Thursday, 26 August 2010
200 Real Visits
thanks again to all you blog readers, followers and those who comment and tick boxes, ... we have got to 200, showing that 100 was no accident! I think the next milestone will be 500.
Blackberry Wine 2010 (2nd batch) con't ...
Just moved it to secondary fermenters under airlocks. Plenty left over for topping up after racking.
Wednesday, 25 August 2010
Recipe; Last Year's Blackberry Wine
Last year I made two Blackberry Wines. One from the canes in the garden (wild but cultivated by us). The other from foraged berries. This is the foraged version, tho strictly speaking it's not quite straight Blackberry as you'll see from the recipe 'cos it's got some Elderberries in it too.
3.45 Kg Blackberries
0.25 Kg Elderberries
2 Kg Sugar
2 Teaspoons acid blend*
2 Teaspoons Pectolase
2 Campden Tablets
Yeast Nutrient
Yeast; GV2 (red label)
* ratio of tartaric:citric:malic acids ... 2:2:1
OG 1088, FG 1000, 12% ABV
Day 1: Mash the fruit and put into fermenting bin, add 1/2 gallon of hot boiled water and 2 crushed campden tablets. Stir, cover and leave overnight.
Day 2: Dissolve the pectolase in a little water and add to the fermenting vessel. Stir, cover and leave overnight.
Day 3: Add all the other ingredients. Stir it all about very sloshily and splashy style to get plenty of air into the mix. Check gravity. Came out as 1088 which is fine for what I enjoy. Add the yeast. Cover.
For the next 5 days stir at least once daily, sloshily, then re-cover. After 5 days remove the fruit and move the must to secondary containers fitted with airlocks. A couple of weeks later it was racked and topped up. 2 months later it was racked again, degassed and stabilised. 2-3 months later it was degassed again, stabilised again, and the first gallon was bottled.
GV2 was not as easy to work with as I had hoped, it was quite messy and threw a bigger sediment than I'm used to. Which meant more topping up than usual. In honesty it probably wasn't the best yeast to use for this wine (despite being recommended by a forum). A better choice would have been something that reduces malic acid (blackberries have plenty of this and it can be harsh). Especially as I used some Malic acid in my acid addition. That was the result of trusting the method of choosing an acid based on a truly crappy and misleading table that many homebrewers swear by. Now I know better I have abandoned that table, alerted a forum or two of it's serious fault. What thanks .... well none, I was branded a trouble maker on one forum! I'd love to tell you the forum, but any publicity is good publicity and their response means I don't want to publicise them.
Anyway the wine is quite acidic, but it's a red so it can handle that. Its a little harsh but will probably soften with more time (now almost a year old). It's very fruity tho, and will be good stuff in time. The first mouthful is a bit hard to bear TBH. I have described the taste as a little bilious, but that description has always been challenged by others who have tried it. That's a good thing, but I still don't know how to describe it. Nevertheless after the first mouthful that unpleasant edge goes, and if you like your wines acidic then this is a hit. Based on the FG it should be medium/dry, but the acidity (and I think tannin in the fruit) makes it quite astringent so without paying full attention it's easy to judge it as dry.
Very much as an aside, despite 2 well separated degassing sessions, it wasn't fully degassed. The result is that the wine has a very slight frizz on the tongue. I quite enjoy this, even tho wine experts (and ponces too as they are not always the same thing) wouldn't. Mrs Critter Wines really enjoys a poorly degassed wine, and it's probably only the frizz in this wine that means she'll join me in a glass. So when you brew, if you like it then thats good enough. But if you want to win medals then you may have to make wines that you don't like as much, but will make judges happy (who get it free anyway cos you - the brewer - pay for the priviledge of giving your wine away to them). Me I would rather give it away to mates who will tell me what they think and not set it against some mainstream criteria for what a wine "should" taste, smell and feel like.
hehe ... that was quite a "ranty" post eh!
Recipe (2 Gallons)
3.45 Kg Blackberries
0.25 Kg Elderberries
2 Kg Sugar
2 Teaspoons acid blend*
2 Teaspoons Pectolase
2 Campden Tablets
Yeast Nutrient
Yeast; GV2 (red label)
* ratio of tartaric:citric:malic acids ... 2:2:1
OG 1088, FG 1000, 12% ABV
Method
Day 1: Mash the fruit and put into fermenting bin, add 1/2 gallon of hot boiled water and 2 crushed campden tablets. Stir, cover and leave overnight.
