Damson (in Distress) Port

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earthwormgaz

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I got a load of damsons off my Grandma at the weekend, and we googled and found a recipe to make Damson Port.

The Mrs loves port anyway, so we're trying it.

1 gallon boiling water
1 lb sugar
1 lb damsons

It says to wash the damsons, then put them in a fermenting bucket with the boiling water. To leave them for 14 days, mashing them up every day with a bit spoon.

Then, to strain them through a "jelly bag" twice (I suppose that means "jam bag" to us) whatever one of those is, then to add the sugar and leave for another 14 days.

Does anyone think this will work? It must be relying on natural yeasts, is that ever going to get up to 14% or whatever port is?
 
Just looking at my old notes from back in the day I did an elderberry port which in actual fact had as much damson than elderberry.

per gallon

2lb damsons
2lb elderberry
2lb blackberry
1lb raisins
1 tsp pectinase
2lb of sugar

very heavy on the fruit and will take a good couple of years to fully mature but by god it is mighty fine.
 
earthwormgaz said:
Does anyone think this will work? It must be relying on natural yeasts, is that ever going to get up to 14% or whatever port is?
That will give you a gallon of dishwater, around 6% abv if you are lucky.

I like the sound of GA's recipe though :thumb:
 
Balls, I'll order some port yeast and see if I can forage a few of lbs of blackberry's to go in. Hopefully that'll save it.

Here's the recipe as I found it, it'll definately not work then?

You could always do a damson port.

4ib damsons
4ib sugar
1 gallon of boiling water


Pour boiling water over the damsons.
leave for 10 days stirring and squeezing them each day.
then run the mixture through a jelly bag and afterwards strain twice with out squeezing(this will save a lot of time later).
add sugar to the strained liquid and stir untill it dissolves.
Add a teacup full of boling water to raise the temperture and leave to forment for 14 days.
skim and bottle
corking it very loosely.

From here - http://chat.allotment.org.uk/index.php? ... ;topicseen
 
Its the volume of fruit which will give the port its body if you skip on it you will end up with very strong table wine not port.

I use to throw in water ever was to hand but you do need 6+ lbs of fruit. I have added apples and black currants before now or add more elderberry. The easiest thing to do would be to go a pick a a couple of pounds of elderberies the elderberries will add much needed tanin as well.

I wish I could make some my self but I can no longer find a damson tree and even elderberries seem thin on the ground for the second year running. But I will hopefully get 10lb of elderberries for my elderberry stout :twisted: :twisted: to do later next month.

Alistair
 
Good stuff, I'll go and get some blackberries and elderberries later then.

Do I need port yeast, or will one of the wine ones do? The online place I use is sold out of the port yeast.
 
graysalchemy said:
and even elderberries seem thin on the ground for the second year running.
Well stop looking on the ground, they grow on trees ;)

I thought they were looking particularly abundant this year. Although my two main sources look like they still need another week or two, I mostly filled a 5 gallon FV yesterday in under 5 minutes, and have stripped, washed, skimmed and frozen 8 lbs this morning before breakfast.
 
The ones I have found are small and many of them are dried which is surprising since we have had no summer to speak of.
 
earthwormgaz said:
Balls, I'll order some port yeast and see if I can forage a few of lbs of blackberry's to go in. Hopefully that'll save it.

Here's the recipe as I found it, it'll definately not work then?

You could always do a damson port.

4ib damsons
4ib sugar
1 gallon of boiling water


Pour boiling water over the damsons.
leave for 10 days stirring and squeezing them each day.
then run the mixture through a jelly bag and afterwards strain twice with out squeezing(this will save a lot of time later).
add sugar to the strained liquid and stir untill it dissolves.
Add a teacup full of boling water to raise the temperture and leave to forment for 14 days.
skim and bottle
corking it very loosely.

From here - http://chat.allotment.org.uk/index.php? ... ;topicseen

The recipe posted on that gardening forum came from p. 47 of 'Home Made Wine Secrets' by Peggy Hutchinson and was written in the 1930's before the days of decent yeasts, pectin destroying enzymes and campden tablets. Most recipes from those days make 1.5 gallons as that was the size of the stoneware jugs used to make them in (and sanitised with hot soda water).

