Campden Tablets

[scatterbrain]

Hi, I live in kuwait where alcohol is banned hence i began making my own wine...i dont have any of the proper equipment hence i use fruit juices, 1 gallon bottle of water, bakers yeast and the baloon method. The first batch i made was natural cranberry juice 3 litres with a little apple juice, i added just 1 cup of sugar, after the fermentation and subsequent racking the wine was sour, hence i added sugar, till date the wine keeps getting more sour...I do not have access to campden tablets, is there anything i can use to kill bacteria? Can anyone provide me recipes with fruit juices? thanks

 

[Torch404]

I would check about making wine in Kuwait as if it banned you probably are not allowed to make it either. I don't know what would replace sulfites, so your best bet is simply making sure everything has been boiled (equipment and juice) before you start. Ditch the balloon as that's the most likely source of infection. Make a blow off tube. Basically attach a plastic tube into your bung or cap. Then run the tube into a cup of water. The CO2 will bubble out without exposing your must to air.

It's hard to say what might make it sour but adding sugar after the wine has fermented is asking for bottles to explode.

 

[Wade E]

Since there is no way to get sulfites higher octane wines may be your only alternative or youll just have to drink them early. You need to keep the space between any lid on your vessel and the wine minimum so as little air as possible can get to your wine.

 

[Runningwolf]

Hi, I live in kuwait where alcohol is banned hence i began making my own wine...

...so just out of curiosity what is the penalty if you get caught making it?

 

[Minnesotamaker]

Here's another option for you:

Start your batch of wine and let it ferment until it quits. If it's a fruit wine, it will likely taste a bit sour because all the sugars will have converted to alcohol. Rack your new wine to a clean vessel and keep it covered with the balloon. Once it has cleared to the level you like, rack it again and add sugar until it tastes the way you like it. Add slowly and test as you go. A good rule of thumb is to stop adding sugar just a little short of when you think it's right. Now you'll need to keep your sweetened wine in the refrigerator. If you let it warm up to room temperature, it will likely start to ferment again and you'll have problems. If you want it warmed before drinking, remove it from the refrigerator just prior to consumption.

 

[scatterbrain]

@torch- i obviously cannot legally make wine, but who the hell will ever find out ::

@running wolf- the country doesn't permit alcohol but the american and british embassies have open bars at their embassies and at their parties, which i've heard are crazy with lots of alcohol being wasted. I'm Indian and i find this preferential treatment unfair. Homemade alcohol is sold locally as well as alcohol that diplomats of various embassies receive in their monthly quota is sold at outrageous prices. to put it in perspective a bottle of red label will cost between $ 160 and a bottle of black label will cost around $ 210. which at times is fake. People who make alcohol at home are busted and are usually found with hundreds of bottles of alcohol and are either sent to jail or deported but then again if you have the right contacts you can get away doing anything in this county

Thanks for all your inputs,
Regards.

 

[Minnesotamaker]

If things that are "illegal" are available for the right price, isn't there a way for you to get the supplies needed by ordering from outside Kuwait and having it delivered? Having the right materials would greatly improve your success rate. Most of the chemicals that would be helpful are fairly inexpensive and you don't need much of it per batch.

 

[scatterbrain]

If things that are "illegal" are available for the right price, isn't there a way for you to get the supplies needed by ordering from outside Kuwait and having it delivered? Having the right materials would greatly improve your success rate. Most of the chemicals that would be helpful are fairly inexpensive and you don't need much of it per batch.

The materials aren't freely available in India, i have tried on various occasions to get someone to get them here. Have asked a few friends who are in the US and UK to get me the materials but that wont be here till a few months.