First try at strawberry wine....

[Julie]

Opinion: The titration measurement is not nearly as useful as ph. Those cheap TA kits are nearly impossibly to read accurately too. I personally just rely on my digital ph meter to get the must within proper range, and then adjust by taste once the wine has aged some. YMMV.........

Yes, that is true but when you are first starting out their isn't a thing wrong with using a titration kit. Most new winemakers are usually trying to come up with money for more carboys before buying a lot of testing equipment so a titration kit is more within their ballgame and reading the color change in the wine really isn't that difficult.

 

[Twintrades]

Problem solved ..... I dont have either ! lol

 

[Twintrades]

just wanted to say that the wine calc is a awsome tool !

 

[olusteebus]

I got strawberries for 79 cents a pound at Aldi's yesterday. I got 5 pounds and two pounds of frozen peaches. Gonna try and make a gallon.

 

[Auburn-Bob]

I am in the process of making my first strawberry batch. I made it from Smuckers preserves. I plan to bottle sometime this weekend.

 

[Twintrades]

Well I pitched the yeast at 12 pm last nite. And now I defiantly have active fermentation. I have the fermentator just covered with a dish towel. Easyer to open and lets it breath. Smells great also !

So in 5 days I should squeeze and let the bag drain right? Then let everything settle for an hr or two and rack into jugs. I started out with 1 gallon of water but the berrys put out about 1 gallon them selfs ! So I have closer to 2 gallons. I'm trying to get more berrys but it would be about 2 more days. So my wine might be a little weaker than I'd like. But it should still taste like strawberrys right ?

Or should I just ferment one gallon and use the second to just top off the first after racking ?

 

[russfink]

i like to stir the must and force liquid through the fruit bag, which also has the added benefit of forcing gas out of the bag. with a pulpy fruit like strawberry this will make for longer clearing time, but to the ultimate benefit of the wine.

do you have a hydrometer? that'll tell you when to move it to the secondary.

 

[Twintrades]

Yea i have one whats the target sg to move it ??

I started at 1.082 ( Dont berrys throw off more sugar as they get extracted ?)

 

[olusteebus]

Would it be ok to supplement my stawberris with jam. I have 5 pounds for one gallon

 

[russfink]

1.082 is fine for an OG. You might get a little more sugar out of the berries by maceration over the course of primary fermentation. But that's pretty much where your gravity should be.

I move my must to the secondary around 1.040-1.030. It's usually around 4-5 days in.

 

[Twintrades]

My berries are not nearly as red as they used to be. And the straining bag is now holing only about 2 cups of pulp. Weird how the berries can get squished down to that. lol

Ill take a reading tonight to see where im at. It sure foams up alot and when i play with the bag of pulp. Really nice smell to it as well.

 

[Twintrades]

Well i didnt wait im down to 1.060 right now ill rack tomorrow after work. Ill have to make a trip to the brew shop. I dont have enuf bungs/airlocks......

 

[midmoboy]

Strawberry is my favorite to make. Quick to the bottle and to drink. I just use frozen berries and no juice. just a touch of tannin. sugar feed it till it wont ferment any longer and add sugar to taste. I use only white sugar.

 

[Twintrades]

so how long from pitching to drinking ??

How long should it age ? O know as long as i can stand it. Id like to try it and if its good ill make a 5 gallon car boy worth.

 

[Julie]

If you are going to rack at 1.060, try and take as much of the yeast that is laying on the bottom as possible. The reason is not to have a stuck fermentation.

 

[Twintrades]

No I'm not planning on racking at 1.060. What I meant was at the rate this is going I'll rack tomorrow an it might be at 1.040-.030 I wouldn't rack till at least 1.040 with 1.030 or less being ideal. It's going so good I don't want to mess anything up.

 

[Twintrades]

well I just checked and im at 1.000........... Guess ill take the berry's out

Tomorrow ill rack into a secondary. Then let it sit for a month. Then sorbate, k-metea and a week later back sweeten with an f-pac.

 

[russfink]

That's a pretty brisk fermentation!

 

[Twintrades]

Yea tell me about it. I couldent belive it either. Guess the d 47 really liked this batch ! You can deff taste the alcohol and Btw with a little sugar syrup it was way better than the carlos rossi blush ! Even with the yeast aftertaste lol. i cant wait to try it bottled. This one might be a keeper ill make it into a 5 gallon batch once straw berrys get into season.

 

[Twintrades]

Yea i sampled some lastnight. I had to rack to get the 1/4+ less out.

Dry its even good, a little sharp but good. I sweetened some a little and was that even better. Man with a little age im seeing this being great !

Again when the berrys are in season im doing a 5 gallon batch !