Day 2: Dissolve the pectolase in a little water and add to the fermenting vessel. Stir, cover and leave overnight.
Day 3: Add all the other ingredients. Stir it all about very sloshily and splashy style to get plenty of air into the mix. Check gravity. Came out as 1088 which is fine for what I enjoy. Add the yeast. Cover.
For the next 5 days stir at least once daily, sloshily, then re-cover. After 5 days remove the fruit and move the must to secondary containers fitted with airlocks. A couple of weeks later it was racked and topped up. 2 months later it was racked again, degassed and stabilised. 2-3 months later it was degassed again, stabilised again, and the first gallon was bottled.
Thoughts
GV2 was not as easy to work with as I had hoped, it was quite messy and threw a bigger sediment than I'm used to. Which meant more topping up than usual. In honesty it probably wasn't the best yeast to use for this wine (despite being recommended by a forum). A better choice would have been something that reduces malic acid (blackberries have plenty of this and it can be harsh). Especially as I used some Malic acid in my acid addition. That was the result of trusting the method of choosing an acid based on a truly crappy and misleading table that many homebrewers swear by. Now I know better I have abandoned that table, alerted a forum or two of it's serious fault. What thanks .... well none, I was branded a trouble maker on one forum! I'd love to tell you the forum, but any publicity is good publicity and their response means I don't want to publicise them.
Anyway the wine is quite acidic, but it's a red so it can handle that. Its a little harsh but will probably soften with more time (now almost a year old). It's very fruity tho, and will be good stuff in time. The first mouthful is a bit hard to bear TBH. I have described the taste as a little bilious, but that description has always been challenged by others who have tried it. That's a good thing, but I still don't know how to describe it. Nevertheless after the first mouthful that unpleasant edge goes, and if you like your wines acidic then this is a hit. Based on the FG it should be medium/dry, but the acidity (and I think tannin in the fruit) makes it quite astringent so without paying full attention it's easy to judge it as dry.
Very much as an aside, despite 2 well separated degassing sessions, it wasn't fully degassed. The result is that the wine has a very slight frizz on the tongue. I quite enjoy this, even tho wine experts (and ponces too as they are not always the same thing) wouldn't. Mrs Critter Wines really enjoys a poorly degassed wine, and it's probably only the frizz in this wine that means she'll join me in a glass. So when you brew, if you like it then thats good enough. But if you want to win medals then you may have to make wines that you don't like as much, but will make judges happy (who get it free anyway cos you - the brewer - pay for the priviledge of giving your wine away to them). Me I would rather give it away to mates who will tell me what they think and not set it against some mainstream criteria for what a wine "should" taste, smell and feel like.
hehe ... that was quite a "ranty" post eh!
Update May 2011
If you make this wine (wild fruit - so acidic -, this yeast and acid blend) then be prepared to give it 18 months for a superb result. Clicky here for more details on this update.
Bottling
In the never-ending struggle to free up Demi-Johns tonight I bottled 2 lots of wine. Which means I now have 4 empty DJ's (out of 30). Tomorrow I'll fill 3 of them up with the 2nd batch of this years blackberry wine. That'll leave one for racking purposes.
Anyway tonight I bottled Green Tea & Ginger Wine, and also the last of the blackberry wine that I made with foraged berries last year. The latter was fermented using GV2 yeast, a recommendation from a forum. And here is your piccie of the bottles, tomorrow the shrink necks go on and they get laid down. ('scuse the unpolished bottles).
Some months ago this was very acidic and a bit harsh. Perhaps not surprising as Blackberries are high in malic acid and GV2 isn't an acid reducing yeast (as far as I know anyway). Tonight it's a bit better, but not much. Apart from that its just fine, so its a case of carefully selecting what we drink it with I guess. Here's the recipe
The Green Tea & Ginger is the same great winner that we know and love.
Anyway tonight I bottled Green Tea & Ginger Wine, and also the last of the blackberry wine that I made with foraged berries last year. The latter was fermented using GV2 yeast, a recommendation from a forum. And here is your piccie of the bottles, tomorrow the shrink necks go on and they get laid down. ('scuse the unpolished bottles).
