines I've made using concentrates (Alexander's, Sun-Cal, or straight Welches) have cleared very quickly. What takes longer is degassing, which I just let happen, so it generally takes me 6 months to bottle a wine. If you can speed that up with a degassing tool like many on here use (either a drill attachment or a vaccuum system), you should be able to bottle many wines made from concentrates in 2-2.5 months if you rack often.


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## Runningwolf

critterhunter said:


> Does anybody have any other "fast" wines (3 months or less, though 2 or less would be more prefered) recipies to post? In particular, I'm looking for some kind of peach/apple, peach/something else like perhaps peach/cherry, or any other combo juice recipes that can be bottled in 3 months or less and the juice can be bought somewhere like Walmart or Aldis.



Are you trying to make jail house wine or just cut corners. It sounds like you would be better off sticking to skeeter pee but experiment with it with different flavors and report back on the progress. This wine is fast and exciting. Julie is the queen on this!


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## gicts

On these juice recipes- Wouldn't it be better to back sweeten with a frozen concentrate such as Welch's grape or other fruit?


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