Skittle Wine

[jojabri]

Bottled my Skittles last night and OH! WOW! I can't wait to see what becomes of it once a few months have passed in the bottle. It's like alcoholic candy! SWEET!!!!

 

[photoactivist]

Bottled my Skittles last night and OH! WOW! I can't wait to see what becomes of it once a few months have passed in the bottle. It's like alcoholic candy! SWEET!!!!

Do let us know! I'm always eager to hear about people's results.
I think I have about another month before I open up my last batch that i submitted to mlf. Should be an interesting comparison.


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[photoactivist]

Tonight I comparison tried skittles with and without malolactic fermentation that I bottled back in February.
Surprisingly, as my notes at the time suggested otherwise, my friend Eric and I actually preferred the mlf treated skittles wine over the traditional method. (Mine can be found somewhere in the history of this post with pictures and step by step instructions)
I was quite pleased with the outcome, but now feel there is something missing from both. I don't believe it's as simple as oak, but that is another addition to try in the near future.
Has anyone else experimented with oak yet?
Also, I have only used welch's 100% white grape juice concentrate this far. And while it has produced wondrous results and a beautiful color, I do believe I will be experimenting with that, as well.

Cheers.


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[maurtis]

I have a 5 gallon batch of Skittles wine clearing. About a month in and it was crystal clear except for a ton of "fluff" on top, and suspended chunks which would not seem to fall. So I racked to see if I could jar them into falling and eliminate the fluff on top and the lees on the bottom. I originally used Beano and Sparkolloid to clear, so I might try cold crashing and Superkleer later if need be.

My main question, when do you use an f-pack? I assume it will re-cloud the wine a bit. Mine has a hint of Skittle smell now, but being so young smells pretty much like a rough young wine.

 

[maurtis]

Okay, reading back through the posts it looks like a lot of people ended up not needing f-packs? I want to make sure the wine does indeed taste like Skittles. I added a couple of 15.4 oz bags when I racked from primary to secondary, so probably enough.

Here is my timeline so far using the recipe from page 1 but expanded to 5 gallons:

07/05/2014: Boiled skittles and placed mixture in fridge overnight
07/06/2014: Skimmed wax off skittles base and started primary fermentation at 1.100 SG (looking for an ABV of around 14%)
07/07/2014: Stirred must, skimmed wax
07/08/2014: Stirred must, skimmed a little wax, added a pinch of DAP, SG 1.075
07/09/2014: Stirred must, very little wax left, SG 1.060
07/10/2014: Stirred must, added 2 tsp of Fermax, SG 1.040
...
(Went out of the country for work for a week)
...
07/18/2014: SG 0.995, racked, added 3 beano tablets, 1/4 tsp k-meta, 5/4 tsp sorbate, 2 15.4 oz bags of Skittles boiled and strained for an f-pack and hot mix Sparkolloid
07/23/2014: Clearing nicely, you can clearly see each LED of the flashlight through it. Weird "fluff" cap on top.
08/03/2014: Very clear but with suspended chunks, racked off lees to see if we could get the small chunks to fall out. Most of the suspended chunks broke up and are in suspension again, so wine is cloudy.

If things are not looking cleared in a few weeks, I may order some SuperKleer and try that. I would love to get an allinone and set up a house filter, but I just dropped $180 today at AHS so if I spend any more on this hobby any time soon my wife will bury my body under the garden. This weekend we are brewing 12 gallons of bourbon vanilla porter, so needed a LOT of grain and an additional fermenter and 6 gallon carboy. So $90 worth of grain and $90 worth of "stuff", LOL.

Has anyone tried gravity feeding through a house filter? I can afford some gravity.

 

[plowboy]

I'm in the process of trying a gravity fed house filter. Water passed through without a fight. I'm starting with the source carboy on the floor just above the filter/receiving carboy. If that dosent work I can bump it up another 2 stories using the heater ducts to pass the hose through the floor. I'll post up when I attempt some wine.

Also a side question on the topic of skittles.

Mine currently looks like this.

I have been told that amylase enzyme will clear it up. So far 1-1/2 tsp hasent changed a thing. How much of the stuff should I add in?

 

[maurtis]

That is pretty much how mine looked before I added 3 beano tablets and sparkolloid. So you might need the amylase enzyme and a clearing agent?

 

[plowboy]

That's the plan. Just don't want to go too crazy with the enzyme if I don't have to.

 

[photoactivist]

That's the plan. Just don't want to go too crazy with the enzyme if I don't have to.

Amylase enzyme and super-kleer will fix what ails ya.
Check out my method post on page 16. No need for difficult gravity racking or anything. I think I only used around 1/4-1/2 tsp amylase enzyme. But check it out; it's fool proof. I recently multiplied the method to a six gallon vintage, and it's as clear as can be, and hasn't met with one harsh critic. (Except myself)


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[maurtis]

Wow... SuperKleer KC. Just, wow.

