:!: Well day one of my first Wow, got myself some juice.
Aldi juice
Followed Moleys recipe best I could, Used two litres of juice 900 grams of sugar, water up to the shoulder of the DJ and some Pectolase, Champane yeast, and gave the whole lot a good shake ( everything sterilised of course )
This is what it looks like, Its bubbling already after 45 minuets.
Now its time to wait for the magic to take place ( Will keep anyone that's interested updated as I go along)
Day 2
Forgot to put in yeast nutrient last night, so I put it in this morning. Seems to have developed a big frothy head, Moley says to give it a swirl once a day to get the bits circulating so I have rocked my baby this evening. By the way the brew temperature is a fairly constant 20 Celsius.
Day 3
As you can see The wow has changed in just one day, the froth on top has gone and it has turned into a kind of snow globe with the bits rising and falling. The airlock is burping 3 times a second and the smell is nice around the airlock, thinking now about topping it up with bottled water to the neck.
Day 4
Should have listened to Moley topped up with bottled water today right up to the neck all in one go instead of doing it in stages over a few days.Now its gone savage, as you can see the Wow is trying to escape and has integrated its self with the water in the airlock. ( lesson learnt )
I will change the airlock tomorrow if it has calmed down, that's if it is still in the DJ in the morning as it may have decided that it is better of in the teacloth that I have had to place under it than in the hands of a novice that wouldn't listen.
Day 5
Its day 5 and it is still going like a steam train, I thought I would show you what has formed at the bottom I hope this is normal? as it seems a lot.
The smell from around the airlock has changed from a very fragrant whiff to a more alcoholic smell, but not unpleasant.
As this is my first Wow and only my third brew I would be grateful for any advice or tips.
Day 6
Day 6 has seen more dearly departed yeasties going to their final resting place at the bottom of the DJ, still seems quite a lot to me but apparently this is normal. The bubbling in the airlock has definitely slowed down, so I expect by the end of the week the fermentation will be over then the waiting game begins.
Day 7
The hydrometer hit the floor of the DJ, so I think I may have a nice little drink on my hands.
As you can see the reading shows 0.998 ish, the airlock has slowed right down to a burp every 5 seconds or so.
Day 8
Well that's it for a few weeks I can only wait, the airlock has stopped burping and the hydrometer reading I took yesterday indicates the fermentation stage is over. The next stage is to let it sit for a few weeks and let the yeasties clean up after themselves, then the next part begins clearing, stabilising, and bottling. I will post new pictures as I go through that process as a reference for anyone making their first Wow. As a disclaimer this is my first Wow and only my third brew, I post these pictures in the hope they may help someone who is making their first batch of Wurzels, but what happened in my DJ may not happen in yours.( good luck )
Back again, a few weeks have gone by and the Wow has cleared quite nicely on its own. Now its time to rack it and add the chemicals.
Before racking into new DJ, it has cleared quite well after 2 weeks.
The chemicals I used, Campten tablets stun the yeast among other things, the potassium sorbate newter the yeast and the bentonite clear the wine.
Picture taken after racking, it looks worse than when I started it will hopefully clear over the next few days. As you can see the bentonite has sort of coagulated on the bottom of the DJ, I am not sure if this is normal but we will see. By the way I filled up the DJ to the neck after racking with bottled water and added 10 glucose drops to sweeten the wine up a bit.
As I am only chronicling my attempt at a WOW and am no expert I think it only fare to point you in the direction of the concise guide by Moley, so here is the link http://www.thehomebrewforum.co.uk/v...s as a cheeky sample. Review ( fcuking good )
Followed Moleys recipe best I could, Used two litres of juice 900 grams of sugar, water up to the shoulder of the DJ and some Pectolase, Champane yeast, and gave the whole lot a good shake ( everything sterilised of course )
This is what it looks like, Its bubbling already after 45 minuets.
Now its time to wait for the magic to take place ( Will keep anyone that's interested updated as I go along)
Day 2
Forgot to put in yeast nutrient last night, so I put it in this morning. Seems to have developed a big frothy head, Moley says to give it a swirl once a day to get the bits circulating so I have rocked my baby this evening. By the way the brew temperature is a fairly constant 20 Celsius.
Day 3
As you can see The wow has changed in just one day, the froth on top has gone and it has turned into a kind of snow globe with the bits rising and falling. The airlock is burping 3 times a second and the smell is nice around the airlock, thinking now about topping it up with bottled water to the neck.
Day 4
Should have listened to Moley topped up with bottled water today right up to the neck all in one go instead of doing it in stages over a few days.Now its gone savage, as you can see the Wow is trying to escape and has integrated its self with the water in the airlock. ( lesson learnt )
I will change the airlock tomorrow if it has calmed down, that's if it is still in the DJ in the morning as it may have decided that it is better of in the teacloth that I have had to place under it than in the hands of a novice that wouldn't listen.
Day 5
Its day 5 and it is still going like a steam train, I thought I would show you what has formed at the bottom I hope this is normal? as it seems a lot.
The smell from around the airlock has changed from a very fragrant whiff to a more alcoholic smell, but not unpleasant.
As this is my first Wow and only my third brew I would be grateful for any advice or tips.
Day 6
Day 6 has seen more dearly departed yeasties going to their final resting place at the bottom of the DJ, still seems quite a lot to me but apparently this is normal. The bubbling in the airlock has definitely slowed down, so I expect by the end of the week the fermentation will be over then the waiting game begins.
Day 7
The hydrometer hit the floor of the DJ, so I think I may have a nice little drink on my hands.
As you can see the reading shows 0.998 ish, the airlock has slowed right down to a burp every 5 seconds or so.
Day 8
Well that's it for a few weeks I can only wait, the airlock has stopped burping and the hydrometer reading I took yesterday indicates the fermentation stage is over. The next stage is to let it sit for a few weeks and let the yeasties clean up after themselves, then the next part begins clearing, stabilising, and bottling. I will post new pictures as I go through that process as a reference for anyone making their first Wow. As a disclaimer this is my first Wow and only my third brew, I post these pictures in the hope they may help someone who is making their first batch of Wurzels, but what happened in my DJ may not happen in yours.( good luck )
Back again, a few weeks have gone by and the Wow has cleared quite nicely on its own. Now its time to rack it and add the chemicals.
As I am only chronicling my attempt at a WOW and am no expert I think it only fare to point you in the direction of the concise guide by Moley, so here is the link http://www.thehomebrewforum.co.uk/v...s as a cheeky sample. Review ( fcuking good )
