Its gunna be a wonderful winter

[GM54-120]

Ive got these to keep me warm and happy. :yeah:

 

[Hac]

What's in the jugs?

 

[BuckDoeHunter]

amber liquid, air lock for fermentation, guessing beer artyman:

or maybe a fine wine :drinkers:

or super cider :mrgreen:

but whatever it is, I like it!

 

[GM54-120]

Cider in the big one and Cyser aka apple mead in the smaller one. The smaller one is ready to bottle. The larger one just started today. Pitched the yeast a few minutes ago.

 

[cayuga]

I made an Apple Cider many years ago. And my memory is no longer any good. But we'd take that cider and make "apple pie." I wish I could remember the two alcohols we added to it. I think it was spiced rum and tequila. But its been 30 years since I made it. Then throw in about eight cinnamon sticks and let it sit in the refrigerator for about a week. It really did taste like apple pie but it really snuck up on you and then let you have it.

I used to make grape wine, dandelion wine, and we made apple wine. Not sure what happened with the apple wine but it turned into almost a vinager like stuff. It turned horrible for some reason. And of course we brewed beer. Back in my young and foolish drinking days.

 

[GM54-120]

Not sure what happened with the apple wine but it turned into almost a vinager like stuff. It turned horrible for some reason.

It did turn to vinegar. Thats how cider vinegar is made. You didn't pasteurize or kill the yeast and bacteria after it was ready. Wine will oxidize when exposed to air. That same air has a natural vinegar producing bacteria in it. When the alcohol content is not high enough, it can turn to vinegar in a short amount of time.

Ive done it intentionally with pineapple wine and rice wine. Pour nearly any wine into a mason jar. Add enough bottled water to lower the ABV to no more than 6%. Cover with a coffee filter or two and screw on ONLY the band. Forget about it in the cupboard for a few weeks or a month. BAM vinegar. The bacteria eats the alcohol and produces acetic acid.

Filter, pasteurize and age in a bottle....Good stuff!!!

 

[Squeeze]

Nice! Ive been making beer and wine for over 30 years. I havent done much this year. I only drink on occasion anymore. I should make a batch of a dry white just for cooking with, almost done with the last Chardonay I made a few years back.
When I was younger, I always had to push for more.. (Arrr arrr arrgh. Tim Allen ape grunt) I made a batch of mead with a champagne yeast. Everyone young, brave or stupid enough to try it swore it was a brandy or something distilled. I forget what the B.C. Alcohol content was , but it was pure hooch.
I started making beer before I was legal to drink, you could buy all the supplies to make beer at any age. :lol: My first batch was always remembered as one of the best ever. My dad tried the first with me after a few weeks bottled, he loved the beer, was more than happy to have me make more . Wines always seemed to me to take forever to mature. they were always best after a few years bottled.

 

[GM54-120]

My next one is a cran-apple cider. I got some fresh cranberries yesterday. Had to finish off my pepper relish and homemade hot sauce today. Lemon drop, Fresno,Thai birdseye and dragon chilis. Its hot but quite a few notches below habanero.

Ive used champagne yeasts before. They tend to finish pretty dry. Lalvin 71B does also but it eats the malic acid too so its less tart. This large batch i used a yeast intended for ciders. It is supposed to leave more of the apple flavor and gives off less of a sulfur smell during fermentation. Its called Brewer Best Cider House Select yeast.

The smaller cyser i back sweetened with a can of AJ concentrate after killing the yeast. Im all out of honey except some really expensive stuff. Ive got some honey powder i might try if it needs a little more. Its cold crashing now and awaiting a quick sample before bottling. :yeah:

This is what my red rice wine looks like before it settles and gets racked off. You would swear by the taste there is fruit in it but its all rice. Its sweet and potent. I use sweet rice wine for a lot of cooking.

 

[GM54-120]

Cran-apple cider

 

[TheHardWay]

I made an Apple Cider many years ago. And my memory is no longer any good. But we'd take that cider and make "apple pie." I wish I could remember the two alcohols we added to it. I think it was spiced rum and tequila. But its been 30 years since I made it. Then throw in about eight cinnamon sticks and let it sit in the refrigerator for about a week. It really did taste like apple pie but it really snuck up on you and then let you have it.

Just made some more of this last week. Did mine in a crock pot with Everclear and Captain Morgan. You are right, it'll sneak up on you, then kick your ass!

 

[GM54-120]

The apple mead turned out really good. Im putting the rest away to age a month or so.

Just bottled some black currant wine today too and started over a quart of black currant vinegar. Blackberry is next with berries from the property. Ive got around 10lbs of them.

 

[BuckDoeHunter]

Looking really good :yeah:

My Dad made mead with honey a while back, very good, and very potent stuff, it could really sneak up on you.

I'm down to a six pack on the honey ale he made me last June. It reaches it's peak flavor after 9 months or so. I really enjoy a full bodied beer, I can't drink a light beer anymore (well, if it's offered, I will force myself ), the flavor just isn't there compared to a good home brew.

Wish I didn't have so many irons in the fire right now, those wines would make for an excellent holiday toast :drinkers:

 

[GM54-120]

I wish i made more of the apple mead. 2 bottles are gifts and its gunna be murder letting the other 2 age. Ive got a bunch of old elderberry wine BUT they got mixed in with dry reds. Both are in green tinted bottles so i cant tell by looking at them. They are both over 5 years old and been in my cellar all that time. Not a fan of dry reds except for cooking.

That wont happen this time. Im working on labels today. Just need to find a Avery template for Office that will work.

If you want to try a super simple wine that is ready in less than a month, try rice wines. They are ssoooo simple. Its just slightly under cooked sweet rice and what is called yeast balls. Mix them together and put in a mason jar for 28 days. Use a coffee filter or a sterile cloth and just the band to cover. The rice will liquefy and float. When the rice falls its time to rack off the liquid.

Looks like this when it starts to float. This one is made with red yeast rice. Its similar to Japanese Koji.

This is with just yeast balls.

Its quite sweet and fruity. If you prefer more dry just rack off the liquid into a secondary fermenter with an air lock. Take a sample each week until you are happy with it. Pasture at 140F for 15min in bottles when done.

 

[CVA7589]

Wow i know this post is a few days old but thats some good lookin and soundin stuff u should sell some i think u would have some buyers lol :applause: :yeah:

 

[CVA7589]

Wow i know this post is a few days old but thats some good lookin and soundin stuff u should sell some i think u would have some buyers lol :applause: :yeah: and another thing bud but how did u figure out all this thats crazyness !!

 

[GM54-120]

I call this one

Black Apple Wine (becaue ABV is higher). Its mostly fresh cider with about 3 cups of wild blackberries added.

 

[Squeeze]

artyman:

6 gal clover honey apple 5 gal honey blackberry (pretty much ready to bottle)

my basements a mess

 

[GM54-120]

I wish i would have taken some pics of the cran-apple cider after clearing and bottling. It didn't last long enough

Ive got 3 gallons of plain apple cider fermented dry atm. One i will back sweeten with clover honey and see if fermentation restarts. Not sure what im going to do with the other two gallons yet.

 

[WV Hunter]

I have a family member that makes his own too. Only his is all clear in color and quite potent. :lol:

I don't really drink much of anything these days, and certainly none of what he makes. He does make "apple pie" as well. Supposedly its pretty good, that's what they say anyhow. :drinkers:

 

[GM54-120]

5 gal honey blackberry

I think that is next on my list. I still have several large bags of blackberries from the property. Frozen but still fine for making mead. Apple mead aka cyser is probably my favorite though. 5lbs of clover honey at Costco is only $14. Its more than double that at most stores.