The process has begun. I started my first batch of wine this past Saturday (12/13/07). I wanted to start with a wine kit and one that was on the cheap end of the scale (should I mess it up). Figured if I messed up my first batch I wouldn’t be out a horrible amount of money. I chose a Riesling kit from Vintners Reserve. Northern Brewer’s item number 6033. I tried to fallow the directions as best I could.
First I had to get everything together. The kit I bought came with a 6 gallon carboy, a 7.9 gallon fermentation bucket, and a 6.5 gallon fermentation bucket. In addition to that I bought another bucket for a sanitizing bucket (fig 1).
fig. 1
Before actually mixing the ingredients I wanted to mark the buckets (fig 2). Both only went to 5 gallons and I knew there would be times when I needed to measure more then that. I used a measuring cup from the kitchen to measure and mark additional gallons. The cup I used only listed cups and could only hold seven cups at a time. I found an online calculator to tell me how many cups to one gallon. There are 16 cups to 1 US gallon. It’s actually 16 and change but I rounded and did my best to get an accurate reading.
fig. 2
Next it was time to get the ingredients from the kit (fig 3 and 4) and figure out what would be needed. Not everything was used in the first step. I used the big bag ‘o wine mix, the red star yeast, and bag #1 (15g of bentonite).
fig. 3
fig. 4
After using “One Step Sanitizer” to make sure everything was clean it was to add one-half gallon of hot water to the primary fermentor. I also added the 15 grams of bentonite and stirred it until there were no clumps in the mix. Now it was time to add the wine concentrate. I empted the entire bag into the primary fermentor then rinsed it out with an additional half gallon of water to make sure all the concentrate was out. The result was a swirling dark brown mix of “stuff” (fig 5). Finally according to the directions I topped off the mix to a full 6 US gallons (fig 6). You can see how much the color changed.
fig. 5
fig. 6
Using a hydrometer the directions said to take a measurement of the mix’s specific gravity at this point. The direction said it should be between 1.070 and 1.085. Mine measured 1.074 (fig 7). Additionally my hydrometer told me the current percent sugar and estimated alcohol by volume. 18.5 and 10% respectivilly.
fig. 7
Here comes the part I was a little nervous about, rehydrating the yeast. While there isn’t much to it, I was overly careful and a bit neurotic about doing it correctly. I bought myself a kitchen thermometer with a probe(fig 8 ) to make sure the water temperature was safe for the yeast. Northern Brewer suggests that you boil ½ cup of water and allow it to cool to 95* - 105*. I set my new thermometer to 100* and waited for it to beep letting me know to add the yeast. I added the yeast and let it rest for 15 min then dumped it into my primary fermentor.
fig. 8
At this point I added a little water to the air lock put it in the lid then sealed up the bucket hoping that everything had been done correctly up to this point and fermentation would begin (fig 9). I moved the bucket to a dark spot in my basement where it’s a nice 69*.
fig. 9
I checked on my mix the next day and found that the air lock was bubbling almost non stop. I was excited to see this. It means the little yeasts where happy in their new home and were reproducing like mad. Which is just what you want at this stage. Step two is transferring the mix to the secondary fermentor, but that won’t happen for 5 to 7 days. I will keep an eye on the air lock and check when the bubbling slows telling me the yeasts are done having their fun and its time to transfer.
My only suggestion to myself at this point is I need better way to measure exactly how much water or liquid is going into the mix. I did my best, but a more accurate measuring device is needed for sure.
First I had to get everything together. The kit I bought came with a 6 gallon carboy, a 7.9 gallon fermentation bucket, and a 6.5 gallon fermentation bucket. In addition to that I bought another bucket for a sanitizing bucket (fig 1).
fig. 1
Before actually mixing the ingredients I wanted to mark the buckets (fig 2). Both only went to 5 gallons and I knew there would be times when I needed to measure more then that. I used a measuring cup from the kitchen to measure and mark additional gallons. The cup I used only listed cups and could only hold seven cups at a time. I found an online calculator to tell me how many cups to one gallon. There are 16 cups to 1 US gallon. It’s actually 16 and change but I rounded and did my best to get an accurate reading.
fig. 2
Next it was time to get the ingredients from the kit (fig 3 and 4) and figure out what would be needed. Not everything was used in the first step. I used the big bag ‘o wine mix, the red star yeast, and bag #1 (15g of bentonite).
fig. 3
fig. 4
After using “One Step Sanitizer” to make sure everything was clean it was to add one-half gallon of hot water to the primary fermentor. I also added the 15 grams of bentonite and stirred it until there were no clumps in the mix. Now it was time to add the wine concentrate. I empted the entire bag into the primary fermentor then rinsed it out with an additional half gallon of water to make sure all the concentrate was out. The result was a swirling dark brown mix of “stuff” (fig 5). Finally according to the directions I topped off the mix to a full 6 US gallons (fig 6). You can see how much the color changed.
fig. 5
fig. 6
Using a hydrometer the directions said to take a measurement of the mix’s specific gravity at this point. The direction said it should be between 1.070 and 1.085. Mine measured 1.074 (fig 7). Additionally my hydrometer told me the current percent sugar and estimated alcohol by volume. 18.5 and 10% respectivilly.
fig. 7
Here comes the part I was a little nervous about, rehydrating the yeast. While there isn’t much to it, I was overly careful and a bit neurotic about doing it correctly. I bought myself a kitchen thermometer with a probe(fig 8 ) to make sure the water temperature was safe for the yeast. Northern Brewer suggests that you boil ½ cup of water and allow it to cool to 95* - 105*. I set my new thermometer to 100* and waited for it to beep letting me know to add the yeast. I added the yeast and let it rest for 15 min then dumped it into my primary fermentor.
fig. 8
At this point I added a little water to the air lock put it in the lid then sealed up the bucket hoping that everything had been done correctly up to this point and fermentation would begin (fig 9). I moved the bucket to a dark spot in my basement where it’s a nice 69*.
fig. 9
I checked on my mix the next day and found that the air lock was bubbling almost non stop. I was excited to see this. It means the little yeasts where happy in their new home and were reproducing like mad. Which is just what you want at this stage. Step two is transferring the mix to the secondary fermentor, but that won’t happen for 5 to 7 days. I will keep an eye on the air lock and check when the bubbling slows telling me the yeasts are done having their fun and its time to transfer.
My only suggestion to myself at this point is I need better way to measure exactly how much water or liquid is going into the mix. I did my best, but a more accurate measuring device is needed for sure.
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