First Shot!

This is my first batch of Elderberry Wine.
Can you see how red-black it is?

You can not see the sun through it at all!!!

04/12/2011

One of the things I never did get into any detail about was the first runs of elderberry wine. Back on February 23^rd I got the call to go pick up 8oz of dehydrated elderberries. I got this home and it was one of those times that things didn't quite go right but it did set the way I did the second batch. I put all the berries in a pan full of water. I got things boiling for a while, maybe 30 min, and I got the call to go get a piece for our washing machine that we had ordered. I moved the hot elderberry liquid to the back of the stove to steep. When I got back with the piece the berry tea has been working for an hour. I poured everything into the primary fermenter and added one gallon of water. This is on top of the half gallon that I had as berry juice. I added 4.5 cups of sugar and let her ferment for a week.

After 7 days I gave the liquid a first racking keeping all the berries in the primary fermenter. I added another gallon of water since the liquid that was left was blood red. That starts the second gallon on what is more diluted elderberry juice. I added 4.5 cups of sugar and let that go for a week.

After 7 days I gave the first batch a second racking and I racked the batch in the primary fermenter. Things were bubbling along and after a week I gave the second batch a second racking.

Now on about the 31^st I gave both gallons a racking. The fermentation process is slowing. I took both batches and timed the bubbles that the airlock gave off. The batch that was started on 02/23/2011 I get a full bubble every 4 min. On the batch that was started 03/03/2011 I get a full bubble every two min.

The flavor is different between the two. This is what got me to doing a full two gallon shot this last time. The second gallon is weaker in the elderberry flavor. If you hold a flash light up to the second batch you can see the light penetrate the liquid an inch or so. On the first gallon the light does not penetrate it at all. So I have elderberry wine and light elderberry wine.

I am not sure how much longer the fermentation process will last. I am really wanting to get this first batch bottled and at least one bottle chilled and one on my wine shelf. I don't think the alcohol content will be all that much and both batches will have to stand on the elderberry flavor be it good or bad.

There we go. A little catch up on something I didn't go into because sometimes life happens and you don't have any time to update a blog, that at the time, was not being read by anyone outside family. Now I kinda need to keep things rolling a little bit here since I am being read by people as far as the middle east and Asia. More coming soon!!!

Keep it bubbling!

Chuck

Elderberry First Racking

4/10/2011

 Yesterday, I took the must and tried to scoop out as many of the elderberries as I could. I really thought that I had gotten most of them out of the must. I added a little sugar. Let things set until today to do a first rack. Last night I did the calculations to change sugar from weight to cups. I was a little light on the sugar. It is about 2 cups to the pound.

So, today I racked the two gallons that I was shooting for. I had a little trouble with the second gallon and there are a few berries that made it past siphon. We'll just deal with those later. I did have to move some of the content in the first gallon to the second. I went to add some extra sugar into the first gallon and things started foaming. I really didn't lose enough to worry about and it evened things out between the two gallons. I added about a cup of sugar into both one gallon secondary fermenters. They are on the brew shelf and we have bubbles.

Now we will wait for about a week to ten days and then do a second racking to get the crap that will build up in the bottom. After that we will rack this once every 21-28 days. This will help clear the wine. Even though there is really no need for this wine to totally clear since it is so dark you can't really see through it. My wife commented on how it looked like I was doing a blood transfusion between the bucket and jug. I noticed the first time I did this, I got the must into the secondary fermenter it looked like I was brewing blood wine for a few weeks before it started clearing. My wife and I took a good taste of the new batch and it has the characteristics that we are looking for. A very strong elderberry taste with that nice soft bitter flavor you expect in wine. I think that I may have gotten this right a second time.

The elderberry wine I have been working on for a while now is getting closer and closer to ending fermentation. It tastes good and I am looking forward to bottling this in a few weeks to a month. Least that is the guess. Being he little yeasties are living things I am pretty much at their mercy. I know if I was them I would not be looking forward to my habitat becoming something that I could not live in anymore.

Keep it bubbling!!!

Chuck

Sugar

4/06/2011

Thought I would give a quick update on the primary fermentation of the new batch of elderberry wine.

Sugar is what makes all this happen. Yes I am sure there are some sugars in the berries but there is never enough. (I am working on adding sugar by measurement and not weight so you will see me add by the cup.) I can tell you that when you make wine by the gallon you are going to use around 4 cups of sugar. My primary fermentation suddenly came to a halt so I popped open the bucket. I stirred things around and took a small taste. What I tasted was out of sugar. I added one cup of sugar per gallon and added hot water from the tap to a glass. It was not too hot and it mixed in all the sugar. Dumped the sugar water in, gave it a quick stir and closed things up.

Now at this point fermentation is going slower than at first but it is steady. I think I should have started this recipe out with 4 Cups of sugar per gallon. I am finding that is a really common starting point for most wine. Well, it is up to 4 Cups per gallon now and blooping away. I am more confident at giving this must a first racking at day 7 or 8. That means that we will be first racking this Saturday or Sunday. Probably Sunday though.

