# Blueberry wine



## Northwoods Wine (Mar 3, 2020)

I'm looking for a tried and true blueberry wine recipe, one that makes 6 gallons. This will be my first non-kit recipe so the tried and true part is important. I'm open to a traditional blueberry fruit wine or a port or dessert wine with higher alcohol, higher flavor.


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## Johnd (Mar 4, 2020)

Northwoods Wine said:


> I'm looking for a tried and true blueberry wine recipe, one that makes 6 gallons. This will be my first non-kit recipe so the tried and true part is important. I'm open to a traditional blueberry fruit wine or a port or dessert wine with higher alcohol, higher flavor.



One of our members, @Scooter68 , makes a lot of fruit wines, blueberry included, and he'll be able to provide some pretty good guidance for you. I've done blueberry from fruit once, and it came out very nice, Scooter has made lots...........


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## pip (Mar 16, 2020)

Hi Northwoods, Blueberry is most definitely not the fruit wine you want to start on. Blueberry is highly acidic so you'll be needing to keep a close track of the ph. I've also read that there is a specific chemical in blueberries that hinders fermentation. It's a bugger of a wine to make from scratch.

I've struggled through a few batches but the end product has never been terribly good and the trouble was immense. Having said that i have tasted decent blueberry wine but it really is the craftiest of fruit wines.


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## Johnd (Mar 16, 2020)

Northwoods Wine said:


> I'm looking for a tried and true blueberry wine recipe, one that makes 6 gallons. This will be my first non-kit recipe so the tried and true part is important. I'm open to a traditional blueberry fruit wine or a port or dessert wine with higher alcohol, higher flavor.



I’m going to try tagging @Scooter68 for you again, as I see that he hasn’t responded.


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## joeswine (Mar 16, 2020)

Yes blueberry wouldn't be my first choice, if I did I would purchase a 5 or 6 gallon juice batch from Walkers fruit wines at least I would know that my base was correct and the outcome decent.
Blueberry is a touch one. (Imop)


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## Scooter68 (Mar 17, 2020)

Well I started with a blueberry wine, "cause I didn't know no better." Got lucky cause I'm sure I blindly followed a recipe and added acid blend. Using home grown blueberries and it worked fine. 
One key is the amount of blueberries used. After 4-5 batches now I've settled on between 5.5 & 7.0 pounds of berries per gallon. (Too much and acidity become pretty tough to correct - I don't like adding anything I don't have to add.)
The acidity is the thing to watch. keep it above 3.25 & 3.6 and it should do fine. As far as a recipe I always work from 1gallon base recipes and multiply as needed so:
5.5 -7.0 pounds blueberries
1/4 tsp tannin
1 tsp yeast nutrient
2 tsp pectic enzyme (Double normal)9
2:1 simple syrup to raise SG to raise desired start point. I would raise total volume to about 1 1/4 gallons to allow for Lee's volume loss. 
1st Step - So I would mash the berries well and put into a mesh bag. Keep in mind the fine seeds of blueberries will escape about any fermenting bag. Add tannin and nutrient.
2nd Step - Add enough water to get volume to about 3/4 gallon.
3rd Step - Add simple syrup.
4th Step Stir well and with total volume of about 1 1/8 - 1 1/4 gallon check SG
and acidity. Correct SG as needed but don't try to nail it down now
5th Step - Add k-meta cover and wait over night.
6th Step - Recheck SG and Acidity. IF ACIDITY is too low below 3.25 adjust with calcium carbonate. As normal don't try to correct the acidity in one try. Use about 1/3 of what you think you need. Wait at least 4-8 hours and rec-check.

When good, prep yeast syarter and toss the starter. (I generally use 1 oz of my juice and 2 oz warm water for my starter.)


Again for 6 gallons just adjust those numbers upward.


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## Encino Stan (Mar 18, 2020)

Northwoods Wine said:


> I'm looking for a tried and true blueberry wine recipe, one that makes 6 gallons. This will be my first non-kit recipe so the tried and true part is important. I'm open to a traditional blueberry fruit wine or a port or dessert wine with higher alcohol, higher flavor.