Some months ago this was very acidic and a bit harsh. Perhaps not surprising as Blackberries are high in malic acid and GV2 isn't an acid reducing yeast (as far as I know anyway). Tonight it's a bit better, but not much. Apart from that its just fine, so its a case of carefully selecting what we drink it with I guess. Here's the recipe
The Green Tea & Ginger is the same great winner that we know and love.
A Good Weekend
So it's been a bit quiet here eh! That's cos Critter Wines hit the road to say hi to some friends and meet some more. Of course we went with wine so here's a little summary of how it went down, and what went down. There were 6 of us.
Elderberry & Blackberry (2nd run)
This wine got the popular vote to be opened first. And it went down well, probably the 2nd favourite on the night. The fullest feedback was that it was very smooth and had little tannin or acid compared to a commercial red. That made it quite dangerous as it was very easy to drink, almost like alcoholic fruit juice!
Quickie Elderflower
The preferred choice of 2 friends, and form favourite of one who only tried a couple of others but was otherwise happy to enjoy this one for the whole night.
Orange & Hawthorn Blossom
This is the sweet strong dessert wine. Made from blending the Hawthorn Blossom and the Orange wine. It was the surprise favourite on the night. Raising some eyebrows, and compared to a liquer
Elderberry & Blackberry (2nd run)
This wine got the popular vote to be opened first. And it went down well, probably the 2nd favourite on the night. The fullest feedback was that it was very smooth and had little tannin or acid compared to a commercial red. That made it quite dangerous as it was very easy to drink, almost like alcoholic fruit juice!
Quickie Elderflower
The preferred choice of 2 friends, and form favourite of one who only tried a couple of others but was otherwise happy to enjoy this one for the whole night.
Orange & Hawthorn Blossom
This is the sweet strong dessert wine. Made from blending the Hawthorn Blossom and the Orange wine. It was the surprise favourite on the night. Raising some eyebrows, and compared to a liquer
Thursday, 19 August 2010
New Toy
Mrs Critter Wines bought me a gift. A cool bottle stopper, which is in use only a few hours since being passed to me. It's very dense and makes a seal, with the rubber 'O' ring due to its weight, simply by dropping it into an open bottle neck. Very elegant. Check it out ...
by the way the top is a carving of a gum nut. When I first saw it I wondered what the heck it was for cos it looked kind of useful ... pointed on one side, hollow at the other. But it's "just" a pretty thing from Australia, hence it has an Aussie connection. Gum nut wine anyone?
Recipe; Blackberry Wine 2010 (2nd batch)
Just finished making all the final additions to this 3 gallon batch ... and cleaning up the kitchen afterwards! So here's the info, like I said, very similar to the previous brew, mainly just a scale up and a yeast change. My favourite, Sauternes, so I'll be very interested to compare these 2 wines.
Recipe (3 Gallons)
4.9 Kg Blackberries
3 Kg Sugar
1.5 Teaspoon Citric Acid
2 Teaspoon Tartaric Acid
3 Teaspoons Pectolase
3 Campden Tablets (crushed)
Yeast Nutrient (Brupak)
Water to 3.8 Gallons (approx)
Yeast: Sauternes
OG came out as 1079
Wash then crush berries. Put into primary fermenting vessel. Add a couple of gallons of boiling water and 3 crushed Campden tablets and the pectolase. Stir to mix thoroughly. Cover and leave for around 24 hours.
Next day stir again, to mix it, cover and leave 24 hours or so. Next day add all the other ingredients, give it a really good sloshy, splashy stir. Measure the gravity and then adjust with more sugar and or water to your OG range. Make the total volume considerably more than 3 gallons because when you remove the pulp you'll lose a lot, and then racking etc likewise. Then add the yeast and cover. If you have excess this is good for topping up at the racking stage, keep it in a bottle with an airlock (or something improvised like filter paper secired with a rubber band). Every day stir sloshily once or twice for the next few days. After 6 days of fermenting and stirring remove the fruit pulp (with a sieve), transfer the must to secondary fermenters and fit airlocks.
