Making wine at home

[Laredo]

Sounds like a very easy way to do it. What prevents the grain from plugging up the drain spout?
I was doing it before I had the internet, and I always had a page for math, opposite my recipes in my lab book.

I became aware of ways to increase temperature by adding volumes of hot water, instead of by heating. I imagine that software would be able to do the math for that?

If you do an internet search for “false bottom for 10 gallon igloo cooler” there should be plenty of results at varying prices. When I looked earlier today, Adventures in Homebrewing (I think they are affiliated with Austin Homebrew) had the cheapest price. You could do the same thing with a brew bag sized for a 10g cylindrical cooler. I have ordered some raw mesh material from https://www.brewinabag.com/ for my malt kiln and I can say that their brew bags should be good to go.

Yes, the Beersmith software has all the calculations for strike water temp based on the weight of the grain and what kind of mash tun you are using (cooler, stainless, etc). It also accepts the current temperature of the grain and equipment to get a better estimate. It has quite a few different sparging profiles you can pick from and tweak that profile to suit your needs. It will even try to predict your mash PH if you input your water chemistry And help you build specific water profiles. The software is pretty impressive, but I haven’t used it in a few years. I think it is all subscription and cloud based now, there used to be a Windows app that you could download and use.

 

[Laredo]

That is a beautiful cabinet!

Thanks. I don’t use it much for brewing beer anymore but I use the fermentation chamber a lot for proofing my bread and for sourdough starter development.

I used to have the RaspberryPi and Arduino boards running a program called BrewPi and also ran a keg tracking program that would display the beers that were on tap and when you poured a glass, you just mash the button and it would deduct the quantity from the keg. I have simplified the controls to a simple on/off (no PID) controller to keep the temp at =/- 0.5F since I don’t use it for draft beer/cider anymore. Plus I think it looks great sitting in the kitchen. Hehe

On edit, here are some pics of the “fancy” temp control, the keg monitoring display, and the fermentation chamber heater whose housing was DIY 3D printed and coils wound by hand.

 

[johnny108]

there are also grain wines, for those not fond of fruit wine, but like the idea of the ease of winemaking.
(I’ve torture tested competitive yeast like k1v-1116 and ec-1118, and actually had trouble getting them to go bad)
I’ve made a few “soju wines” with these yeasts , along with corn or wheat.

 

[Plinsc]

When I made all grain beer, I found it pretty simple. I think people overthink it. I used two separate 4 gallon pots. All of the grain went in to one pot and it was a fairly thick mash. I stirred a lot while heating on the stovetop, and held temperature in a warm oven until it passed the iodine-starch test. I had a bucket with holes in the bottom with a grain bag in it suspended above my primary. I put the grain in there and let it drain. Squeeze. The second pot, only contained water at 170°F. I then poured that through. I know there's are some pretty elaborate ways of sparging, but the specific gravity of the last bit of wort to run through was pretty insignificant. Then, for the boil, I split the wort between the two pots. The only additional equipment above that of kit brewing was the mill, two pots, a bucket with holes, and a grain bag.

The brew in a bag method makes all grain even faster and easier.

 

[ChinaVoodoo]

And the bags are great for saving tobacco seeds.

 

[ChrisN]

Thanks. I don’t use it much for brewing beer anymore but I use the fermentation chamber a lot for proofing my bread and for sourdough starter development.

I used to have the RaspberryPi and Arduino boards running a program called BrewPi and also ran a keg tracking program that would display the beers that were on tap and when you poured a glass, you just mash the button and it would deduct the quantity from the keg. I have simplified the controls to a simple on/off (no PID) controller to keep the temp at =/- 0.5F since I don’t use it for draft beer/cider anymore. Plus I think it looks great sitting in the kitchen. Hehe

On edit, here are some pics of the “fancy” temp control, the keg monitoring display, and the fermentation chamber heater whose housing was DIY 3D printed and coils wound by hand.

View attachment 48635
View attachment 48636
View attachment 48637

Like Wallace said beautiful cabinet and very impressive setup!

 

[ChrisN]

Thank you very much, Everyone! Lots to think about, search, and learn. I do like the idea of natural wines. The less ingredients I have to use the better and easier. From a couple quick searches I’m guessing that natural wine is just mashing up fruit with water and just letting it ferment/age?
If I do have to use a yeast, a hardy, easy to cultivate, and difficult to go bad would be the best yeast to use. I believe my wife has a sourdough yeast culture.
I have looked into the brew in a bag method but have never tried it or got the needed equipment.

 

[plantdude]

You can get you some good wine yeast strains online with plenty left over to culture for 3-10$. Probably a better bet than what you'll get with a sourdough starter that may have a few undesirable qualities with it. It's a small price to pay after you factor in the ingredients, time and effort. Just my opinion...

 

[Old Gasman]

Thank you very much, Everyone! Lots to think about, search, and learn. I do like the idea of natural wines. The less ingredients I have to use the better and easier. From a couple quick searches I’m guessing that natural wine is just mashing up fruit with water and just letting it ferment/age?
If I do have to use a yeast, a hardy, easy to cultivate, and difficult to go bad would be the best yeast to use. I believe my wife has a sourdough yeast culture.
I have looked into the brew in a bag method but have never tried it or got the needed equipment.

You'd be far better buying a purpose made wine yeast in my humble opinion. Do a little research but you're on the right track with fruit wines. It's basically making a mash with the fruit and water, letting it ferment for a week then straining it out and adding the correct amount of sugar then fermenting in a demi-john. That's a simplified version by the way.