I used sparkolloid and beano when I racked into the secondary and it worked pretty well but left a lot of small chunks in suspension. So the wine was pretty clear, just had stuff floating all through it.

I ordered some SuperKleer off Amazon and put it in on 08/09. By the next day the wine was already crystal clear. Yesterday, on 08/11, I racked the wine from my 5 gallon carboy into individual 1 gallon bottles since I need the 5 gallon for a batch of beer soon.

It looks like urine, but tastes surprisingly good for being so young. I hope the Skittles flavor comes out more in the next month, it is pretty faint right now.

 

[maurtis]

Bottled and labeled the Skittles wine. Right now it is surprisingly good, takes like a semi-dry white wine with a hint of Skittles. I expected more Skittles taste, though, does it come out more over time? I shot for 14% ABV and since the wine does not taste boozy at all it sneaks up on you.

I am pleasantly surprised how well it turned out and look forward to sharing it with friends. I figure I will let it age for another month then start passing the bottles around.

Thanks for the recipe and tips everyone, it was fun to make. I think I will definitely be on the lookout for candy canes on sale after Christmas to do a candy cane wine to age for a year for the next holiday season

Since all of my wines are pony themed, this one was "Dashy's Skittle Shine... Taste The Rainboom"

 

[jojabri]

Bottled and labeled the Skittles wine. Right now it is surprisingly good, takes like a semi-dry white wine with a hint of Skittles. I expected more Skittles taste, though, does it come out more over time? I shot for 14% ABV and since the wine does not taste boozy at all it sneaks up on you.

I am pleasantly surprised how well it turned out and look forward to sharing it with friends. I figure I will let it age for another month then start passing the bottles around.

Thanks for the recipe and tips everyone, it was fun to make. I think I will definitely be on the lookout for candy canes on sale after Christmas to do a candy cane wine to age for a year for the next holiday season

Since all of my wines are pony themed, this one was "Dashy's Skittle Shine... Taste The Rainboom"

I LOVE IT!!! Rainboom! LOL! I wish I woulda thought of that. All I got thus far is a Granny Smith label.

 

[photoactivist]

Since all of my wines are pony themed, this one was "Dashy's Skittle Shine... Taste The Rainboom"

Maybe it should be "reinboom"...



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[maurtis]

Maybe it should be "reinboom"...

LOL! Too funny

 

[greyday]

I actually forgot all about my skittle wine; I have a 3 gallon carboy from two years ago I found tucked away in the corner of my basement. The airlock still had water in it (my basement is rather damp), so I'm thinking it may actually be fine; will try it sometime in the next couple weeks, harvest season so I have too much new stuff to make right now, but kind of excited to see if it's any good...

 

[photoactivist]

I actually forgot all about my skittle wine; I have a 3 gallon carboy from two years ago

Holy smokes!! I cannot wait to hear about this well age-ed vintage!
Any way I can get in on that goodness? Come on, you'll have fifteen whole bottles, what's one little ol bottle lost to your dear Californian friend that you've never met or probably spoken to before?
I mean, come on.
}= )

Definitely give us the details when you bottle and again when you open for a sip.
Are you planning to let it bottle age a bit to recover from bottle shock since it's put so much work into bulk aging?


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[greyday]

Start a tasting and I'll send you one, otherwise Ashland is probably the farthest it's going to get...

And that's if it's even ok at this point. I'll keep you posted.

 

[maurtis]

I gave out some bottles to friends yesterday, anxious to see what they think. The Skittle flavor has come out a bit more, so you get a good hint of Skittles when cold and as the glass warms up it really comes out. For a fun, "different" wine, I really like it.

 

[vernsgal]

I did up the skittles wine back at the end of 2013. I bottled the beginning of Jan.2014.After 6 months it definitely had a taste of the fruity candy and was certainly drinkable.Yesterday I pulled a bottle out to give a taste and have to say it was pretty bad.I think when you age this wine, because of the chemicals in the candy, the fruity flavor leaves and you're left with nothing but a chemical taste.
So my take on this wine is if you do want to try making it for fun, drink early!

 

[zimmer2]

I did up the skittles wine back at the end of 2013. I bottled the beginning of Jan.2014.After 6 months it definitely had a taste of the fruity candy and was certainly drinkable.Yesterday I pulled a bottle out to give a taste and have to say it was pretty bad.I think when you age this wine, because of the chemicals in the candy, the fruity flavor leaves and you're left with nothing but a chemical taste.
So my take on this wine is if you do want to try making it for fun, drink early!

Thanks for the input, I made some a few months ago. Guess I better get busy and start emptying those bottles. It is pretty tasty right now ☺