Nov 2014
Lot 2: Ginger Beer--The Reckoning
26/11/14 18:27
On the same day as I pulled Lot 1, I pulled Lot 2 with the Ginger Beer. It came in right at 5% alcohol. I ended up with about 1.5 liters of ginger beer which filled 2/3 of 5 20 ounce (591ml) bottles.
0.591 liters * 2/3 full * 5 = 1.97157 liters. The jug I used was 1.89271liters, so it was probably a little less than 2/3.
After bottling them in the plastic bottles, I added another 1/4 teaspoon of champagne yeast and 4 tablespoons of sugar and squished the bottles to get the air out.
I sampled it and it was quite tasty! It should take about 2 or 3 days and they should be read to drink.
0.591 liters * 2/3 full * 5 = 1.97157 liters. The jug I used was 1.89271liters, so it was probably a little less than 2/3.
After bottling them in the plastic bottles, I added another 1/4 teaspoon of champagne yeast and 4 tablespoons of sugar and squished the bottles to get the air out.
I sampled it and it was quite tasty! It should take about 2 or 3 days and they should be read to drink.
Lot 1: Concord Wine--The Reckoning
26/11/14 18:22
Two and a half weeks later, I pulled the wine. It ended up being 11.5% and quite sweet (which makes sense since half the sugar was left). I ended up with 2 bottles, which also makes sense.
1.89271liters, with about 0.5 liters lost due to sampling.
I am quite happy with these results, and I’ll probably pop them tomorrow at Thanksgiving.
1.89271liters, with about 0.5 liters lost due to sampling.
I am quite happy with these results, and I’ll probably pop them tomorrow at Thanksgiving.
Lot 2: Ginger Beer
09/11/14 14:06
Lot 2 is an alcoholic ginger beer.
Ingredients (per half gallon):
2.5 cups of granulated sugar (plus 1/2 tsp for activating the yeast)
5 tbsp puréed ginger root
1.5 tbsp lemon juice
1/4 tsp champagne yeast
About 24 oz of water (purified, not spring, and not the kind that have elements added for flavor)
I added all the ingredients (minus the yeast) in a glass bowl, then added about a cup of hot water (microwaved about for about 90 seconds), mixed them until everything dissolved together, and poured it into the half gallon jug. I then filled the rest of the bottle with water, capped it, and shook it for about 2 minutes.
I measured specific gravity at 1.079, which is about 10.5% alcohol.
After taking the SG reading, I activated the yeast (which I did not do with batch 1 of concord wine) by adding room temperature water to a cup, adding the yeast, stirring it together, then mixing in about 1/2 teaspoon of sugar. I then added this to my jug.
Ingredients (per half gallon):
2.5 cups of granulated sugar (plus 1/2 tsp for activating the yeast)
5 tbsp puréed ginger root
1.5 tbsp lemon juice
1/4 tsp champagne yeast
About 24 oz of water (purified, not spring, and not the kind that have elements added for flavor)
I added all the ingredients (minus the yeast) in a glass bowl, then added about a cup of hot water (microwaved about for about 90 seconds), mixed them until everything dissolved together, and poured it into the half gallon jug. I then filled the rest of the bottle with water, capped it, and shook it for about 2 minutes.
I measured specific gravity at 1.079, which is about 10.5% alcohol.
After taking the SG reading, I activated the yeast (which I did not do with batch 1 of concord wine) by adding room temperature water to a cup, adding the yeast, stirring it together, then mixing in about 1/2 teaspoon of sugar. I then added this to my jug.
Lot 1: Concord Wine
09/11/14 13:30
I started Lot 1 of Concord Grape wine. It’s a simple recipe:
Ingredients (per half gallon):
32 oz. Concord Grape Juice (organic with no preservative)
4 cups of granulated sugar (cane, not beet)
1/2 tsp dry wine yeast
About 16 oz of water (purified, not spring, and not the kind that have elements added for flavor)
I poured the wine into the 1/2 gallon jug. I then heated up about 2 cups of water in the microwave, and stirred in the 4 cups of sugar until it dissolved. I then poured the sugar and water mixture into the jug, capped it, and shook it up for about 2 minutes.
I measured the specific gravity as 1.088, which will make about 21.5% alcohol. I added the yeast after measuring the SG.
After adding the yeast, I capped it and shook it for about another 2 minutes. Then I added the airlock and put it on top of the fridge. I’ll be leaving it for about 4 weeks before syphoning it off.
Batches 1 and 2 should be done in about 3 or 4 weeks.
Ingredients (per half gallon):
32 oz. Concord Grape Juice (organic with no preservative)
4 cups of granulated sugar (cane, not beet)
1/2 tsp dry wine yeast
About 16 oz of water (purified, not spring, and not the kind that have elements added for flavor)
I poured the wine into the 1/2 gallon jug. I then heated up about 2 cups of water in the microwave, and stirred in the 4 cups of sugar until it dissolved. I then poured the sugar and water mixture into the jug, capped it, and shook it up for about 2 minutes.
I measured the specific gravity as 1.088, which will make about 21.5% alcohol. I added the yeast after measuring the SG.
After adding the yeast, I capped it and shook it for about another 2 minutes. Then I added the airlock and put it on top of the fridge. I’ll be leaving it for about 4 weeks before syphoning it off.
Batches 1 and 2 should be done in about 3 or 4 weeks.
My Brewing Blog
09/11/14 12:55
So I’m starting a new blog here to keep track of my brewing experiments. ’m going to use the same tag for each post about each batch. This will make it easier for me to keep track of each experiment.
Happy Brewing!
Happy Brewing!