 

[SnuffmeisterUK]

Just wanted to chime in here, 2023 was not only my first year growing tobacco but my first year making wine!

I just bottled a batch of ginger and elderflower and a batch of rose and vanilla 'mead' (using a honey substitute as an vegan experiment).

One thing I have learnt is don't judge a drink by how it tastes when young.. the ginger and elderflower was foul until being about 3 months old in its demijohn (carboy for you Americans). It will also taste awful until the yeast has fully fallen and the liquid clears.

It is still a little 'jagged', the booze is fresh and a tiny bit harsh, this should mellow in the bottle.

 

[johnny108]

Thank you very much, Everyone! Lots to think about, search, and learn. I do like the idea of natural wines. The less ingredients I have to use the better and easier. From a couple quick searches I’m guessing that natural wine is just mashing up fruit with water and just letting it ferment/age?
If I do have to use a yeast, a hardy, easy to cultivate, and difficult to go bad would be the best yeast to use. I believe my wife has a sourdough yeast culture.
I have looked into the brew in a bag method but have never tried it or got the needed equipment.

Natural wines aren’t what they used to be- pollution has massively changed the composition of micro flora, and not for the better. Bacteria and mold now far outnumber wild yeast.

 

[ChrisN]

Just real quick what do you think about this article? worth printing or is there a better one worth printing?

wine making article

 

[Old Gasman]

I have had this little book for more years than I care to remember and in my humble opinion it's all you need,

The Boots book of home wine making and brewing​

by Turner, Bernard C. A
I'm sure you could find a copy on the internet thingy if you tried.

 

[johnny108]

Just real quick what do you think about this article? worth printing or is there a better one worth printing?

wine making article

A good outline- here's a more detailed book, written by the college that helps California crank out all the good wines...(Links to each chapter towards the bottom of the page).

Making Table Wine at Home

Home Winemaking Authors: George M. Cooke, Extension Enologist Emeritus and James T. Lapsley, Continuing Education Specialist Electronic version: Christian E. Butzke, Cooperative Extension Enologist Department of Viticulture & Enology, UC Davis.

wineserver.ucdavis.edu

 

[buck]

I made all grain beer quite a bit. The principles are about the same. Unless you're starting from the grapes, the home wine kits you get come with instructions.

Read the ingredients. Better juice will make better wine. Most kits have had their volume reduced and had sugar added. In Edmonton, the Italian grocery store brings in fresh juice around now that's the real deal.

The few times I've bought wine kits, I only used the juice. They often come with additives for clarification, and sterilization. They also come with dried yeast and often oak chips, and sometimes pomace. I recommend throwing the clarifying stuff, like isinglass and bentonite out. It's not the worst thing to do but it's an unnecessary step done because people want their wine done in a month. Unless you want sweet wine, or are bad at keeping everything sanitary, you don't need sulphites to kill the yeast. The juice in those boxes is already sterile. Otherwise, for off-dry, you can adjust the residual sugar and profile by choosing a different yeast strain - check out Wyeast's website. You only need clarifying if you're a nerd and are impatient.

The process, simplified is. Sanitize bucket, pour juice in bucket, (add unchlorinated water if juice is a concentrate), and add yeast. After 4-7 days, transfer wine to sanitized carboy by siphoning with a hose and racking cane. Install airlock on carboy. After a month, rack to another carboy. If oak is recommended for the style you're making, add it to the new carboy. Add airlock. Watch over the next couple months as it stratifies, and it'll be ready when the solids are precipitated out and settled. You could bottle earlier if you don't care about clarity. I would guess if the airlock only bubbles about once every 15 minutes, (at room temperature), it's probably safe to bottle. Carefully siphon into sterilized bucket. Fill sterilized bottles from the bottom of the bottle, up (with a tube). Cap, or cork.

Note: a hygrometer meant for beer or wine is needed to measure the density of the wine before and after the yeast goes in so you know how much alcohol their is.

Some of those kits tell you to use potassium metabisulfite to disinfect your carboy and equipment, be careful using that if you do. It does a number on my lungs and need lots of ventilation when using. Sulfates, can cause allergic reactions on some people, headaches etc..

 

[ChinaVoodoo]

Some of those kits tell you to use potassium metabisulfite to disinfect your carboy and equipment, be careful using that if you do. It does a number on my lungs and need lots of ventilation when using. Sulfates, can cause allergic reactions on some people, headaches etc..

I never put potassium metabisulfite in anything imbibable, but I have put it in my potato wash water. I would need a controlled study to know if it worked, but it didn't seem to harm anything.

 

[Farside]

I've done a lot of all grain beer brewing and distilling. It's different to wine making.
If you can get ripe wine grapes then you will find out very quickly that the sanitation practices used in beer and distilling go out the window.
I've made very good wine from grapes with mold on them for example. It has something to do with the high acidity and the high sugar environment which allows the yeasts to outcompete the bacteria and molds.

IMO wine is about as simple as it gets as long as you get those 2 factors dialed in.

 

[ChrisN]

Thank you very much everyone! I have made notes and printed off shared information. I look forward to sitting down and reading over it and trying it out to make my own wine. My wife has made some wine 2 years ago but has kind of forgotten how it went. Maybe she will remember when I want to give it try. Please feel free to keep sharing information, ideas, making wine/mead/etc, and making related posts