Critique/Follow Along First Batch - Blueberry

[Shirley_Rocks]

Hey all... I figured I'd post my first recipe and steps as I go along, so that I can get some feedback and so it will be easier to give the background when I have questions. And I'll have questions. So this is long since I want to capture the details, and I know it may help me later. I put my questions in bold for those who would like to skim.

I've been reading up on making wine for years, and finally have all the stuff I need. So while I'm new to this, I'm not totally in the dark. Boy, am I glad I've read as much as I have, because I can already see that while it's basically simple, there are so many different ways to do it!

At someone's recommendation, I picked up H.E. Bravery's "Successful Wine Making at Home" and while it has a lot of great info, it's a bit dated and not quite detailed enough about certain steps. However, I like that he gives several recipes for each fruit and has two methods: one for port style where the yeast is added before straining, and one for what he calls a "light table wine" where the yeast is added after straining. I went with the light table wine method as I want something light and fruity.

Since it's blueberry season, they seemed like a good choice for a first 5 gallon batch. I got all my stuff at a nice little local shop and had a nice chat with the owner and employee. I picked up a flat of blueberries on the way home along with two food grade buckets. I washed the berries thoroughly in the bucket with lots and lots of water, a wee bit of soap (I do all fruits/veggies this way), and rinsed them several times. They were all good, firm berries.

I decided I'd use the basic recipe from Bravery's book for blackberries, but then also add the recommended energizer, pectic enzyme and acid blend as per E.C. Kraus. Bravery's recipes are for one gallon batches, and to just x5 for five gallons.

Since I was short by 1-3lbs of blueberries depending on the recipe, I decided I needed to either add more blueberries or something else. The crazy creator/mad scientist in me opted for Welch's 100% white grape juice frozen concentrate. They didn't have it plain at the store, only in blends, so I got one of each. I'm hoping this will add subtle complexity, and I'm naming this recipe "Blueberry, et al." I know, I should have started strictly with something tried and true, but I feel like I'm close to several, and in principle on the amount of sugar and fruit. Or not?

As I typed this, I realized I've done everything except the Campden tablets and Kraus recs for four gallons, because I initially was short on blueberries, so I figured for x4, but then I got juice to make up for it. I'm not worried about that, though, since all it really means is that I've put in a 1/2 gallon less water and a pound less sugar than I was supposed to. Obviously, this is easy to fix if needed, and the Welch's changes things, and his recipe was for blackberries, not blueberries, yada yada. I know from reading enough at this point that this shouldn't be a big deal My SG is 1.066 today, after adding yeast yesterday, after letting it sit for 24hrs after first mix. I think this is somewhere around where it should be??

The must:
12 pints blueberries (about 11 pounds), heavily crushed by hand
1 can Welch's 100% white grape peach
1 can Welch's 100% white grape raspberry
1 T fresh ginger, grated and steeped in 1/2 cup filtered water
5 Campden tablets, dissolved in a little water (this seemed like overkill to me, but erring on side of caution)
1 T yeast energizer
3/4 t pectic enzyme
2 T acid blend
4 quarts Brita filtered water, boiled, then allowed to cool (I added the frozen concentrate to help cool it down)

I sanitized everything using three steps: washing with detergent and double/triple rinsing, rinsing with C-Brite and rinsing with water, dip in water with recommended amount of sodium metabisulfite in water.

I tried several things to mash the berries, but ultimately, I scrubbed up my arms and did it by hand. I considered pulling out the stick blender, which I saw later that others had done, but I know how bad that would be to do to grapes or something else with bitter skin. That was painful, but I'm still typing

I added everything else and let that sit in the pail covered with a thin, folded bath towel for 24 hours... or so...

Next, I learned how much "fun" it is to strain some really mashed up berries that weren't in a fruit bag. Note to self: get a fruit bag. I tried what I have successfully used in the past for cheese: a well worn, well cleaned and rinsed, sanitized cotton pillow case. Bad. Idea. As you have probably guessed, it's way too tightly woven, and blueberry must doesn't wad up nicely the way cheese does...

So, there I am with a dripping, heavy bag of must, no way I could think of to safely hang it and let it drip on its own (which probably would have taken three years)and not enough sanitized surfaces to set the bag down into or whatever... I didn't have a plan B as I couldn't find my mesh sweater bag after about an hour search earlier (part of the reason it sat longer than 24), so I had to improvise. I rigorously washed and sanitized the leg of a pair of pantyhose. It actually worked better than I expected. At one point I asked myself "Am I making wine or sausage?" but at least it did get the job done, save a for a few bits that got out through a runner.

OK, at this point, I was just happy to have made it that far, because the straining part took much longer than I expected and I realized I could really benefit by having an extra empty, sanitized bucket handy. What are everyone's favorite methods/tools for straining?

Next, it was time to add the cooled sugar water, which I allowed to boil for one minute per Bravery. Except it wasn't nearly as cooled as I wanted, hence another reason it sat longer than 24 hours, but I consoled myself by reminding myself how awesome it is that I splurged on the big, red, gorgeous Paula Deen enamel pot last year. Purchase vindicated, but why is it so important to use non-metals? I've seen this reminder over and over again, but I'd like to know, scientifically, exactly why.

Once it cooled down to the point where it was comfortably warm to the touch, I added it to the liquid and stirred. I carefully sprinkled the yeast as thinly and evenly over the surface as possible. I checked it about an hour or so later, and it looked like it was melding in nicely, so I stirred it in with a sanitized wooden spoon and covered it with the folded towel.

