Wine maintainance

[bigbear]

Just racked a gallon of mead out of the frementing bucket, four gallons of Blackberry off its sediment and added finings to a gallon of Ginger wine.
And strained off the bilberry sherry (see thread on bilberry vodka ).
Sounds like a lot, but as BR pointed out with pickled onions, when you think of what is say three months consumption never mind a year, its only a drop in the ocean. Still, its a pleasant one !

 

[British Red]

Exactly so.

When the exasperated (very townie) wife of a recent incomer here enquired "what should I say when he wants to put on three batches of beer at a time ?". The response from two local wives was "are you mostly wine drinkers then"?

Three hundred bottles of beer in store is half a pint per person, per day for less than a year.

 

[santaman2000]

Three hundred bottles of beer in store is half a pint per person, per day for less than a year.

Or another way to look at it: it's a half pint per person per month for 25 years. It all depends on how much you drink.

 

[British Red]

Very true - its easier with food - eating is less optional

 

[Quixoticgeek]

I recently did 3 brews in 3 days (including a green hope ale using home grown hops). I expect this to last me a couple of months. I also have my wine's bubbling away.

My elderberry wine needs to spend a year or 3 laying down before it's drinkable, so the fact I am making 36 bottles of it doesn't seem unreasonable.

I do find myself pondering my next beer. I'm kinda feeling stout and bitter...

Julia

 

[Coldfeet]

Just racked a gallon of mead out of the frementing bucket, four gallons of Blackberry off its sediment and added finings to a gallon of Ginger wine.
And strained off the bilberry sherry (see thread on bilberry vodka ).
Sounds like a lot, but as BR pointed out with pickled onions, when you think of what is say three months consumption never mind a year, its only a drop in the ocean. Still, its a pleasant one !

Sounds like one decent long weekend, rather than anything excessive.

 

[British Red]

I do find myself pondering my next beer. I'm kinda feeling stout and bitter...

Julia

Sounds sensible - I am into Porters and Winter Ales - its the weather.

 

[Canis_Lupus]

I have two gallons of elderberry and sloe wine just fermented out at the moment - it is quite acidic but I will age it for 6 months or so and give it a taste at that stage to see what it needs.
I have just started damson gin and blackberry brandy this morning but after just seeing BRs old tutorial on blackberry brandy I am thinking of redoing it (http://www.bushcraftuk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=24621)..

Any opinions - should I use the 4kgs (10lbs?) of remaining blackberries for a gallon of wine or more blackberry brandy?

 

[janeleonard]

Try out more blackberries to get the natural flavor.

 

[British Red]

Any opinions - should I use the 4kgs (10lbs?) of remaining blackberries for a gallon of wine or more blackberry brandy?

Both are very, very nice, but I err to blackberry for brandy and blackcurrant for wine.

 

[John Fenna]

That is a tiny amount of wine!
11.5 gallons of wine in demijohns at the moment (I have about 5 bottled) - blackberry, birch sap, dandelion, damson, nettle, balm, rosehip - and 4 or bottles worth of fruit gin and vodkas busy soaking and about 6 bottled...

 

[British Red]

That is a tiny amount of wine!
11.5 gallons of wine in demijohns at the moment (I have about 5 bottled) - blackberry, birch sap, dandelion, damson, nettle, balm, rosehip - and 4 or bottles worth of fruit gin and vodkas busy soaking and about 6 bottled...

Thank you for the nettle suggestion John - it was very good - although I'll aim for a drier finish next year I think

 

[Canis_Lupus]

That is a tiny amount of wine!
11.5 gallons of wine in demijohns at the moment (I have about 5 bottled) - blackberry, birch sap, dandelion, damson, nettle, balm, rosehip - and 4 or bottles worth of fruit gin and vodkas busy soaking and about 6 bottled...

You are right it is - but 5kgs was all I managed to pick this year and I think it will make a fuller wine if I use it for one gallon instead of 2 or more....
I also have on the go at the moment - 2 gallons of mead, 3 gallons of hawthorn berry, 2 gallons of birch sap, 1 gallon of gorse, 3 gallons of elderflower, 5 gallons of pinot gris kit and 5 gallons of shiraz kit..

Still not enough though!

 

[Canis_Lupus]

Thanks for the opinion - for now the fruit will stay in the freezer until I make my decision..