Despite the naysayers, Ed Kraus's blog says, "if you’ve never made wine before, I would submit to you that making a blueberry wine is a perfect place to start."
https://blog.eckraus.com/blueberry-wine-recipe

I have a 1 gallon batch in that I just put into the secondary fermenter using this recipe
https://homebrewanswers.com/blueberry-wine-recipe/.


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## mainshipfred (Mar 18, 2020)

@Scooter68 I was hoping you would chime in. I'm about to make my first blueberry and every site I went to said between 2.5 to 3 lbs/gal. My initial thought was to double it so you kind of confirmed my thought. I'm not much of a fruit winemaker though and the only other one I made was peach. My question is is the 3.25 pH for taste or to get the fermentation started. I fermented grape wines (all whites) that had a pH of 3.0+/- and they always fermented, or is there something else blueberries have that prevents fermentation?


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## Scooter68 (Mar 18, 2020)

The pH at or above 3.25 up to 3.6 - to help prevent ferment start up issues. Before I learned about the impact of fermentation on the pH I measured one batch at 2.98 during the ferment but kept on fermenting. So once it starts you should be good. My first batches were with montrachet but I later switched to EC-1118.

Personally I've not had trouble getting blueberries to ferment but many do have issues.


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## Johnd (Mar 18, 2020)

mainshipfred said:


> @Scooter68 I was hoping you would chime in. I'm about to make my first blueberry and every site I went to said between 2.5 to 3 lbs/gal. My initial thought was to double it so you kind of confirmed my thought. I'm not much of a fruit winemaker though and the only other one I made was peach. My question is is the 3.25 pH for taste or to get the fermentation started. I fermented grape wines (all whites) that had a pH of 3.0+/- and they always fermented, or is there something else blueberries have that prevents fermentation?



Fred, I did a blueberry a few years back that came out great, 6.67 lbs / gallon, the thread had lots of advice and help in it from Scooter and others, you may find something in there that helps you in your blueberry wine. Here's the link to the thread if your're interested: https://www.winemakingtalk.com/threads/the-blueberry.54269/


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## mainshipfred (Mar 18, 2020)

Johnd said:


> Fred, I did a blueberry a few years back that came out great, 6.67 lbs / gallon, the thread had lots of advice and help in it from Scooter and others, you may find something in there that helps you in your blueberry wine. Here's the link to the thread if your're interested: https://www.winemakingtalk.com/threads/the-blueberry.54269/



Thank you John!


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## Scooter68 (Mar 18, 2020)

Note: several typos... My excuse is I'm on my phone in a "foreign land". (California)

As to amount of fruit...
Blueberries run about 8 1/2 lbs for a gallon with a "no water" recipe. I always use some water. At least for my simple syrup. ( I don't have the patience to stir sugar into a room temp mix long enough for it to dissolve. )
And I always backsweeten my fruit wines to bring out the flavor. To my palate (sp?) I almost always end up between 1.000 and 1.010. Anymore than that and it becomes a bit too sweet for some folks. My only exception was a tart cherry and at 1.014 it still didn't taste overly sweet.


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## mainshipfred (Mar 21, 2020)

Picked up 30 lbs of frozen blueberries and 15 lbs of sugar. Going to see how much it makes using a 2:1 simple syrup to get the brix up. Would like to get 5 gallons plus some topping up reserve but if I only get 3 gallons and a reserve I'll be OK with that. My question is would it be beneficial to ferment it in my cooler at 55* once it gets started?


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## Scooter68 (Mar 21, 2020)

Don't see why not. The blueberry flavor is often light and requires a little bit of back-sweetening to recover so maybe a cool ferment would help. As you said once you get it started then slowly lower the temp.

At 30 lbs you should have enough for 5 gallons with a little reserve. I've made solid blueberry with 5# / gallon and using water to top off so I think it should work. At least 4 with reserve should be very easy.


