Must I really use winemaking sugar?

[periolus]

Do I REALLY need to use winemaking/brewing sugar to make wine from supermarket juices? I have until now, but wanted to make some tonight and don't have any

Can I use white granulated instead, or will this make my wine bitter or horrible in some way? Let me know! Am I good to go?

 

[Moley]

Complete and utter waste of time and money, use granulated, preferably Tate & Lyle.

 

[abeyptfc]

yeah it should be fine :thumb:

 

[screamlead]

Just dissolve the normal stuff in a bit of warm water or the juice then add to your mix.

 

[Moley]

I usually boil mine to a syrup in half of its own weight of water, i.e. 1kg in 500ml, then add some cold water to the pan.

Juices into fermenter, syrup in, cold water to shoulder, temperature should be just about ideal for yeast and pectolase.

Never pour hot syrup into a glass DJ, or even into an empty PET.

 

[denpat]

Hi
Have been making wine for years have never used anything but ordinary sugar
And never had any probs


Happy Brewing :

 

[periolus]

YAY!

Well, blueberry wine with granulated sugar it is then :party:

Thanks for the help

OH! PS: Blueberry juice contains anthocyanins (colouring) - do I need to boil this off, or is it brew-safe?

 

[shadow47]

OH! PS: Blueberry juice contains anthocyanins (colouring) - do I need to boil this off, or is it brew-safe?

No, that's just natural colouring, tannins I think, so won't cause a problem.

Preservatives are what you need to be careful with.

 

[Moley]

YAY!

Well, blueberry wine with granulated sugar it is then :party:

What's the plan then, blueberry & what?

Ignore the colourings but read the packaging before you buy and leave any which contain sorbate or metabisulphite on the supermarket shelf, there are plenty more to choose from.

 

[periolus]

Recipe is:

1L blueberry (from conc.)
1L Welch's Purple Grape
300ml LIDL Apple Juice
300ml Morrisons Cranberry Juice
1 cup stewed tea
1 tsp glycerine
1 dash of lemon juice
1kg T&L caster sugar dissolved in 500ml water
Top up to just below shoulder with water


Sound alright?

 

[Moley]

Sounds good to me :thumb:

I only asked because you hadn't mentioned grape juice.

 

[periolus]

Ended up with 750g sugar - used a small pan!!

I didn't take an SG - just want to check the recipe out. If it tastes good then I will do it properly next time. I also bottled my WOW tonight, and am drinking the 1/3rd bottle that was left over. It has come out very nicely Had a nightmare corking though. I didn't realise you had to pre-soak, and was using the hand-corker upside-down to start with

Oh well - you learn by doing!

 

[Moley]

Ended up with 750g sugar - used a small pan!!

I didn't take an SG - just want to check the recipe out. If it tastes good then I will do it properly next time.

Based on the sugar contents of the juices I've got your OG will be 1.080 if you're using a 5 litre PET or 1.090 if you're using a gallon DJ.

Had a nightmare corking though. I didn't realise you had to pre-soak

Depends on what corks you're using. The Young's corks which they sell in Wilko (with a composition like Swiss cheese) need pre-soaking but decent ones like the ‘Favourite’ branded corks (or similar) are waxed or silicone coated and don't need soaking.

 

[Ken L]

Erm.......
Beer bottles and crown caps.

 

[Moley]

Erm.......
Beer bottles and crown caps.

Heathen



























660ml Weston's clear glass cider bottles and crown caps look much nicer.

 

[periolus]

I do have the 'favourite' corks. I will know next time. I put them in a pan of water just off the boil for a few minutes to soften them up. Maybe that was a bad idea? Don't know. They went in alright and the bottles are water and air tight. The most fun was had putting the bloody shrink capsules on. They look like they have been tried for the first time! Quite nice to finish them off though.

Hey - the bubbler is recording a bubble every 4 seconds on my blueberry wine already! YAY! I gave the yeast some yummy nutrient to get them going, so all should be well.