I won't be able to stir this for the 3rd and 4th days of primary fermentation. So hopefully all will be well. If I get plenty of air into the must over the next 36 hours then I reckon that will be enough to keep the yeast happy. So it will bud (reproduce) and make a big healthy colony. On the 5th day it'll get a stir. I expect the ferment to be a little slower than usual, but other than that I'm hopeful no harm will be done ... that's the theory anyway! Will move to secondary on the 6th (or 7th) day.
Progress report here
Recipe (3 Gallons)
4.9 Kg Blackberries
3 Kg Sugar
1.5 Teaspoon Citric Acid
2 Teaspoon Tartaric Acid
3 Teaspoons Pectolase
3 Campden Tablets (crushed)
Yeast Nutrient (Brupak)
Water to 3.8 Gallons (approx)
Yeast: Sauternes
OG came out as 1079
Method
Wash then crush berries. Put into primary fermenting vessel. Add a couple of gallons of boiling water and 3 crushed Campden tablets and the pectolase. Stir to mix thoroughly. Cover and leave for around 24 hours.
Next day stir again, to mix it, cover and leave 24 hours or so. Next day add all the other ingredients, give it a really good sloshy, splashy stir. Measure the gravity and then adjust with more sugar and or water to your OG range. Make the total volume considerably more than 3 gallons because when you remove the pulp you'll lose a lot, and then racking etc likewise. Then add the yeast and cover. If you have excess this is good for topping up at the racking stage, keep it in a bottle with an airlock (or something improvised like filter paper secired with a rubber band). Every day stir sloshily once or twice for the next few days. After 6 days of fermenting and stirring remove the fruit pulp (with a sieve), transfer the must to secondary fermenters and fit airlocks.
Thoughts
I won't be able to stir this for the 3rd and 4th days of primary fermentation. So hopefully all will be well. If I get plenty of air into the must over the next 36 hours then I reckon that will be enough to keep the yeast happy. So it will bud (reproduce) and make a big healthy colony. On the 5th day it'll get a stir. I expect the ferment to be a little slower than usual, but other than that I'm hopeful no harm will be done ... that's the theory anyway! Will move to secondary on the 6th (or 7th) day.
Progress report here
Wednesday, 18 August 2010
More Tales of Blackberries
Tuesday afternoon I clambered onto the shed roof in the garden... for this is where the lovingly tended blackberry hangs out. And I took a picture for you all.
Nice thorns too eh! After a little time I picked about 500g of these yummy, juicy, big berries (lots of rain recently has plumped them right up). So my total haul for this year's second batch of blackberry wine is 4.9 kg. Should be enough for 3 gallons of wine. Together with the 2 gallons started last week thats not bad. Haven't frozen any blackberries this year, so I'm not sure if I'll be making a repeat of last years Blackberry & Elderberry. But if the weather and the available time works out then who knows, it may still happen.
Nice thorns too eh! After a little time I picked about 500g of these yummy, juicy, big berries (lots of rain recently has plumped them right up). So my total haul for this year's second batch of blackberry wine is 4.9 kg. Should be enough for 3 gallons of wine. Together with the 2 gallons started last week thats not bad. Haven't frozen any blackberries this year, so I'm not sure if I'll be making a repeat of last years Blackberry & Elderberry. But if the weather and the available time works out then who knows, it may still happen.
Bottling
So I bottled 2 gallons of Quickie Elderflower Wine tonight. Meaning I get to drink a glass or 2 aswell. It's really pretty good, light, delicate, bit fruity, bit of flower, medium/dry. It's 11.5% ABV, FG is 995. Nice colour too, and clear as you would expect.
And here's a gratuitous piccie of a row of bottles. Tomorrow they get heat shrink necks and laid down.
And here's a gratuitous piccie of a row of bottles. Tomorrow they get heat shrink necks and laid down.
Tuesday, 17 August 2010
More Blackberries
I revisited the favourite blackberry picking spot yesterday. Prior to setting off I made the decision not to get carried away and take ages. But when I got there I was not alone and in a flash the decision was scrapped because I thought the pickings may be limited.
After about an hour me and the other pickers met. It looked like they had a few kilos, but it was very cute, a Mum (I guess) and children. The children all with a mass of purple staining from their noses to their chins and from one cheek to the other. Very cute. They told me they were going to make pies, and my plans to make wine got some interest, tho I don't think they are converts!
