The cellar !!

Homebrew, cordials, cheese, dehydrating, smoking and soap making. An area for all problems to be asked, tips to be given and procedures shared.
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Green Aura
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Re: The cellar !!

Post: # 293066Post Green Aura »

There are a few differences that I can think of, off the top of my head.

Cider is brewed like beer, a short fermentation then bottling, with or without the addition of sugar for a secondary fermentation. That gives an acohol content of 4-5%ish. It is made purely from apple juice (pressed apples), no added sugar necessary, although may be added, and less vigourous yeast is used. It's often not cleared giving the scrumpy type cider.

Wine is made from apples, or juice, in water, with the addition of sugar and yeast. A much longer fermentation, gives 10-13%ish alcohol. All sorts of pectin clearing things are used to give clear wine. It generally doesn't need ageing (only wines containing tannin need that) but because the fermentation is so much longer it can take 6 months to a year before it's even bottled. You can probably be drinking your cider within a month.
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Re: The cellar !!

Post: # 293067Post old tree man »

I'll try to help, as you both have wrote some books and people say country wine can't be drunk for two years :angryfire: absolute rubbish i'm afraid, i drink mine a couple of months after fermentation has finished, i do agree if you have the willpower to leave your wine (i don't :oops: ) it will mature and will taste better over time, i've been making wine, beer, cider sloe vodka and gin for over 40yrs now and i change my approach to certain things yearly mainly tips from other people and advice from some of the older country folk i worked for and met as a forester which i found to be the best advice ever.
When it comes to apple wine and cider is that in my understanding is that when i make cider i do not use yeast i allow the natural yeasts and sugars of the different types of apples to ferment themselves, i do not add any sugar and usually get a good specific gravity reading for my alcohol.
So when i make apple wine i use yeast to ferment my apple juice that i pressed from the apples i have collected and add sugar, this does ferment quicker as you are introducing and active ingredient which will make a lighter fresher taste.
I hope this has helped :flower: :flower: :flower:
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Re: The cellar !!

Post: # 293069Post Weedo »

Thanks all
The difference is logical and as I imagined, however some of the recipes about seem to cross over the dividing line.
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Re: The cellar !!

Post: # 293070Post BernardSmith »

old tree man wrote: Mon Sep 23, 2019 5:14 pm I'll try to help, as you both have wrote some books and people say country wine can't be drunk for two years :angryfire: absolute rubbish i'm afraid, i drink mine a couple of months after fermentation has finished, i do agree if you have the willpower to leave your wine (i don't :oops: ) it will mature and will taste better over time, i've been making wine, beer, cider sloe vodka and gin for over 40yrs now and i change my approach to certain things yearly mainly tips from other people and advice from some of the older country folk i worked for and met as a forester which i found to be the best advice ever.
Gotta totally agree with you. If you make an unbalanced wine (too much sugar - so too much alcohol for the flavors) or you stress the yeast (underpitch or too high a temperature fermentation) then it might need to be aged to allow problems to dissipate but in reality a bad wine does not improve as it ages. A good wine - that is a well made wine can and does improve as it ages but it is still very pleasurable to drink weeks after the yeast has finished working - and like beer, you do want to allow the yeast time to clean up after themselves and they do.

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Re: The cellar !!

Post: # 294713Post elfcurry »

Getting on for two years later, what's in my cellar?

Well, I finished consuming last year's production a few weeks ago so I have nothing in the cellar but 2021 production has started. So far I have 4 gallons of rhubarb wine, one each of raspberry, plum and apricot. The last two were made from fruit bought at Lidl (and not reached demijohns yet) but the rhubarb and raspberry came from the garden. Today I've tasted the raspberry and rhubarb no 3 and they seem to be on-track.

Still, the 'cellar' is currently empty.

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Re: The cellar !!

Post: # 294715Post ina »

Wow! I'd always thought I might start making wine again... And just recently, looking for something entirely different, I found my demijohns and other stuff. As you do. So maybe next year.
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Re: The cellar !!

Post: # 294723Post elfcurry »

Why wait ina? If you have access to suitable fruit or veg and can get the essentials (yeast, steriliser, campden tabs, pectolase) quickly, why not start now if you have the time?

Today I went out on foot to get fruit, both within 100m of home. I wanted enough cherry plums (to make a full batch with yesterday's windfalls from the same tree) and blackberries to add to last year's 3lb in the freezer) and now have one gallon of each ready prepared to add the yeast tomorrow. Happy day!

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Re: The cellar !!

Post: # 294727Post ina »

No fruit left (rhubarb is past it, red currants all eaten by blackbirds). There might be brambles later... Should have all the essentials still in my cupboards somewhere. Actually, I got a large pot of Sodium metabisulfite from work; was supposed to throw it out...
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Re: The cellar !!

Post: # 294751Post elfcurry »

Did you make any wine from brambles Ina? (How is that pronounced - 'eena' or eye-na'?)

I made three gallons of blackberry (bramble) wine this year. The first was tasting rather too sweet and when the second was crying out for more sugar, I decided to mix them. I hope that turns out to be thr right thing to do. The third is still glugging away in the demijohn. I tried the first one during this week and it seemed pretty good to me - about right for sweetness, not at all bitter or sharp, nicely clear and lots of blackberry flavour. Then on Friday (2 days ago) I gave a small glass to a friend who made no comment and I'm wondering if my assessment was a bit too rosy.

I also made five lots of rhubarb wine which to me seems between "no, that's ok, I think" and "this one's better" for the first two. I've just sampled my first cherry plum from this year (chilled) and it's quite pleasant and nicely clear. I have two lots of rapsberry plus a plum and an apricot from fruit I bought when I realised my damson tree wasn't producing the fruit I wanted this year.

Anyway, over a dozen in all.

Anyone else?

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Re: The cellar !!

Post: # 294752Post ina »

elfcurry wrote: Sun Sep 26, 2021 3:51 pm Did you make any wine from brambles Ina? (How is that pronounced - 'eena' or eye-na'?)
It's eena, as it's short for Bettina... :icon_smile:

No, I didn't make wine. But I did make some jam, for friends, as I try not to eat this kind of sugary stuff. Actually, I made some without added sugar as well, don't know yet how successful that was... I still have enough brambles left for a daily dose with my yoghurt!

I think rhubarb wine is often a bit hit or miss, at least that's what some professional winemakers once told me when I asked why they didn't always have rhubarb wine available (Cairn o'Mohr wines).
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Re: rhubarb wine is often a bit hit or miss

Post: # 294850Post elfcurry »

ina: "I think rhubarb wine is often a bit hit or miss, at least that's what some professional winemakers once told me .."

That's interesting. Mine does seem rather variable. This year I only made a couple of gallons (vs. five in '21) and it's hard to tell how each will turn out. It's always rather cloudy, though everything else clears nicely with racking.

I always keep a record of the steps I followed on a record card which stays with the wine at every stage and I retain it for later reference. I should add 'tasting notes' to make it more useful later but rarely do so. However, it can be useful to know when I started picking raspberries or blackberries last year or when the best plums or apricots were available (at Lidl) or whether I used freezing, heating or mechanical fruit extraction.

I just looked at last year's Rhubarb records and see that I blended batches 3&4 to mix a too-sweet batch with a needs-more-sugar one. It's almost all gone now, a year later but the remains of batch 5 is too sweet. None of it (rhubarb) was wonderful but it was all pleasant and drinkable with no grimaces.

So yes, variable.

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