Ginger Wine With Homemade GJC

[ScottE75]

Hi all,

I recently made 2 gallons of ginger wine, which turned out quite nice, so I thought I'd share the recipe.

Per 1 gallon I used the following:

200g peeled and finely grated ginger
250g sultanas, added to boiling water until soft, and blitzed with blender
1100g sugar
1 tsp pectilase for the sultanas
1/2 tsp tannin
1 1/2 tsp acid blend
1 tsp nutrient
1/4 tsp epsom salts
2 vitamin B1 tabs crushed
Young's sparkling wine yeast
Kwik Clear

I boiled the ginger for about 5 minutes and turned off the heat. Added sugar and acid and stirred until dissolved.
Added sultana blend and allowed to cool.
I then added all additives, put in a 5 ltr bucket and added 1 crushed campden tab.
I waited 24 hours, then took SG and added yeast.
Fermented on the pulp for 7 days, then racked into a demijohn.
Fermented out and stabilised with 2 campden tabs. Added Kwik Clear.

Total ferm time: 3 weeks
OG 1.110
EG 0.995
ABV 15%
Cost per bottle £1.15 (5 bottles because I don't top up with water after final racking)

The sultanas didn't overpower the ginger. Quite a silky feeling in the mouth with a nice bite to it.

Definitely my best wine so far.

 

[Rodj]

Hi all,

I recently made 2 gallons of ginger wine, which turned out quite nice, so I thought I'd share the recipe.

Per 1 gallon I used the following:

200g peeled and finely grated ginger
250g sultanas, added to boiling water until soft, and blitzed with blender
1100g sugar
1 tsp pectilase for the sultanas
1/2 tsp tannin
1 1/2 tsp acid blend
1 tsp nutrient
1/4 tsp epsom salts
2 vitamin B1 tabs crushed
Young's sparkling wine yeast
Kwik Clear

I boiled the ginger for about 5 minutes and turned off the heat. Added sugar and acid and stirred until dissolved.
Added sultana blend and allowed to cool.
I then added all additives, put in a 5 ltr bucket and added 1 crushed campden tab.
I waited 24 hours, then took SG and added yeast.
Fermented on the pulp for 7 days, then racked into a demijohn.
Fermented out and stabilised with 2 campden tabs. Added Kwik Clear.

Total ferm time: 3 weeks
OG 1.110
EG 0.995
ABV 15%
Cost per bottle £1.15 (5 bottles because I don't top up with water after final racking)

The sultanas didn't overpower the ginger. Quite a silky feeling in the mouth with a nice bite to it.

Definitely my best wine so far.

Good idea; thanks for the recipe.
Regarding the sultanas, what volume of white grape juice were you attempting to substitute for? Do you have any idea of an equivalence between litres of WGJ and grams of sultanas?
Re the ginger wine - I'm going to give it a go.

 

[Frogbrew]

Can I ask why you used sparkling wine yeast and what are the Epsom salts for?

 

[ScottE75]

what volume of white grape juice were you attempting to substitute for? Do you have any idea of an equivalence between litres of WGJ and grams of sultanas?

I made a ginger wine before this one in which I used 200ml of Young's GJC. It cost £5 on ebay, just so I could compare with my sultana method. That wine turned out ok, but didn't have the same silky quality that this latest wine had. I was aiming for the equivalent of 250ml. It was purely an experiment, which came out great. I've just given 2 bottles to family to get their opinion.

Can I ask why you used sparkling wine yeast and what are the Epsom salts for?

I've been experimenting with different yeasts to see if there was a difference. Previous to this I had problems with excessive foaming and stuck ferments. I made 2 gallons of this wine, in one I used Young's dessert wine yeast and the other I used Young's sparkling wine yeast. There was no difference, and both fermented to dryness.
I'm not greatly experienced in wine making, but I love experimenting.

Magnesium Sulfate (epsom salts) is quite often called for in Mead and other wine recipes where the fermentation can sometimes be quite a challenge. There are times when even the hardiest of yeast will have trouble fermenting such sugars. While not an effective nutrient by itself, when Magnesium Sulfate is combined with either yeast nutrient or yeast energizer it enhances their effect on the rate of fermentation considerably.

 

[Rodj]

Thanks.
I've found another thread with information on this topic: https://www.thehomebrewforum.co.uk/threads/substitute-for-white-grape-juice.73334/ .
I'm going to do a bit of experimenting (I love it too) to try to determine a fairly exact equivalence between sultanas and WGJ, and the best way to use the sultanas. It will take some time, but I'll report back findings in due course.