Anyway, eventually bad light stopped play, so home it was. 4.5 kg of berries came from my efforts. I'll rummage about in the garden later and see what else I can find there, it'll make 3 gallons of wine. The recipe will be the same as the one below, scaled up of course, with the exception of using Sauternes yeast rather than GV1. Tho I will write it up soon enough so that it's easily found from the recipe links page.
After about an hour me and the other pickers met. It looked like they had a few kilos, but it was very cute, a Mum (I guess) and children. The children all with a mass of purple staining from their noses to their chins and from one cheek to the other. Very cute. They told me they were going to make pies, and my plans to make wine got some interest, tho I don't think they are converts!
Anyway, eventually bad light stopped play, so home it was. 4.5 kg of berries came from my efforts. I'll rummage about in the garden later and see what else I can find there, it'll make 3 gallons of wine. The recipe will be the same as the one below, scaled up of course, with the exception of using Sauternes yeast rather than GV1. Tho I will write it up soon enough so that it's easily found from the recipe links page.
Monday, 16 August 2010
Recipe; Blackberry Wine 2010 (1st Batch)
So from the Berries I foraged about a week ago, I started the first batch of this years Blackberry wine .... and here is the method and recipe
3.6 Kg Blackberries
2 Kg Sugar
1 Teaspoon Citric Acid
1 Teaspoon Tartaric Acid
2 Teaspoons Pectolase
2 Campden Tablets (crushed)
Yeast Nutrient (Brupak)
Water to 2 Gallons
Yeast: GV1
OG came out as 1077
Wash then crush berries. Put into primary fermenting vessel. Add a couple or three gallons of boiling water and 2 crushed Campden tablets. Stir to mix thoroughly. Cover and leave for around 24 hours.
Next day dissolve 2 teaspoons of pectolase in a little water and add to the must. Stir to mix it, cover and leave 24 hours or so. Next day add all the other ingredients, give it a really good sloshy, splashy stir. Then add the yeast, cover. Every day stir sloshily once or twice for the next few days. After 6 days of fermenting and stirring I removed the fruit pulp (with a sieve) and transferred the must to secondary fermenters and fitted airlocks.
Yeast: I have used GV1 yeast cos I'm trying to find others to add to my list of preferred yeasts. So this is an experiment. So far its gone ok, the ferment got going quick enough, wasn't very vigourous, and didn't foam loads. So I like it so far. If it makes a sediment that is easy to deal with (compact and not too much of it) then I'll be very pleased. If the wine pleases us then I'll have a new preferred yeast to add to my favourites. I have been using Sauternes yeast for most of my wines.
Steeping: I only added the pectolase at day 2 cos I forgot to add it at day 1. It's not a big deal, 2 days are needed to steep anyway.
Primary Fermenting: I kept my wine going on the pulp for about 6 days. before that it was steeping for a couple of days. You may not want to keep the pulp in that long. Perhaps 4 days of fermenting on the pulp would be enough. The result is likely to be a more astringent wine with longer pulp contact, due to tannin in the skins. Not entirely sure tho. I would also hope to be extracting a little more flavour from the berries. We'll have to wait and see.
Gravity: 1077 means I'll likely end up with a wine around 11-12% ABV. Should make this an easy drinking big rosé.
Progress report here
Recipe (2 gallons)
3.6 Kg Blackberries
2 Kg Sugar
1 Teaspoon Citric Acid
1 Teaspoon Tartaric Acid
2 Teaspoons Pectolase
2 Campden Tablets (crushed)
Yeast Nutrient (Brupak)
Water to 2 Gallons
Yeast: GV1
OG came out as 1077
Method
Wash then crush berries. Put into primary fermenting vessel. Add a couple or three gallons of boiling water and 2 crushed Campden tablets. Stir to mix thoroughly. Cover and leave for around 24 hours.
Next day dissolve 2 teaspoons of pectolase in a little water and add to the must. Stir to mix it, cover and leave 24 hours or so. Next day add all the other ingredients, give it a really good sloshy, splashy stir. Then add the yeast, cover. Every day stir sloshily once or twice for the next few days. After 6 days of fermenting and stirring I removed the fruit pulp (with a sieve) and transferred the must to secondary fermenters and fitted airlocks.
