This is going to be a series of posts because wine takes a long time and a lot of steps.
The plum tree in my yard plummets me with plums in late June, early July. It is ridiculous how much fruit drops off this tree. This year the plan was plum wine.
Plum Wine Experiment
I started on June 29th. 20 pounds of plums pitted and cut up and put into a nylon bag and added to sugar (over 10 pounds), campden tablets (kills wild yeast) and water. Next day, added port wine yeast, nutrient. Next few days - squeezed bag and smushed down in the primary fermenter - tested - Brix 27, SG 1.115
The primary fermenter looks like a 6 gallon bucket from home depot but with a spigot and costs about $25 instead of $2.50. Here begins my rant about how much I spent on this "experiment!"
All told, I probably spent about $200 if you include the cost of sugar, equipment, etc. However, this first outlay is the only big one. Future brewing experiments will only cost the price of ingredients! That being said, I am figuring this is me paying for Christmas presents 6 months early...
About 10 days later, July 10th, pulled nylon bag out, threw away and put the "wine" into the secondary fermenter.
On July 20th tried the wine - and tested the Brix - 10, SG 1.04 - tasted nasty - added some sugar (about 2 cups mixed into some water).
Today - August 2nd - pulled the "wine" out of the secondary fermenter back into the primary and cleaned the sediment out of the bottom of the secondary fermenter. When they say "dregs" they mean gross disgusting looking goo! That stuff was all cleaned out with hot water and soap. Then back into the secondary fermenter the "wine" went. Tested the Brix 21, SG 1.0875 Tasted the "wine". Tastes a lot better than a week ago.
The plum tree in my yard plummets me with plums in late June, early July. It is ridiculous how much fruit drops off this tree. This year the plan was plum wine.
Plum Wine Experiment
I started on June 29th. 20 pounds of plums pitted and cut up and put into a nylon bag and added to sugar (over 10 pounds), campden tablets (kills wild yeast) and water. Next day, added port wine yeast, nutrient. Next few days - squeezed bag and smushed down in the primary fermenter - tested - Brix 27, SG 1.115
The primary fermenter looks like a 6 gallon bucket from home depot but with a spigot and costs about $25 instead of $2.50. Here begins my rant about how much I spent on this "experiment!"
All told, I probably spent about $200 if you include the cost of sugar, equipment, etc. However, this first outlay is the only big one. Future brewing experiments will only cost the price of ingredients! That being said, I am figuring this is me paying for Christmas presents 6 months early...
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| checking brix on 7/3 |
On July 20th tried the wine - and tested the Brix - 10, SG 1.04 - tasted nasty - added some sugar (about 2 cups mixed into some water).
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| secondary fermenter or carboy on 8/2 |
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| looking clearer - not quite wine yet... |
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