Carrot Top Wine

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bevo

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I grew some carrots last year and thought well I won't waste the leaves.
They smelled fragrant so I boiled them up and used the juice.
I added some raisins to give it some body and it turned out great.
A nice sweet white wine with a hint of carrot taste.
Just thought I would mention it as it is not something I had thought of using before but I will in the future!!
 
i've never heard of this country wine, a first for me on this forum i think?

sounds like you did a good job with it, grats. are you gonna do it again, would be great to have a brewday of it if you are.
 
Ok guys. I am new to all this homebrewing and no expert.
I made up the recipe as I hate wasting anything!!!
This is what I did.

Boiled about 6-8oz of carrot leaves in a gallon of water.
Added 6oz of chopped raisins to this mixture when it was still hot.
Added 1 crushed campden tablet when it had cooled.
Left this mixture covered with a tea towel for about 3 days.
This let the carrot flavour infuse in the water.
The leaves have quite a lot of aroma and taste.
Strained the mixture to get rid of the leaves / raisins on the fourth day.
Added 2 KG of sugar and yeast.
Let it brew for 7 days and then racked it off.
Brewed out until the S.G. was 1005.
Added another campden tablet.
Racked off again and left to clear.
It did not take much clearing at all.
Bottled it and left it for about 3 months.
It produced a nice sweet desert type wine.
Not bad for something most people chuck in the bin!!!!
Give it a go if you get chance and let me know what you think.
I assume it is best with fresh carrots (out of the garden) as they will have the most flavour.
Not sure if it would work if the carrots have been picked and stored for a while.


I have also done elderflower, elderberry and blackberry in my first year of brewing.
Very impressed with the blackberry. I did a sweet and a dry version. Both are nice.
I think I put too much elderflower in the recipe I used as the flower taste is a bit too strong. The recipe I found stated a pint of flowers to a gallon. I think I will try with half this amount next time.

Anyway, try it if you can!!!
Cheers Bevo
 
that's a really neat and simply recipe/method. No nutrient or acids needed? a great one for a beginner to try. And i don't know if i ever seen a sweet carrot wine recipe, but even a momentary thought about it and it makes sense .... carrot cake is yummy!

i made a blackberry wine last year too, was my best brew of the year, definately going to repeat it. Didnt get any elderberries locally tho so couldn't make that. Brewstew did an elderberry tho and make a forum brewday for it. iirc he returns to it from time to time with updates on how the wine is tasting after a couple more months conditioning. it'll be worth your while to check it out if you still have some left. The flavour seems to markedly improve after a few months, again iirc.
 
Hello Percival,
I didn't add any acids. Just a bit of yeast nutrient as I recall.
I was impressed with the final wine.

I managed to pick some elderberries locally.
My wife and I spent ages getting the berries off the stems.
I read that the stems actually contain cyanide so you don't want to brew that!!!
Not sure if this is true.

The elderberry wine is a really deep strong flavour.
I am wondering whether to try mixing a finished elderberry and a blackberry wine to see what that tastes like.
Could I just mix 2 bottles before serving it?????

I am also brewing a Kenridge Cabernet Sauvignion. Has anyone done this?
I have done quite a few California connoisseur kits and they seem quite good but the reds seem to lack a bit of body. I am hoping the extra grape juice in the Kenridge kit improves this.
Bevo
 
I wouldn't blend a wine that i'm happy with (such as your blackberry) to try to improve another one that i'm not that keen on.

here's the link to the thread i mentioned (brewstew's elderberry wine)
viewtopic.php?f=39&t=332

if you scroll almost to the end then you'll see what he has to say about time helping out. Personally that's the route i would take, give it more time. If you want to try blending then the way to go would be to try it with wines with opposite 'problems' that you probably won't drink as they are. I haven't got into blending myself tho, so really can't say more than that.

i don't know about elderberry stalks containing cyanide. Its not uncommon tho, almonds for example contain a natural cyanide. The concern isn't so much about it poisoning you, its more that the taste is strong. It's generally a good idea to avoid stalks anyway .... trickier with elders than most other brewing ingredients!

one of the things (and there many!) that i enjoy about country wines is matching the wine to the occasion, and getting the serving temperature right. A lot of this comes down to personal tastes and nothing more complicated than that. If your elderberry doesn't improve with time (which would surprise me) then it may be the perfect accompaniment to a robust meaty dish, a curry, a BBQ etc.
 

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