Thoughts
Yeast: I have used GV1 yeast cos I'm trying to find others to add to my list of preferred yeasts. So this is an experiment. So far its gone ok, the ferment got going quick enough, wasn't very vigourous, and didn't foam loads. So I like it so far. If it makes a sediment that is easy to deal with (compact and not too much of it) then I'll be very pleased. If the wine pleases us then I'll have a new preferred yeast to add to my favourites. I have been using Sauternes yeast for most of my wines.
Steeping: I only added the pectolase at day 2 cos I forgot to add it at day 1. It's not a big deal, 2 days are needed to steep anyway.
Primary Fermenting: I kept my wine going on the pulp for about 6 days. before that it was steeping for a couple of days. You may not want to keep the pulp in that long. Perhaps 4 days of fermenting on the pulp would be enough. The result is likely to be a more astringent wine with longer pulp contact, due to tannin in the skins. Not entirely sure tho. I would also hope to be extracting a little more flavour from the berries. We'll have to wait and see.
Gravity: 1077 means I'll likely end up with a wine around 11-12% ABV. Should make this an easy drinking big rosé.
Progress report here
Capacity Alert!
Just moved the blackberry wine to secondary fermentation, DJ's. Reminds me, I need to post a recipe for this brew.
Lo and behold every one of the 30-ish DJ's is full. Sounds good eh, yup it's good. But i want to brew another batch or even 2 of blackberry wine, and maybe even mix some elderberries in. and then maybe do a second run brew on one of them as it turned out so good last year.
So I'd better do some bottling soon. There is Green Tea & Ginger ready to bottle, also maybe some Quickie Elderflower. Stay tuned for updates!
Lo and behold every one of the 30-ish DJ's is full. Sounds good eh, yup it's good. But i want to brew another batch or even 2 of blackberry wine, and maybe even mix some elderberries in. and then maybe do a second run brew on one of them as it turned out so good last year.
So I'd better do some bottling soon. There is Green Tea & Ginger ready to bottle, also maybe some Quickie Elderflower. Stay tuned for updates!
Tuesday, 10 August 2010
A "How to" Video by Critter Wines
I mentioned a few days ago that I had made a vid and posted it and would get it linked or embedded here. Well here it is. This one is making wine using fruit juice, it's really easy to make and the vid is aimed at novices with lots of extra info that you don't need but may find interesting anyway.
If the vid doesn't work then here's the link to You-Tube (exactly the same vid)
If the vid doesn't work then here's the link to You-Tube (exactly the same vid)
More Than Taking Piccies
Today I spent a fair amount of time getting the kitchen organised for doing some brewing stuff with the Blackberry Wine. Then I went and checked my notes and saw that I needed to leave it another 24 hours steeping. So I just threw in some Pectolase, stirred it in and covered the wine up again. Which meant I had an evening "off". So I recorded some clips for vid I'm making for this type of wine (pulp fermentation).
Prior to that I picked some blackberries from the bramble we're cultivating in the garden.
Prior to that I picked some blackberries from the bramble we're cultivating in the garden.
A Cool Tool
Here's a cool thing, thank you muchly Mrs Critter Wines! Its a lemon squeezer. Doesn't work too well for the huge lemons you see sometimes, but anything normal size and it's the business. Just the ticket for making a citrus wine with.
Monday, 9 August 2010
Blackberry Wine
Today I went blackberry picking. In our favourite spot by the river, cul-de-sac so very little traffic. Forgot to take any piccies (sorry). Anyway I got 3.5 kg of berries in 2.5 hours, and despite being careful also got a number of nettle stings. So that's enough berries for 2 gallons of wine.
There were still heaps of berries left that hadn't ripened yet, so I'll be back there soon. Not sure whether to do a mixed blackberry & elderberry with them, or do another straight blackberry but vary the yeast only to learn a little something.
While picking I found this bush with berries/currants on it. Anyone know what it is?
I'm pretty sure it's not blueberry, the leaves come off the branches opposite each other (not staggered). Didn't check for sap or the smell of crushed leaves. The berries themselves were full of juice/pulp - green/yellow - and seeds.