My books (on the left is a 1936 first edition) :

peggy-1.jpg


N.B. With sugar bulking + juice from the damsons + sugar in the fruit, together with the water and sugar you added I reckon you've got about 3lbs 7ozs of sugar in the gallon. That's far too much sugar!
 
It is actually a grape spirit called aguardente and if any of you have had the opportunity to taste it you will know it is definitely not brandy :sick: :sick: . Its purpose is to stop fermentation and leave a little sweetness as well as adding some alcohol.

I have never found that I needed to add brandy I have always ended up with a strong wine which after maturing in demijohns and bottles makes a lovely rounded fortified (or not) wine. Ageing is the key especially if you are using any elderberry. I have got one bottle which is 18yrs old and what I am drinking at the moment is probably 10 yrs old.
 
I've always fortified by tipping a bottle of cheap brandy into a DJ then filling right up to the neck with approx 18% ABV 'port' style wine and leaving for a few years, then sweetening just before bottling, the oldest being 2005.
 
I'll be fortifying mine with cypriot brandy just before i bottle mine in a month or so, not 100% sure how much yet - will have to research it a bit i think. But no brandy here - have to wait until i do a visa trip next month to get in the xmas shorts :thumb:
 
I keep on missing appropriate moments to drink my 18 yr old port, 30th, getting married, birth of kids (always topped off with a malt), 40th............

So someone suggested my 50th which sounds a good idea as it will be 26 yrs old. I then thought a nice bit of stilton would go nicely with it but it would obviously have to be homemade :hmm: :hmm:

Anyone know how to make stilton :lol: :lol:
 
Is it usually possible to pick blackberries, elderberries and damsons on the same day, or is the calendar out of kilter this year?

Blackberries have just about finished but there are still some to be had, elderberries are just about perfect but damsons seem disappointing.

I've got a few sources for damsons, but one of them is just a 5 minute walk from my place of employment. I only get a 30 minute lunch break (20 minutes picking time) but I gathered that crop today and will not be returning for more. Last year it took a few visits. I'm certain no-one else had been at them before me.

Anyway, I've just started 1 gallon to GA's recipe.
 
Things are wierd this year! Elderberries still have flowers on some of them yet others have dried out, blackberries are about the size of peas, damsons and bullace appear to have quite a patchy crop with some having loads and others hardly any as with sloes, some of which are ready now and some only just turned from green. With the elderberries it makes a big difference what the aspect of the bush is, south facing dried out, north facing still green als o those near a stream have berries about twice the size of those on drier ground. Im really struggling for blackberries an dmay have to resort to buying them :eek:
 
Moley said:
Anyway, I've just started 1 gallon to GA's recipe.

I am flattered that some one of such standing on this forum has chosen to do one of my recipes :party: :party:

I hope it turns out OK

Alistair
 
Ok, cut the **** :nono:

I've never made anything quite like that, and the recipe sounded pretty interesting, although that's one helluva lot of fruit to the gallon.

So what's your method?

I've poured boiling water over the berries, then thrown in the raisins and damsons after it had cooled down a bit. All fruit had been washed in sulphited water but I've still given it a squirt of SodMet solution (equivalent to 1 CT) and left it overnight. This morning I have stirred and squished and added the pectolase. Tonight I will add yeast & nutrient.

I'm guessing 7-10 days in the bucket?

What sugar do you add and when? Ever tried demerara? How about a small jar of honey?

I've just done the sugar calcs and I make that 5 litres @ 1.135 or 1 gallon @ 1.148

I'm thinking start with 5 litres @ 1.140 and rack to a gallon later (so no topping up / dilution required).
 
ok Moley I used to bung everything in a bucket mash all the fruit and ferment on the pulp for 7-10 days. The only thing I would say is that I would pulverise the raisins in a blender first to make a very sticky paste. I used normal white sugar but would back sweeten when it had matured with demerara sugar, but demerara would be an excellent addition. I also used a port or champagne yeast because of the alcohol leval.

It will take some time to mature because of all that elderberry. Mind you I have found that tannin levals in elderberry vary year to year which I suppose would stand to reason, some years elderberry wines mature quicker than other years.

Good luck with it I hope it turns out OK :thumb: :thumb:

Alistair
 
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