getting cross with CJJ Berry now

[Two_Sheds]

so, I did as he said and poured my elderberry juice onto 3lb sugar. The sugar filled a quarter of the demijohn

Then I flicked through earlier chapters (it's all to much to take in in one sitting) and he says you should always add the sugar in stages and dissolve it in water.

Bit late now

in the same recipe he lists "yeast and nutrient" in the ingredients, but nowhere in the recipe does he say when to add the nutrient. I now think he meant to add it with the yeast at the beginning ... so is it too late to add it now? (I'm just starting secondary fermentation)

[SarzWix]

I should think it'd be fine to add the nutrient now. I think it's just to keep the yeast going when the alcohol content gets high enough to start inhibiting it.

The Berry book drives me crackers too - the OH is really the brewing expert in our house, so I need instructions that start at the beginning and carry on to the end, not tell you half of it somewhere else (or assume that you know it already).
The one I use most often is much clearer, and it has nice pictures too...

A Step by Step Guide to Making Homemade Wine: Amazon.co.uk: Judith Irwin: Books

ETA: And the wines have all turned out really well so far (a most important point )

[rustylady]

Trouble with C Berry is that it's a collection of recipes. He didn't write them all. Basic info: Add the sugar with the fruit and boiling water in the bucket. Stir for a few days. Add the yeast (and nutrient if using). Leave for another few days, stirring daily. By this time the sugar will be dissolved and the yeast should be working. Also the juice will be mostly extracted from the fruit. At this strain the liquid off the solids into a demijohn(s) and fit fermentation lock. Leave to ferment out (till no more bubbles). Rack the wine off into clean demijohn(s) taking care not to disturb the sediment. Leave for another month or so, then bottle.

[Hazel at the Hill]

There are bits that don't stack up in CJJ - although it did help that I read most of the stuff at the beginning though (until I got to the bit about 'pearson squares' ) which gives you a bit of an overview.

It did NOT help my first batch of wine (parsnip) that he said to add pectolase & not amalaylse (contradicted elsewhere) and I only got through my first couple of batches by posting a very painful (to everyone else) step by step on here, and taking the very kind advise of the grapes as I went.

You can stumble through my new-to-winemaking confusions with regard to my parsnip wine , my celery wine and my peapod wine if you so wish.

I do forgive CJJ though, because he takes you through the theory bit, which suits me - and he wears wicked 1970's open university stylee tank tops in the photos!

[Snadger]

...............................I do forgive CJJ though, because he takes you through the theory bit, which suits me - and he wears wicked 1970's open university stylee tank tops in the photos!

And he does make EXCEEEEDINGLY good...............................Oh, no that's someone else!

[pdblake]

I tend to bung all the fruit/veg/whatever into a bucket with all the sugar and everything but the yeast nutrient and yeast. I then put the kettle on and pour a full gallon kettle of hot water in an stir until everything is dissolved. Once it's cooled down I add the nutrient and yeast, bung the bucket in the shed for a week and then strain through muslin into a demijohn and go from there

[ohbeary]

Care should be taken when considering Boiling!! water, pectin can cause haze's, like wise starch!!, cold processing is a better option and avoids "jammy" flavours, always remember the enzymes, pectolase if it makes good jam and fungal amylase if it thickens when boiled and always a sulphate wash before processing, to kill off any wild yeasts, they can ruin a brew!!.

[Two_Sheds]

Thanks, I am relieved that it's not just me.
I bought his book for the collection of recipes, but have struggled with every one so far.

I hate things that aren't in order!

Hazel, I will definitely be viewing your older threads (Mr S is out tonight so I can have the pooter to myself)

[Flummery]

I'm always aware that he advocates a style of wine that was acdeptable 40 years ago. His recipes are always too sweet for me, and taste too much of the major ingredient.

[Hazel at the Hill]

Interestingly, I think that wine yeasts have become more robust since CJJ's day, so that even though he recommends (in general) 3lb sugar to 3lb fruit to a gallon of water - which Flum has found makes quite a sweet wine - with today's wine yeasts I find that this still ferments out at well under 1.000, which gives a dry/medium wine (that it admittedly, quite strong!)

My last batch of redcurrant wine was made up with about the same amount of sugar that he puts in - I wanted to make the SG 1.100 to start - but fermented out to 990 which makes it 15% in strength

I think that his wine yeasts would give up the ghost at about 12% which would mean more sugar left over after the ferment had finished, giving a sweeter wine.

Only my theory, mind.

[Two_Sheds]

Hazel, I don't understand all the numbers on my hydrometer yet. I floated it in some elderberry juice, and apparently it is "beer" lol

[janeyo]

I always have to get OH to do the hydrometer thing - makes no sense at all!

He did tell me that my plum wine was going to be off the scale! pmsl

[Two_Sheds]

A Step by Step Guide to Making Homemade Wine: Amazon.co.uk: Judith Irwin: Books

ETA: And the wines have all turned out really well so far (a most important point )

Thanks ... I've just spent my birthday money on a copy

[Hilary B]

I never use the full gallon of water, because that doesn't leave any space for the other ingredients.
YES mostly put sugar and fruit (or whatever else) into a bucket, add some boiling water (usually a kettle-full =3 pints) stir to dissolve as much sugar as possible, then add cold water (another 3 pints).
If it still feels more than warm, put the lid on and leave it too cool. When it is only vaguely warm, add any relevant enzymes, yeast nutrient (that could go in erlier, heat won't harm nutrient) and the yeast. Leave for some days (3 -7 depending on ingredient), then strain out the solids, put in demijohn, etc.
These days I tend to only use a bag (1Kg) sugar initially. If the 'main ingredient' is fruit, that will have some sugar of its own, and if not, then I would be adding something else that does (eg grape-juice concentrate, or raisins).
The demijohn will not be very full! On first racking (or earlier once fermentation is less violent) I top up with sugar syrup. Mostly I put half-a-pound of sugar and pour on boiling water to the 3/4 pint mark, stir until dissolved.
If I want a dry wine, I only top up this way ONCE, for a sweet wine, I carry on until it won't ferment any more!

[Mac]

I've been trying a couple of his recipes too. The raspberry one has just had it's second racking and tastes almost fizzy (SG of 960??!!??), and the ribena one I started making 1 gallon of as per recipe, but the hydrometer wouldn't even go in the tube it was so syrupy - so dilluted it to 1090 (or whatever the hydrometer reading was supposed to be) and now have 3 gallons on the go!! Glad it's not just me......