Blueberry wine

[Northwoods Wine]

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.

 

[Johnd]

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...........

 

[pip]

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.

 

[Johnd]

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.

 

[joeswine]

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)

 

[Scooter68]

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.

 

[Encino Stan]

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/.

 

[mainshipfred]

@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?

 

[Scooter68]

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.

 

[Johnd]

@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/

 

[mainshipfred]

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!

 

[Scooter68]

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.

 

[mainshipfred]

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?

 

[Scooter68]

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.

 

[mainshipfred]

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

 

[mainshipfred]

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.

 

[mainshipfred]

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.

 

[Johnd]

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?

 

[mainshipfred]

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.

 

[mainshipfred]

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.