I will probably work in a later posting to take a closer look at sugar and exactly what it means to a brewer. May even have to look at what different types of sugar can do to the flavor.

Keep it bubbling!!!

Chuck

Waiting For Your Fruits

4/03/2011

This is the part that totally sucks. You get your must going. You get it into the primary fermenter. You wait, then get it into the secondary fermenter. You wait then rack it, test it, and taste it. At this point you get a really good idea what you will end up with. Now you have to wait for a very long time before bottling happens. This is the waiting that really sucks. You get very few bubbles but as long as they are coming the fruit is not ready. All you can do is keep out of it and not sip away at what will be your finished product. You just have to keep in mind that what you are waiting for will be better than what you have in the brew shelf.

My brew shelf is my desk. Not my computer desk. That is on the other side of the room. My desk is where I deal with paper work and all that needs done off the computer. The room is already naturally dim and few lights. I kinda like the cave feel. I guess this is where they get the whole “Man Cave” from. Who knows. I do know it is nice to sit there dealing with whatever needs taken care of and I get to look up and see what it is that I am working for. The only issue with this setup is with the primary fermenter. The room smells like CO2 for days. I can tell you that this smell is not like that of bread being made. It is a acidic smell. There is nothing like it I have ever smelled. I am not saying that it is a nasty smell but I am saying that by the time it gets into the secondary fermenter I am sick of the smell. I am glad warm weather is here. Now I can open the window and the gas gets pulled or pushed out of this room. I would rather smell the sweet country than the smell of CO2.

The image today has not been pulled form the internet. That is taken on my back deck. It is the elderberry wine that I have so much hope in. This is the bottle of liquid gold that has inspired me to start a two gallon version. The flavor is that of wine and I can understand why there are songs about this. I am having a hard time waiting and not grabbing a measure of it every so often. I use the term measure to equal to a shot glass. You would not think that a measure is that much but when you do measure after measure it all adds up. I keep thinking that by waiting I can enjoy a chilled glass of wine and not a room temperature measure that is only a teaser.

We all hate waiting on something that we know is about to be something good but we have to. I plan, at this point, to start getting the equipment to start five gallon shots at this. Looking at only five bottles per gallon is kinda bleak when you think about the months that goes into each shot. I am glad that I did start with gallon shots instead of five gallon shots. The mistakes that I made are easier to stomach. I would have hated to throw out twenty five gallons of mistake instead of the five gallons that I did throw out. However, now that I have an understanding of how to make wine I think I am ready to go for the five gallon shots so when I get it right I get twenty five bottles of wine and not five. But I am a few months away from that investment.

Until next time keep it bubbling.

Chuck

Elderberry Wine

4/02/2011

OK, I started a new batch of Elderberry wine. Here is the recipe I used. Now I will list the one gallon version. Double this and you have what I am making. I am doing 2 gallons so I can give some of it away.

I used 8oz. of dehydrated elderberries in this.

4-5oz dehydrated elderberries

3 cups of sugar (at this point)

1 tsp acid blend

1 tsp yeast nutrient

yeast

I boiled the elderberries in water for one hour. Yes, I wanted everything out of those dried up little chunks of gold. After this I added the sugar to make sure it was incorporated throughout the liquid. Added acid blend and yeast nutrient and blended that in thoroughly and added the extra water. All this was placed in a primary fermenter and covered with plastic lid with an air lock I added yeast when it got down to under 100 degrees. Within three hours I have bubbles coming out the air lock. I was rather shocked by this. And relieved. Please note!!! I did not remove the boiled elderberries! I left them in the primary fermenter and will remove them when I rack the first time. If a few make it by and are in the secondary fermenter that is no big deal. We will get them on the second racking.

In 7-10 days I will rack into secondary fermenter and add probably two cups of sugar. After 7-10 days I will rack into another fermenter and leave there until the liquid gold completes fermentation. At that point I will add chemicals to preserve the wine and after 2-3 days I will bottle and leave all but one bottle on the shelf for a minimum of sex months. I will take one bottle and chill it, open it, and enjoy it.

That brings up something. When it the wine ready? It is ready when it tastes good for you. I will have one bottle to celebrate the batch being done and shelved. It will be good and I will be happy with it. Letting the other bottles sit for 6+ months will just add to flavor. After a year, I think, if you have not drank the wine you should have some people over and open what is left and share it all until it is gone. That or, ONLY IF IT IS REALLY GOOD, give it to friends and family that will appreciate the flavor and time you put into the bottle.

Wine is meant to be drank alone and with a pack of people. I can only imagine what it is like when you drink it in a group of people and they like it. That must be a great feeling. I will have to put in an entry when this happens.

Until next time keep it bubbling!!!

Chuck