 

[David Hancock]

Hi I am very much a newbie and was looking to make ginger wine my next project, can i ask about the Kwik clear, vitamin B1 tabs and the epsom salts as not come across them before for wine making. i am guessing the kwik clear is some sort of finings?
Thanks
David

Hi all,

I recently made 2 gallons of ginger wine, which turned out quite nice, so I thought I'd share the recipe.

Per 1 gallon I used the following:

200g peeled and finely grated ginger
250g sultanas, added to boiling water until soft, and blitzed with blender
1100g sugar
1 tsp pectilase for the sultanas
1/2 tsp tannin
1 1/2 tsp acid blend
1 tsp nutrient
1/4 tsp epsom salts
2 vitamin B1 tabs crushed
Young's sparkling wine yeast
Kwik Clear

I boiled the ginger for about 5 minutes and turned off the heat. Added sugar and acid and stirred until dissolved.
Added sultana blend and allowed to cool.
I then added all additives, put in a 5 ltr bucket and added 1 crushed campden tab.
I waited 24 hours, then took SG and added yeast.
Fermented on the pulp for 7 days, then racked into a demijohn.
Fermented out and stabilised with 2 campden tabs. Added Kwik Clear.

Total ferm time: 3 weeks
OG 1.110
EG 0.995
ABV 15%
Cost per bottle £1.15 (5 bottles because I don't top up with water after final racking)

The sultanas didn't overpower the ginger. Quite a silky feeling in the mouth with a nice bite to it.

Definitely my best wine so far.

 

[Applesnmore]

Hi David
Yes kwik clear is a finning
Vitamin b1 used as a yeast nutrient
Epson salts used as an energiser. Can't say I've used it but earlier discussion sounds interesting


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[David Hancock]

Hi David
Yes kwik clear is a finning
Vitamin b1 used as a yeast nutrient
Epson salts used as an energiser. Can't say I've used it but earlier discussion sounds interesting


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Ok thanks, can I ask what the benefits are of using B1 over yeast nutrient you can purchase from wilkos

 

[Applesnmore]

Here goes,
Yeast nutrient is a general purpose nutrient.
The yeast uses the diammonium sulphate to make amino acids so it can reproduce.
The yeasts extract vitamins needed from the must.
If the must is short on vitamins, fermentation can be slow.
B1 is often used in country wines for this reason.
One isn't really a direct replacement for the other as I understand it.
Which is better? More a question of horses for courses.

Having said all that I've made this before and have got 15l of ginger wine on the go, made to a similar recipe excluding Epson salts and uses yeast nutrient. Has fermented without incident.


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[ScottE75]

Hi I am very much a newbie and was looking to make ginger wine my next project, can i ask about the Kwik clear, vitamin B1 tabs and the epsom salts as not come across them before for wine making. i am guessing the kwik clear is some sort of finings?
Thanks
David

Applesnmore is right. I use Vitamin B1 because I had problems with non-fruit wines having stuck ferments. It's just something I read online which has worked so far, but it is an additional supplement and not a replacement for nutrient. The epsom salts give the nutrients a helping hand, but are not of any use on their own.

 

[David Hancock]

Applesnmore is right. I use Vitamin B1 because I had problems with non-fruit wines having stuck ferments. It's just something I read online which has worked so far, but it is an additional supplement and not a replacement for nutrient. The epsom salts give the nutrients a helping hand, but are not of any use on their own.

I've only been on this forum a matter of hours and already I am learning, thanks for the information I am going to take a stab at the ginger wine next week

 

[Applesnmore]

Go for it.
The first ginger wine I did was John Wright's out of a newspaper article, no doubt online in the Guardian. Same recipe in river cottage booze book.
40g root ginger, 100g chopped raisins, zest & juice of 2 lemons, 1.5kg sugar, 1 tsp nutrient, white wine yeast.
I like ginger, for me it needs more. 200g is better.
He also suggests stirring for the first 5 days. Aeration at this stage does seem to help, imho

If you use an auto syphon to transfer from the primary to secondary fermenter beware. Grated ginger is great for getting stuck in the non return valve, and a devil to get out. Have taken to putting the solids in a fine meshed brew bag, because raisins clogged the racking cane.... The joys of learning by experience.

Using Raisins gives a darker colour, sultanas paler.

Can use ground ginger, but it does make a lot of lees.

Cheap and worth the effort.

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