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## mainshipfred (Mar 21, 2020)

Scooter68 said:


> Don't see why not. The blueberry flavor is often light and requires a little bit of back-sweetening to recover so maybe a cool ferment would help. As you said once you get it started then slowly lower the temp.
> 
> At 30 lbs you should have enough for 5 gallons with a little reserve. I've made solid blueberry with 5# / gallon and using water to top off so I think it should work. At least 4 with reserve should be very easy.



Thanks Scooter


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## mainshipfred (Mar 22, 2020)

Started my blueberry today. Added 5 lbs worth of sugar in the form of a 2:1 simple syrup to both 15 lb batches. Also added the tannins and pectic enzyme. Definitely going to use 71B in one of the buckets but debating on K1-V1116 or a Fermentis yeast I just received. Might even go with BA-11. Must is still around 30 so I'll test the brix and acid tomorrow.


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## mainshipfred (Mar 23, 2020)

Tested the must this morning and have a pH of 3.20 but the SG is 1.164. When I went back and read the package they had 12 grams of sugar per one cup serving. Not really sure what that means. So it appears the 5 lbs of sugar I added to 15 lbs of berries was too much. One cup of berries weighs 140 grams or .3 lbs. Should I buy another 10 lbs and add 5 lbs to each one or add water and acid. I really don't want to dilute it too much with the water and acid but also don't want to buy an excessive amount of more berries.


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## Johnd (Mar 23, 2020)

mainshipfred said:


> Tested the must this morning and have a pH of 3.20 but the SG is 1.164. When I went back and read the package they had 12 grams of sugar per one cup serving. Not really sure what that means. So it appears the 5 lbs of sugar I added to 15 lbs of berries was too much. One cup of berries weighs 140 grams or .3 lbs. Should I buy another 10 lbs and add 5 lbs to each one or add water and acid. I really don't want to dilute it too much with the water and acid but also don't want to buy an excessive amount of more berries.



12 g of sugar in 1 cup is the equivalent of SG 1.02, so it appears that the amount of sugar you added put you over the top. Simple syrup is highly concentrated, so you've added very little water already. What sort of volume is your must right now, and how much wine are you trying to make?


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## mainshipfred (Mar 23, 2020)

Each bucket is about 2 1/2 gallons and I'm trying to get a wine with the most fruit possible. I was thinking of getting another 10 lbs for 5 lbs each and doing the adjustments from there.


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## mainshipfred (Mar 23, 2020)

Is this math correct? 
If I have 15 lbs or 3 parts at 1.162 and add 5 lbs or 1 part at 1.020 would the new gravity be 1.127? 
3 X 1.162 + 1 X 1.020 / 4 = 1.127, it just doesn't seem right.


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## sour_grapes (Mar 23, 2020)

mainshipfred said:


> Is this math correct?
> If I have 15 lbs or 3 parts at 1.162 and add 5 lbs or 1 part at 1.020 would the new gravity be 1.127?
> 3 X 1.162 + 1 X 1.020 / 4 = 1.127, it just doesn't seem right.



Except for missing parentheses, looks right to me: (3 X 1.162 + 1 X 1.020) / 4 = 1.127. I think that you are thinking about it the correct way.


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## Scooter68 (Mar 23, 2020)

I think adding more blueberries woul be the best route. At your current pounds per gallon it won't be a bad idea to bump it up a little. The pH is a bit low but you might get it to start as long as the temp is good.


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## mainshipfred (Mar 23, 2020)

Just picked up 10 more pounds and they are thawing now. There was only 1/4 gallon of water added to each batch so far. Probably have to add a little more water to get the brix down more but I can't imagine it will be that much.


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## Johnd (Mar 24, 2020)

mainshipfred said:


> Is this math correct?
> If I have 15 lbs or 3 parts at 1.162 and add 5 lbs or 1 part at 1.020 would the new gravity be 1.127?
> 3 X 1.162 + 1 X 1.020 / 4 = 1.127, it just doesn't seem right.



You’ll probably need more than that, your SG is pretty high. Theoretically, another part of berries (total 10 #) would get you down to 1.105, still pretty stout, a smidge of water to the finish line wouldn’t hurt a strongly flavored berry like blues.


