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As Halloween approaches, I decided to make a festive old fashioned Halloween Wine. I began it a couple weeks ago and today I racked it off from the primary. It has been cool in the winery so it just finished up it's active fermentation. Below find the recipe I used, it was really simple. I have high hopes for this wine for next year after it ages a year. It should have a lot of body.
Recipe: for 20 gallons
25 pounds of fresh processed zombie brains- use slightly cut up into cup sized cubes.
40 pounds sugar
20 gallons stagnant pond water (you can make your own in a 32 gallon brute. Just put in the water and add a few dead mice and a frog or two). Let it fester for a couple weeks so plan ahead when making this wine.
2 teaspoons of tannin.
2 tablespoons of tartaric acid (use acid blend if you must)
Process:
Using a 32 gallon Brute, add the 20 gallons of pond water (if you made your own, strain out the dead animals first)
Add the sugar, tannin and acid. Stir well. Make sure the specidic gravity is around 1.085 to 1.095
Add the fresh zombie brain and give it a good stir.
Let it come to 68 to 72 degrees and then pitch a good yeast starter. For that use EC-1118- it'll ferment anything.
Keep the lid on but stir daily using a witches cauldron spoon- Witches hat and incantations optional......
Depending on temperature where it ferments it will be ready to rack in 10 days to 2 weeks - the brains slow down the ferment a bit. Check the sg of the must and try to get near dry before racking.
When racking, be sure to leave all the brain remnants behind you can. Put in a barrel or appropriate carboys under airlock. It should clear in a couple months, so rack it a time or two. I like to add k-meta after it has reached dry.
Degas after the first racking to help it clear better- the brain remnants can sometimes cause a bit of protein haze but it will usually clear without additives. If it stays murky looking all the better for Halloween.
This one does not need sweetening since the brains of a zombie have their own unique taste.
Bottle when you want, but let it age until next Halloween.
Enjoy
Here is a picture of what the Zombie brains look like at first racking
Recipe: for 20 gallons
25 pounds of fresh processed zombie brains- use slightly cut up into cup sized cubes.
40 pounds sugar
20 gallons stagnant pond water (you can make your own in a 32 gallon brute. Just put in the water and add a few dead mice and a frog or two). Let it fester for a couple weeks so plan ahead when making this wine.
2 teaspoons of tannin.
2 tablespoons of tartaric acid (use acid blend if you must)
Process:
Using a 32 gallon Brute, add the 20 gallons of pond water (if you made your own, strain out the dead animals first)
Add the sugar, tannin and acid. Stir well. Make sure the specidic gravity is around 1.085 to 1.095
Add the fresh zombie brain and give it a good stir.
Let it come to 68 to 72 degrees and then pitch a good yeast starter. For that use EC-1118- it'll ferment anything.
Keep the lid on but stir daily using a witches cauldron spoon- Witches hat and incantations optional......
Depending on temperature where it ferments it will be ready to rack in 10 days to 2 weeks - the brains slow down the ferment a bit. Check the sg of the must and try to get near dry before racking.
When racking, be sure to leave all the brain remnants behind you can. Put in a barrel or appropriate carboys under airlock. It should clear in a couple months, so rack it a time or two. I like to add k-meta after it has reached dry.
Degas after the first racking to help it clear better- the brain remnants can sometimes cause a bit of protein haze but it will usually clear without additives. If it stays murky looking all the better for Halloween.
This one does not need sweetening since the brains of a zombie have their own unique taste.
Bottle when you want, but let it age until next Halloween.
Enjoy
Here is a picture of what the Zombie brains look like at first racking
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