There were still heaps of berries left that hadn't ripened yet, so I'll be back there soon. Not sure whether to do a mixed blackberry & elderberry with them, or do another straight blackberry but vary the yeast only to learn a little something.
While picking I found this bush with berries/currants on it. Anyone know what it is?
I'm pretty sure it's not blueberry, the leaves come off the branches opposite each other (not staggered). Didn't check for sap or the smell of crushed leaves. The berries themselves were full of juice/pulp - green/yellow - and seeds.
Saturday, 7 August 2010
Just Drinking
Are you ready for a piccie free ramble .... hmm, since I last wrote the only brewing I have done has been drinking. Well ok, let's call it quality control or product assessment or something fancy like that!
A couple of nights ago I had Green Tea & Ginger wine. Delicious wine, and it's always a pleasure to say "thank you" to Mrs Critter Wines for inspiring me to make it. It's one of our favourites. I really should save it for eating with spicy food, but as I made 5 gallons this time I reckon I can indulge myself from time to time (as the brewer: for a surprise inspection - ensuring quality - at any time I want to). And I've also taken to making quickie wines (for example this, and this, and this) which have enabled us ... hmmm me I confess, to keep the good stuff longer.
Tonight I popped open a bottle of almost 2 year old rice 'n' raisin wine. This is a CJJ Berry recipe. Look him up on amazon for books. He's great for novice brewers and ideas, not perfect tho mainly 'cos of being a pioneer so his recipes are a bit outdated. His wines tend to be strong and sweet, so simply cut back on his sugar additions if this is not your style. Anyway, this wine is not sweet, but it is strong. And WHOOOAAA has a few months made a difference. It now has a wonderful texture, almost oily, very smooth, kinda silky. And there is no harshness left. But it is still obviously strong. Luckily there's plenty to the wine, bodywise, so it can carry this strength and be a very warming wine. I think there is only one bottle left now. Dunno when that will get opened but chances are it'll me who drinks it cos I don't think it's Mrs Critter Wines cup o' tea at all.
A couple of nights ago I had Green Tea & Ginger wine. Delicious wine, and it's always a pleasure to say "thank you" to Mrs Critter Wines for inspiring me to make it. It's one of our favourites. I really should save it for eating with spicy food, but as I made 5 gallons this time I reckon I can indulge myself from time to time (as the brewer: for a surprise inspection - ensuring quality - at any time I want to). And I've also taken to making quickie wines (for example this, and this, and this) which have enabled us ... hmmm me I confess, to keep the good stuff longer.
Tonight I popped open a bottle of almost 2 year old rice 'n' raisin wine. This is a CJJ Berry recipe. Look him up on amazon for books. He's great for novice brewers and ideas, not perfect tho mainly 'cos of being a pioneer so his recipes are a bit outdated. His wines tend to be strong and sweet, so simply cut back on his sugar additions if this is not your style. Anyway, this wine is not sweet, but it is strong. And WHOOOAAA has a few months made a difference. It now has a wonderful texture, almost oily, very smooth, kinda silky. And there is no harshness left. But it is still obviously strong. Luckily there's plenty to the wine, bodywise, so it can carry this strength and be a very warming wine. I think there is only one bottle left now. Dunno when that will get opened but chances are it'll me who drinks it cos I don't think it's Mrs Critter Wines cup o' tea at all.
Wednesday, 4 August 2010
I'm a Video Producer
Wow, I just uploaded the finished vid on making Blueberry & Cranberry Wine (and other similar wines). Took a whole heap of editing, compressing, uploading etc. But it's now on youtube. I'm just waiting for some critical feedback and then I'll post the link, It's also uploaded here. So stay tuned.
Blueberry & Cranberry Progress
The Blueberry & Cranberry quickie rosé is coming along nicely. Transferred it to secondary fermentation stage yesterday. I'm quite impressed with the Gervin D yeast; it was indeed quick starting and low foaming. The final test will be the taste test, oh and it would also be nice if the sediment was nice and compact at racking. All being well this will add a yeast to my favourite Sauternes, which means I'll be better able to match the yeast to the desired product.
and a piccie of the 3 happy yeast biospheres ... the one in the background is the blackberry kit.
and a piccie of the 3 happy yeast biospheres ... the one in the background is the blackberry kit.