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## mainshipfred (Mar 24, 2020)

Added the 5 lbs to each but it only brought it down to 1.030. Added water to get to1.092 nine additional cups each. Funny thing is the acid didn't change much. In fact the pH dropped to 3.15 but I think I can get the fermentation started. Had sucxess in the past lower than this.


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## mainshipfred (Mar 25, 2020)

@Northwoods Wine sorry I kind of bogarted your thread, I can start a new one if you like. But for now: after getting the must to where I think I can live with I decided to freeze it. With the additional water I wanted to try to extract some extra color. The Brehm frozen must seems to extract good color so I thought I'd try it.


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## reeflections (Mar 29, 2020)

I'm really new to this. I just started my 1st 5 gallon batch using:
12# frozen Blueberries + 2# of frozen wild blueberries
11# white sugar
2TBS Acid blend
5/8 tsp tannin
5 tsp Y nutrient
1 TBS Y energizer
3/4 tsp pectin enzyme
Red Star Premier Blanc Yeast (it's what I had)

The SG went from 1.040 to .996 in 5 days in the primary! It had a very full, delicious blueberry taste (considering its age).

I racked it into gallon carboys where it has sat another 10 days with lots of lee. I expect to rack again in a couple of days when I get my All In One Pump as recommended here. 

Is it a good or bad thing that fermentation was so fast?


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## sour_grapes (Mar 29, 2020)

That doesn't sound particularly fast to me. Your starting SG was low, so there was not much sugar to consume. I have seen full-strength fermentations go that fast. I think you are fine!


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## reeflections (Mar 29, 2020)

Oops! I typed the wrong number. The SG was 1.100 before I pitched the yeast, 1.040 after 3 days, and .996 after 5 days. 


sour_grapes said:


> That doesn't sound particularly fast to me. ... I have seen full-strength fermentations go that fast. I think you are fine!



So I assume you still don't see that as too fast. Is that closer to what you call a "full-strength" fermentation?


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## mainshipfred (Mar 29, 2020)

My adjusted must is being frozen for a few weeks. Once it's thawed and ready to pitch I'll have to retest it. I used 10# of sugar in 40# of berries and the SG jumped to 1.160. Had to add about 
1 3/4 gallons of water to get it to 1.092. The reading with the refractometer had a similar converted reading. Our berries must have had a significant sugar difference for those initial readings to be so different..


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## sour_grapes (Mar 29, 2020)

reeflections said:


> Oops! I typed the wrong number. The SG was 1.100 before I pitched the yeast, 1.040 after 3 days, and .996 after 5 days.
> 
> 
> So I assume you still don't see that as too fast. Is that closer to what you call a "full-strength" fermentation?



Yeah, that is what I had in mind by "full-strength." I'd say your went a little fast, but only by a day or so. I don't see anything to be concerned about,.


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## mainshipfred (Apr 3, 2020)

Inoculated today after sitting in the freezer for 10 days. All the readings were the same, pH 3.15/SG 1.102. Made starter slurries of K1-V1116 and 71B so I'm pretty sure it will start with the low pH. Both batches are about 4 gallons made up of 20 lbs berries 13 cups water and 5 lbs sugar.


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## mainshipfred (Apr 4, 2020)

Wasn't happy with the fruit ratio so I'm adding another 5 lbs to each batch. They are thawing now.


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## mainshipfred (Apr 17, 2020)

Pressed the blueberry today and got almost 7 1/2 gallons. There is a lot of sediment so I'm hoping to get 6 gallons. It's very dark and I know it will lighten when it clears but I wonder how much keeping the prepared must frozen for 10 day helped. Took almost 2 weeks to get to .993.


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## Scooter68 (Apr 17, 2020)

Shouldn't lighten up much. Mine is always very dark in the carboy. I have to get mine into a smaller container to check clearing.


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## Northwoods Wine (Apr 29, 2020)

Thanks everyone for your thoughts!


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