No fruit left?
Posted: Sat Oct 25, 2008 10:36 pm
If you've no fruit left to make wine but you've caught the bug ...
Try the fruit teas you can get in any supermarket (Twining's etc.). I've done a couple of batches this year, and they're not bad (especially the strawberry one) - very light but perfectly quaffable - and they're fast. You need to stick all 20 teabags into a container, pour a couple of pints of boiling water over them and leave for an hour. Add a bag of sugar, stir to dissolve, then leave until cool (I leave it overnight). Dredge the teabags out and squeeze 'em, then pour everything into a demijohn (EDIT: and top up with tepid water). Add yeast nutrient and Vit. B - I add two level teaspoons and 10 mg as there's not actually a lot in there to keep yeast going - and the yeast. Put on the airlock and sit back. Mine both started within four hours and finished inside three weeks. I chilled and racked them, and they were drinkable a week later. If the fermentation goes really well, you might have to sweeten the result a little.
Suffice it to say that both gallons are now a memory.
EDIT: WHOOPS - forgot the acid. Also add either the juice of half a lemon or about three-quarters of a level teaspoon of citric acid. If you've already started some, just add it now - no harm done.
Try the fruit teas you can get in any supermarket (Twining's etc.). I've done a couple of batches this year, and they're not bad (especially the strawberry one) - very light but perfectly quaffable - and they're fast. You need to stick all 20 teabags into a container, pour a couple of pints of boiling water over them and leave for an hour. Add a bag of sugar, stir to dissolve, then leave until cool (I leave it overnight). Dredge the teabags out and squeeze 'em, then pour everything into a demijohn (EDIT: and top up with tepid water). Add yeast nutrient and Vit. B - I add two level teaspoons and 10 mg as there's not actually a lot in there to keep yeast going - and the yeast. Put on the airlock and sit back. Mine both started within four hours and finished inside three weeks. I chilled and racked them, and they were drinkable a week later. If the fermentation goes really well, you might have to sweeten the result a little.
Suffice it to say that both gallons are now a memory.
EDIT: WHOOPS - forgot the acid. Also add either the juice of half a lemon or about three-quarters of a level teaspoon of citric acid. If you've already started some, just add it now - no harm done.