This afternoon, I lifted the towel and it had sort of an x-shaped, lighter colored, slightly frothy looking patch in the middle of the liquid. I stirred it and heard it bubbling away and got that strangely familiar odor. My dad made some wines when I was growing up, so that distinctive smell struck me as something good going on. I checked the SG with a hydrometer, and as I mentioned earlier, it leveled at 1.066. In the process, a fly landed in the bucket... I know, don't panic... instant-read thermometer read 72.3 degrees. I covered it back up.

Sound good so far? Thoughts, suggestions, etc? Thanks for reading!

 

[Tom]

ok
Best that the fruit is frozen 1st
12 pints seam low. fruit is measured in pounds. 5 gallons should have 25-30 #'s of blueberries
Your 3/4tsp of pectic ACID? could it be pectic enzyme? should be 1/2tsp per gal so for 5 gal = 2 1/2 tsp
Fruit should be placed in a straining bag (found @ Home Depot/Lowes).
For 5 gallons all the berries will not fit in a fermentation bucket.
1.066 is low starting gravity. Shoot for 1.085

fyi I make alot of fruit wines.

 

[Shirley_Rocks]

Best that the fruit is frozen 1st Unfortunately, no room in the freezer for that amount of berries, and I notice a change in flavor with frozen berries, but it wasn't an option anyway

12 pints seam low. fruit is measured in pounds. 5 gallons should have 25-30 #'s of blueberries Everything I read said 12-15 lbs berries (higher for ports, lower for lighter wines), and I started with about 11 lbs. While they were "pints" in the sense of container size, they aren't like the kind in the grocery store, which are barely full. These were very, very topped off in a flat, so significantly more than pints from a grocery chain

Your 3/4tsp of pectic ACID? could it be pectic enzyme? should be 1/2tsp per gal so for 5 gal = 2 1/2 tsp Whoops - yeah, enzyme not acid. I went by the E.C. Kraus table for 5 gallons.

Fruit should be placed in a straining bag (found @ Home Depot/Lowes). What department? What are they called in Home Depot language? Sweater/laundry bags? I have one... actually two, it's a matter of finding it/them

For 5 gallons all the berries will not fit in a fermentation bucket. This is the first I've heard of this, and despite my variations, I am very close in fruit/sugar amounts to all of the five gallon recipes I've read, and all of the smaller recipes I've scaled up in size. Most fruits recipes without stones call for 2.5-4 or so pounds of fruit per gallon, with most around 3 per gallon. Obviously, more pounds for fruit with stones/pits that are dead weight. I'm not saying I don't believe you, but it's not what I've seen.

1.066 is low starting gravity. Shoot for 1.085 I know I can achieve this by adding more sugar, but how much? Is there a rule of thumb for this?

Thanks for the feedback.

 

[Tom]

best that the fruit is frozen 1st unfortunately, no room in the freezer for that amount of berries, and i notice a change in flavor with frozen berries, but it wasn't an option anyway

only suggestion.

12 pints seam low. Fruit is measured in pounds. 5 gallons should have 25-30 #'s of blueberries everything i read said 12-15 lbs berries (higher for ports, lower for lighter wines), and i started with about 11 lbs. While they were "pints" in the sense of container size, they aren't like the kind in the grocery store, which are barely full. These were very, very topped off in a flat, so significantly more than pints from a grocery chain
blueberry shoot for 5-6# per gal for more body/flavor
your 3/4tsp of pectic acid? Could it be pectic enzyme? Should be 1/2tsp per gal so for 5 gal = 2 1/2 tsp whoops - yeah, enzyme not acid. I went by the e.c. Kraus table for 5 gallons.

look on the bottle if powdwer it calls for 1/2tsp per gal (btw its ok to add more)

fruit should be placed in a straining bag (found @ home depot/lowes). what department? What are they called in home depot language? Sweater/laundry bags? I have one... Actually two, it's a matter of finding it/them

paint dept look for 5 gallon paint straining bags. They can be washed and reused.

for 5 gallons all the berries will not fit in a fermentation bucket. this is the first i've heard of this, and despite my variations, i am very close in fruit/sugar amounts to all of the five gallon recipes i've read, and all of the smaller recipes i've scaled up in size. Most fruits recipes without stones call for 2.5-4 or so pounds of fruit per gallon, with most around 3 per gallon. Obviously, more pounds for fruit with stones/pits that are dead weight. I'm not saying i don't believe you, but it's not what i've seen.

fermenting boucket are 6+gal, add 5 gal water and berries the volume will be right to the top or over depending on how many #'s used.

1.066 is low starting gravity. Shoot for 1.085 i know i can achieve this by adding more sugar, but how much? Is there a rule of thumb for this?

download this calc.
http://mpesgens.home.xs4all.nl/thwp/winecalc.html


thanks for the feedback.

g@@d luck !

 

[Arne]

Shirley,
I think most of us here ferment on the fruit. That being said, when fermenting a 5 gal batch, the primary bucket is not quite big enoough to hold all the fruit and liquid you need for 5 ga. Usually I split the batch and use 2 buckets. After taking out the fruit, you can make one bucket out of the liquid. We usually put the fruit in a straining bag so it is easier to get it back out of the fermenting liquids. You can leave the fruit whole in the strainer and smash it up some by hand or with a potatoe masher or 2X4 or whatever you have. Then add your campden. Let it sit for 24 hrs, add your pectic, let it sit another 12 hrs or so and add the rest of your ingredients. Pitch the yeast and leave the fruit in until you get down to a S.G. of 1.010 or so. Then yo can pull the fruit out and finish the ferment, either in your bucket or a carboy. Keep reading on here, I know some others can and will explain better than I. Think you and Tom were talking 2 different ways, you with juice and Tom with the whole fruit. He is very knowledgable about the fruit wines and will help you a lot. Most of my wines have been done the way I described. Have done a couple like apple that use all juice. They do not need as big of a primary container as you do not have the fruit volume included. Hope this helps. Arne.