Beer and Winemaking

2cats1kid

Started off a batch of the herbal tea bag wine now. They are cranberry, strawberry and raspberry, so hopefully that will turn out nice too. I think I'm getting quite keen on this malarkey!

Bongedone

2cats1kid wrote: »

Started off a batch of the herbal tea bag wine now. They are cranberry, strawberry and raspberry, so hopefully that will turn out nice too. I think I'm getting quite keen on this malarkey!

I cannot see how that would work. The idea of using fruit is for the natural sugar to ferment and the nutrients to feed the yeast. Herbal tea has none of the elements required to make wine. You could maybe make a strained tea mixture and add it to a fruit juice to ferment.

Tell us how it goes.

2cats1kid

I've used the recipe earlier in the thread and there is a kg of sugar in there too. The tea bags are giving the colour/flavour. Anyway, it's plopping away happily already so something is happening.

Bongedone

2cats1kid wrote: »

I've used the recipe earlier in the thread and there is a kg of sugar in there too. The tea bags are giving the colour/flavour. Anyway, it's plopping away happily already so something is happening.

Interesting to see what it comes out like. I just noticed the recipe has nutrient added.

2cats1kid

Yup, I figured it's a low cost/low effort one, so if it is rough there's no great loss. All else fails, it's drain cleaner LOL, but the PP who posted the recipe reckoned it was decent. I'm using it as a way to keep the demi john busy till the rosehips are ripe (sits on hands - need to be patient).

JohnCGibbs

You will generally find that most if not all recipes for wine will always say to make one gallon of wine you need to add the initial ingredient 2 lbs of whatever fruit.
With fruit that has it's own natural yeast on the skinn like plums, damsons grapes etc. is towash them first in warm water which kills that natural yeast and it doesn't taint the flavour of the wine, believe me it does. Pour over a kettle full of boiling water onto the fruit, leave to cool, then add pectin enzyme generally one teaspoon to a gallon of wine. This helps break down the fruit, firstly though, you should mash the fruit and remove all the stones.
Also add a squeeze of lemon juice,and a crushed camden tablet, mainly to stop the fruit pulp oxidizing, turning brown over night and to ward of those evil wine vinigar flies. If you prefer it add a a level tsp of citric acid does the same job and not so messy. Following day, , one teaspoonful of yeasy nutrient, and one teaspoonfull of wine yeast, general purpose yeast is as good as any.
Also being a purist I add a small can of grape juice concentrate otherwise you cannot really call it wine without grapes being involved somewhere along the line. ferment on the solids for about 5 to 7 days stirring the must daily two or three times, initially the fruit pulp will rise to form a crust at the top of the liquid, thats why it pays to stir alot. Once you notice the puolp not forming to much on the top, is the time to strain the liquid in to a sterile demijohn, or five gallon fermentain bin pending on the quantity you are making. Add the sugar generally 2lb or metric equiv. stir in and then top up the demijohn to a level about 3/4's to allow for a strong fermintation, top up to high and the bubblesut of the fermentaion lock over the floor if you are not careful. once you see a decline in bubble layer, then top up a little more but use only cold boiled water at this stage of the process. The pursits will take hydromiter readings and then kill the fermentation at a specific reading. I just have a taste to see how sweet it is, when I am satisfied on the sweetness, more leaning towards the medium to dry, I stop the fermentation by adding two crushed camden tablets, giving it a shake and allowing to settle in a cold enviroment. When you see that all of the sediment that was shaken up has settled, then I sypon off the top liquid into a steril demijohn, and as I said in a previous post, I pour the remainder into a demijohn that all ready has previous pouring of other wine musts. Don't forget to add a crushed camden tablet to the racked wine aswell as the saved must. Helps in the clearintg process and pre serves the wine.
:beer:

Purple_Sparkles

I made some blackberry wine last year from scratch and it's been maturing for about a year, time for me to taste me thinks :beer: