juice and frozen red fruit

4 litres mixed red 100% juice
a package of frozen red berry or red fruit from aldi.
1tsp of precipitated chalk,
1tsp of pectolaze
1tsp wine yeast
nutrient, sugar

1. simmer and cool, add to juice, juice initial gravity = 1050
2. added 500 grams of sugar so 500 grams equals 41 points of sugar, can now assume initial gravity to be 1100 due to the sugar in fruit. so the potential alcohol is at maximally 13%.
3. Added 120 grams sugar later on to increase SG by 10 points and assure alcohol levels at about 13%.
4. After 5 days - strained. Realized had not added anything for the body so chopped up a banana - with 1/3 of its skin and boiled for 10 minutes in the wine, let cool and added to the demijohn in the hope it will add some body and additional tannin. 
5. Strained after a few days - through sieve, SG = 995. Added 120 grams sugar and fermentation stopped as well as a crushed campden tablet 

Very nice! Balanced, with good tannin, more sweet than dry, very pleasant. Not bad body but not perfect yet.

2012.02.21 Bottling

Pear Wine

Primary fermentation in a big bottle

2011.11.19

• 1 Kg ripe pears from Aldi.
• 1 banana, 150 grams raisins
• 1 Kg pears in a jar - 500 grams pears and grape juice.
• pectolaze, yeast nutrient, campden tablet, tartaric acid

1. Chop raisins and the banana, inclusive half of the banana skin. Add to hot water and keep heating.
2. Wash and chop pears without wooden parts. Add to water, add the pears from a jar, chopped with juice.
3. Add chopped peaches with syrup.
4. Add nutrient, acid. Add 300 grams sugar.
5. Simmer for 10 minutes more. Switch off, wait for it to cool. 
6. Add 2 tsp pectolaze. Add campden tablet
7. Wait 2 days.  Put in primary fermenter, measure SG. Add yeast. SG-1048, added 500 grams sugar
8.  5 days afterwards - strain carefully through a sieve or better cloth into a secondary fermenter with airlock. Get the fluid out but try not to include too much solids. I strained it though a straining bag and a sieve. SG=1035
9.  Rack carefully after gravity is about 1005

It is probably best for blending since in itself, there is very little interesting. It is not so far unpleasant but I would not drink it, too boring - water with alcohol. 

Warm Autumn

So far so good, for Autumn that is.

We are getting very close to winter and can only hope it will not be too severe, as the last two winters were.
Until then, though, the weather has been good for us. The mild temperatures, little rain or wind make it a pleasant, maybe not too cosy, Autumn. I heard that it actually should be much worse, at least it used to be like that in Scotland.
For now I and S are enjoying the favorable weather. I took a day off yesterday and S had the brilliant idea to go to the Botanic Gardens. We went by bus and had a lovely walk in the gardens; this was one of the best memories this year, possibly, walking with S, getting some sun even, having a super-tasty sandwiches and hot (warm) tea from the thermos. It is really nice to be married, just to feel good not doing anything special, as long as it is with the other half. You do get stressed, especially if you have a lot of work, or the other person has a lot of work, but it will mostly pass.
We have also recently discovered the tv drama shinya shokudo, good thing we are always eating while watching the series - we would get really jealous otherwise. I especially respect the simple foods - nekomanma, butter rice, tamagoyaki, basically I could eat everything else too, maybe not tarako. Soo tasty and so simple (well, many of the things)
That is also the reason we had Egg and Mayo sandwiches yesterday - good idea picked from the movie.
I will definitely have some nekomanma today (I am currently extremely full and still when I think about this taste, I feel getting hungry, or greedy...)

We eat (from my point of view) extremely good things - S makes wonderful meals. I only cook very occasionally, last week it was Thai Red Curry based on Jamie Oliver and was really good, tomorrow it is going to be Lasagne, made in our new lovely ceramic casserole dish. I do like cooking but I cannot say I cook a lot, considering that S makes like 80% of our food. She is also a much better cook than me, has a great sense of balance and taste. I am and should really be, extremely grateful to her for her time and effort. She even looks tasty herself.

One last thing I cannot let pass unmentioned - it is our nuka-zuke or rice bran. I am extremely glad to have been able to find a decent clay pot (made in Italy even) for our pickling purposes. We have so far tried nuka cucumber (lovely), daikon (great) and carrot - heavenly. Probably it is too salty but the taste is really full bodied and tangy, combined with a mild smell. In other words, so good.

I love Japanese cuisine. Oh by the way, I advanced one level in Japanese food - I had eaten Inago no tsukudani (just one though) so it is + 1 level  of food experience, already dan level, or?

Harvest Ale kit + Saaz hops.

2011.07.23 
Young's Harvest Ale
50grams of Saaz 3.6 2010 hops.
1kg white brewer's sugar (dextrose) (2.1 Pounds)

Nice "from scratch recipe":
http://www.vthomebrewguru.com/tag/harvest-ale/

Before starting, about 1 hour earlier, add yeast (open bag carefully with sterilized scissors) to water with some sugar or golden syrup.
Cover with cling film and leave until necessary, 2-3 hours later.
 
Mix concentrate / extract with hot water, add the brewing sugar.
In the meantime, boil some water - 3 litres, add 40 grams of hops in a muslin bag.
Boil for 40 minutes, add 10 grams of hops in a smaller bag - tea bag for example.
Switch fire off after 10 minutes.
Add to the fermenter, fill water up to 4.2 gallons.

Initial Gravity = 1038 at 24 degrees C.

Strawberry Wine

Strawberries - I have 400 grams frozen strawberry / blueberry mix and 500 grams (a punnet) of fresh strawberries from Aldi.
2 liters apple juice
2 liters white grape juice
pectolaze

• Put the mix of fruit - frozen and cut fresh fruit into a pot with hot juice - 1 liter.
  
• Put juice into primary fermenter, Add pectolaze 1 tsp.
• From juice itself - 1050 SG. Added 250 grams sugar.
• Add Yeast and start fermentation in primary fermenter.
• Fermenting really actively.
  
• 2011.06.04 strained into glass fermenter. SG=1010.
  
• added 300 grams of sugar
• 2011.06.18 added 1 campden tablet but no potassium sorbate. I want to make it sparkling. SG=985
  

Rhubarb Wine

2011.05.14
Ingredients:

2KG Rhubarb Stalks
Sugar
Campden Tablet
Yeast Nutrient

Preparation:
http://winemaking.jackkeller.net/reques34.asp about this

• Cut into small pieces, freeze.
• Put into primary fermenter, pour 1 litre boiled water on top, add 1 KG sugar. 1 Campden tablet.
  
• Leave for a few days - 3 days. Strain through sieve and muslin bag
• Add water to 1 gallon. SG=1100
• Add 1/2 tsp tannin, 1/4 tsp citric acid, 1/4 tsp tartaric acid, 1/4 tsp wine nutrient, 1/2 tsp pectolaze. Pitch yeast - acid limiting yeast, MA33. Sparge 129 grams sultanas and add too.
• Leave to ferment. Need to buy precipitated chalk and add to reduce acidity (oxalic acid first of all)
• added 2tsp of chalk.
• 2011.06.18 Stopped fermentation. SG=985
  

Brewing plan.

Plan for brewing:

Wines that we can make

1. 4th May - Raisin wine. Too late
2. 1st June - Fig medium - Not participating.

3. 6th July - Strawberry

4. 3rd August - Rhubarb.
5. 7th September Flower wine - Hibiscus wine, and Belgian Fruits beer.
In September start Elderberry for next year
6. 5th October - we are not there. Merlot of Jannis.
7. 2nd November  - red mixed fruit / heavy red. 
Cider rough or smooth. Ginger apple cider
8. 2nd December - Christmas Drink, make liqueur. Maybe avocado liqueur.
9. 6th January - nothing
10. 1st February Hedgerow wine.
11. 24th February - Fundraiser, chutney competition.
12. 7th March, Rose wine, Irish stout.
13. 4th April AGM.
14. 2nd May, Citrus wine - maybe Yuzu concentrate.
15. 2nd June - Elderberry made last year

Mead from Honey, Golden Syrup and pears.

1 x glass of honey (Aldi - about 500 ml.)
1 x 2 pound can of Golden Syrup
5 ripe pears (don't know what kind)

Heat water to about 50 - 60 degrees C. Add the golden syrup and honey. Stir until dissolved.
Add some lemon acid and a bit of tartaric acid.

Cut pears up in smallish pieces, add to the mixture and let cool down.
Add pectolase, yeast nutrient, add activated champagne yeast.

2011.03.20 starting SG = 1085
2011.03.9 SG=990 Stopped fermentation, next step is to put into glass for aging.

abdji breferm kit FINISHED

24th March 2011
Started 24th March 2011
Used Dark Spray Malt in place of sugar. a bit too much water added.
At 29 degrees Centigrade the gravity SG of 10.5 litres was 1052. Added 200 grams white sugar.
 Fermenting nicely, foamy.
I did not boil the water.

Results are very good, very strong though. I should not have used the Dark Spraymalt - delicate spraymalt would have been better. Very bitter now.

Forest Fruit and grape juice:FINISHED

Red grape juice,
Frozen Forest Fruit (Black Fruit) from Aldi -500 grams.


Red grape juice has SG of 1060. Added some sugar - about 200 grams.

Started

• 14.03.2011 Primary fermenter. SG about 1060-1065
• 20.03.2011 - racked to glass demijohn. SG: 985. Raised gravity by 30 points = 3x120 grams of sugar=360 grams.
• 28.03.2011 SG=1002
• 29.03.2011 poured a liter of wine into a pot, heated up, added chopped banana and 50 grams raisins. Added 84 grams sugar Poured back into the demijohn. Taste a bit too sharp, not much body due to lack of grape concentrate or raisins / banana added earlier.
• 30.03.2011 Stopped, very good, brown,
  
• 19.05.2011 Gravity 990. Much nicer but a bit too thin. Still - added 120 grams sugar to raise gravity by 10 points.
• Boiled some - about a litre and steeped 6 bags of berry / wild berry herbal tea in it for 10 minutes. Result remains to be seen - darker and properly sweeter but a bit strange taste of the tea remain - not bad though.