April 2015 Wine of the Month Club

[Jericurl]

Ok, I'm back from the store and got extra apple and cranberry juice.

I'm using D47 yeast. If I want it to finish about a little sweet, I'm wondering how much juice I should add for the batch.
Right now I'm thinking to shoot for adding 1 gallon more, total.

Think that will give me something that will ferment?

 

[JDesCotes]

This ginger wine is going to take a while to clear...

 

[Jericurl]

I added a 1/2 gallon of each juice and brought my SG down to 1.13
I'm sitting at just below 5 gallons right now.
Fermentation is definitely rocking and rolling.

I didn't double my spices since they steeped in the whole mess for a few days. I'll taste at secondary and do any adjustments then.

I don't have any allspice berries and I'm not sure if I want to purchase any just for this mead.

I do however, have whole nutmegs. I'm thinking of cracking one and pitching it in at secondary. Any thoughts/suggestions?

 

[Jericurl]

Well...one thing I learned....don't use a sledgehammer to crush a nutmeg. I have no idea what Manthing has done with the numerous hammers we own. I did see a sledgehammer just inside the garage door, and thought...I'll just wrap this nutmeg in a towel and gently tap it.

Yeah...pretty much ended up with the equivalent of ground nutmeg after one tap. I added just a smidge, probably a 1/2 tsp worth to my primary.

And since I'm using D47 yeast, I added a 1/2 tsp of DAP and probably about a 1/4 c of raisins, just to give it some nutrition to feed off of.

 

[the_rayway]

Oh Jeri, I hope Manthing will make you a killer "Murphy's Law" label for this one You've been having such a weirdly difficult time!!

JDesCotes - that is a LOT of ginger! I'm assuming that you really like ginger, so kudos on your bravery

I have heard several times that a) dried ginger doesn't deliver on taste like fresh ginger, b) it's hard to clear a wine with powdered spices, and c) ginger can be VERY strong. All here-say - no personal experience. The few times I've used ginger it's been fresh and used in very small amounts. And I always use whole spices because they're so much more fresh.

These are all sounding great everyone!! I love the strawberry/pear, and am really interested in the Date wine's progress!

 

[addseo1115]

wonderful

Thanks for sharing the great recipes. I have very enjoyed with this forum.

 

[JDesCotes]

Took a sip a couple of days ago and it wasn't quite spicy enough and was also very one note. Not at all like ginger beers I've had while travelling. So I looked up another recipe and they added whole clove!

So at 1.020 I added about 12 whole clove to the carboy.

Took another sip this evening before adding my first dose of sparkolloid and the taste is VERY nice now

As a side note, the other day when I took the sip I was feeling a little under the weather with an upset stomach and the ginger kick made me feel 100x better!! Going to be a very nice drink when it no longer has the lingering yeast taste and is crystal clear.

 

[Jericurl]

Ok...my starting SG was right around 1.13

Right now I've gotten down to 1.032.

I used D47 yeast and I haven't seen any movement for several days now.

What is a good stopping SG for a sweeter mead?
I know it's personal preference and all, but what do you guys usually backsweeten to?

I'm considering pitching EC-1118, taking it down to dry, then racking, waiting a good month or two, racking again, stabilizing, then backsweetening with the rest of the Yaupon Holly honey.
The honey has a very interesting flavor that I want to carry through in the finished product. It's sort of a spicy, woody aftertaste. Not a typical sweet and floral tasting honey.
It pairs very well with the apple, cranberry, and spices.
I think this one is going to be nice served cool or gently warmed.

Right now it tastes absolutely excellent, but I think it's a wee bit too sweet (but I haven't eaten much today, so that could be it as well).

eta: If I am looking at everything correctly, right now my ABV is at 12.86%. If I take it down to dry, I'll be at 17.32% . I know that will significantly up my aging time, even with backsweetening, correct?

 

[JDesCotes]

Ginger wine is bone dry now. Added sparkolloid yesterday and it cleared fairly nicely. Still needs a good amount of clearing but I figured now would be a good time to rack.

So I filled 3 small pop bottles and added about 1/5 cup of sugar to each and shook until it was all dissolved. These will be left to carbonate over the next few weeks.

The rest was racked and I added kmeta. Going to wait another couple of days, rack again and add more sparkolloid.

The addition of the clove was defiantly a good move so far. The wine is tasting much more complex. Added a splash of lime juice when I took my quality control sip and it was amazing!

 

[the_rayway]

@jericurl 1.032 will be pretty sweet for a 12% wine - generally speaking. The only reason I go up that high is for my port styles, or really high ABV stuff.

If you take it to dry, it will give you the opportunity to backsweeten with the honey - but you should still have a fair amount of the flavour with the residual sugars present (I would think). And you will have rocket fuel which will likely take quite awhile to take the edge off.

Any chance you can coax it to move down a few more points? D47 has a tolerance of 14%, so you might be able to hit a sweet spot with stirring up the yeast bed or something. It would end up a bit less sweet, and slightly higher ABV.

??

 

[Jericurl]

Yes, I can give it a good drill stirring and maybe add just a bit of nutrient and energizer. I'll try that and see if I can get it moving again.

 

[the_rayway]

Yes, I can give it a good drill stirring and maybe add just a bit of nutrient and energizer. I'll try that and see if I can get it moving again.

Let us know how it goes! Good luck!

 

[Jericurl]

Ok, I put in a new battery pack, drilled for a solid minute, added yeast nutrient and yeast energizer and a handful of chopped raisins, drilled for about another minute, then put the top back on and went to bed.

The airlock is fairly active again, so I plopped a hydrometer in there. It's either degassing or fermenting again. I'll check SG a little later today and see if there has been any movement.

 

[Jericurl]

Down to 1.02...

 

[ceeaton]

Ah, it was just a lag as the second stage fermenting rocket got lit. Here's to going all the way to dry (the wine, not me).

 

[Jericurl]

I ended up backsweetening this one with a tiny bit of maple syrup after I stabilized it.
If I don't stop sneaking glasses, it's never going to get bottled.

It is so, so good.

 

[sour_grapes]

If I don't stop sneaking glasses, it's never going to get bottled.

It is so, so good.

Ehhh, bottling is overrated!

 

[Jericurl]

This was bottled and a few were given out as Christmas presents.

They were gone in absolutely no time and everyone clamored for more.

This mead is just now almost 1 year old and is only getting better with age.
We have 7 bottles left and they are being hoarded.

I started a new batch about a month ago.