yrhendystu
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- Joined
- Aug 18, 2020
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I think that's what you could call it, or maybe a hard blackberry soda.
I've been picking blackberries whilst walking the dog, blending them when I get home and then freezing them. I have around 7 litres. There's plenty more nearby so I could likely fill a bucket in a few hours but I'm not a wine fan plus all the recipes I've read mention how long the clearing takes. I also have an apple tree and have a small batch of cider on the go which doesn't look like it's going great so the other 2L of juice from my apples I have in the freezer will go in with the blackberries.
So here's my plan and yes, it'll probably sound crazy and maybe offend some people, but then I read some of you make wine from tea bags so I figure you'll have an open mind (I was actually looking at the tea section in Lidl today with that in mind). When my latest Cooper's lager kit is done I'll save the slurry to use as a starter. I'll pour the defrosted juices into the bucket and add some pectolase and a campden tablet. I've read the pectolase helps release the juice and the campden will kill off any wild yeasts.
I'll leave it for a day and then I can add the yeast starter. But I also use a 5 gallon bucket so will need to top it up. This is where the plan gets crazier. I'll top it up with Lidl's full fat premium lemonade as I've had some good results using this as a base for some low strength ginger beers. Just using the sugar in the pop will give you around 2.3% which will likely be less than the sugar in the juices. I know my apples came in at around 1028 OG when I tested another batch. No idea what the blackberries are but I'll guess they'll be less than the apples. I figure I'll be after something around 5% so will add sugar. Anything over 4.5% should be fine as priming will boost it. I'm hoping to make something my other half will like.
Once the bubbling slows I can rack the wine to remove a lot of the **** that has settled at the bottom and leave it ferment a bit longer, maybe add some extra sugar if needed. I'm open to advice on any additions you think would help. I've read mentions of adding strong black tea for tannins etc. Also should I heat the juice up before adding the pectolase and campden? What about cheese cloth or muslin for filtering, is that a thing people do? And will I need to add additional campdens before bottling?
I've been picking blackberries whilst walking the dog, blending them when I get home and then freezing them. I have around 7 litres. There's plenty more nearby so I could likely fill a bucket in a few hours but I'm not a wine fan plus all the recipes I've read mention how long the clearing takes. I also have an apple tree and have a small batch of cider on the go which doesn't look like it's going great so the other 2L of juice from my apples I have in the freezer will go in with the blackberries.
So here's my plan and yes, it'll probably sound crazy and maybe offend some people, but then I read some of you make wine from tea bags so I figure you'll have an open mind (I was actually looking at the tea section in Lidl today with that in mind). When my latest Cooper's lager kit is done I'll save the slurry to use as a starter. I'll pour the defrosted juices into the bucket and add some pectolase and a campden tablet. I've read the pectolase helps release the juice and the campden will kill off any wild yeasts.
I'll leave it for a day and then I can add the yeast starter. But I also use a 5 gallon bucket so will need to top it up. This is where the plan gets crazier. I'll top it up with Lidl's full fat premium lemonade as I've had some good results using this as a base for some low strength ginger beers. Just using the sugar in the pop will give you around 2.3% which will likely be less than the sugar in the juices. I know my apples came in at around 1028 OG when I tested another batch. No idea what the blackberries are but I'll guess they'll be less than the apples. I figure I'll be after something around 5% so will add sugar. Anything over 4.5% should be fine as priming will boost it. I'm hoping to make something my other half will like.
Once the bubbling slows I can rack the wine to remove a lot of the **** that has settled at the bottom and leave it ferment a bit longer, maybe add some extra sugar if needed. I'm open to advice on any additions you think would help. I've read mentions of adding strong black tea for tannins etc. Also should I heat the juice up before adding the pectolase and campden? What about cheese cloth or muslin for filtering, is that a thing people do? And will I need to add additional campdens before bottling?