New to Homebrew - Ginger wine question?

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sugarplum

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Hi, I've just started out making wine and have decided to make some ginger wine. I have followed a recipe and have my ingredients in a lidded bucket which needs to be left for 10 days and stirred daily. My question is, isn't there a risk of unwanted bacteria/yeasts getting in if i'm removing the lid and stirring it?
Any replies/advice would be appreciated:smile:
 
Definitely a chance of infection by stirring everyday, I'd leave it to ferment out dry (or stabilize to your taste). I've got one on the go also, but I've pitched the wrong yeast :doh:, it is getting there...slowly. I'd be interested in your recipe, could you share it? Oh, and welcome, the forum's a great place for advice. :hat:
 
Thanks for your welcome and reply :).
What do you mean by leaving it to ferment out dry? (Very new to this!) Should I not leave it 10 days before putting a demijohn?

This the recipe I'm using (from lowcostliving.co.uk)
Ingredients for hot ginger wine recipe

2 to 4 oz Root Ginger
2 Oranges
2 Lemons
½ lb Raisins, chopped
3½ lb Demerara Sugar
1 Gallon Water
Wine Yeast
Yeast Nutrient
Method for hot ginger wine recipe

Zest and juice the oranges and lemons. Roughly chop the raisins. Put all into a lidded wine bucket.

Grate and crush the ginger, place in a pan with the sugar and water. Bring to the boil stirring to dissolve the sugar and simmer for half an hour. Keep the water topped up to the gallon if it reduces.

Pour the hot water onto the zest and raisins in the wine bucket and stir. Leave to cool.

When the temperature has fallen to 20°C add the yeast and yeast nutrient. Leave in a warm place for 10 days with the lid on, stirring daily.

Strain off into a demijohn, fit the airlock and leave in a warm place to ferment.

Once its finished fermenting, rack off and taste. If it’s not sweet enough add a little more sugar or even dark honey. Leave under the airlock for a week and then stop with a Campden tablet if necessary prior to bottling.


Thanks again!
 
To ferment out dry means, when there is no more sugar for the yeast. My recipe is similar but I've also used WGJ( white grape juice) and chillis. Post your recipe in the recipe section.


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Another question please :lol:

I have the ginger/lemons/orange etc mixture in a sterilised plastic bucket (from an old unused wine making kit). Should I seal the lid tight or leave it loose for escape of gases? There's no hole for putting an airlock. Does it only need to be sealed with an airlock when I strain it into a demijohn?

That should be the last question today!!
 
I also consider myself novice but -

Most important thing is to make sure all your equipment is sterilised properly. If you then use a large plastic spoon for example to stir the must daily then you should not have too many problems.

As for the lid, some buckets seal quite tightly, others not so tight. Best bet is to press the lid into place on either side but not all the way around. That way, gases can escape but hopefully no nasties can get in.

Just my novice opinion as nobody else was around! :whistle:
 
I've just noticed it states use a Campden tablet to stop fermentation, that's incorrect, you need potassium sorbate.


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I've just noticed it states use a Campden tablet to stop fermentation, that's incorrect, you need potassium sorbate.


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Spot on, i have just said the same in his recipe thread - http://www.thehomebrewforum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=66344


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Thanks for posting your recipe and guide, the last line is slightly misleading and could lead to problems -

Once its finished fermenting, rack off and taste. If it’s not sweet enough add a little more sugar or even dark honey. Leave under the airlock for a week and then stop with a Campden tablet if necessary prior to bottling.

We don't use Campden tablets to stop fermentation as they only stun the yeast you need to add wine stabiliser (fermentation stopper) to stop fermentation and make sure it is safe to bottle.


When we rack, we add oxygen to the wine and expose it to airborne microorgamisms we’d rather keep out of the wine. This causes the wine to oxidize if antioxidants are not present to prevent it from happening. SO2 is a powerful antioxidant but it dissipates over time, so we add more Campden to the wine when we rack to prevent oxidation. The same antioxidant protects the wine from airborne bacteria and molds.

Campden-500.jpg
stopper-500x500.jpg
 
Vinotinto, thanks for the advice. I've done as you recommended :)

Rockuronium, thanks for pointing that error out! I would have been very upset if I'd messed it up!
 
Chippy_Tea thank you for pointing it out in the recipe I posted. I'm very glad I've found this forum! :)
 
Glad we could help, you would be surprised how many times recipes suggest using campden tablets to kill the yeast, it is something we see here fairly regularly.
 
There should be absolutely no problem with stiring the must everyday as the recipe suggest.
Just make sure your hands and spoon etc are cleaned and sanitised and you should be fine

Oh and your recipe lists no Pectolase this may not be required but you may want to add some next time to aid in flavour extraction and eliminating Pectic haze from happening
 
There should be absolutely no problem with stiring the must everyday as the recipe suggest.
Just make sure your hands and spoon etc are cleaned and sanitised and you should be fine

Oh and your recipe lists no Pectolase this may not be required but you may want to add some next time to aid in flavour extraction and eliminating Pectic haze from happening

Thanks :smile:

Is it too late to add the pectolase now? I'm about half way through the 10 days stirring daily!
 
You can add now. Will still work if it's still has ingredients in, not as effectively if must has been removed, but will still work.
 
Can I ask, what does stirring do? I had the belief that you should have as little contact with the wine/beer as possible, i.e. fruit flies, wild yeast as potential contaminants.


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Depends on the situation if there is fruit etc in the fermentation bucket stiring will help extract the juice from said ingredients and stop it from drying out
You can also put fruit in straining bag so they can be squeezed daily
Stiring daily will also help degas the carbon dioxide produced by yeast which is poisonous to them this helps the firmentation especially for hard to ferment musts like mead
 
I've got another question!!

I've been stirring the contents of my fermentation bucket every day for the past week. Initially it was bubbling away but that seems to have stopped. Should I still leave it in the bucket for the full 10 days, as the recipe states, or should I transfer it to a demijohn as it doesn't seem to be doing much now?
Many thanks.
 

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