Raspberry Wine Recipe Please

[redser]

Thanks TS. Coming to the conclusion that homebrewing is a bit like gardening ... ask two people a question and get two different answers The recipe book I have says to use 3 lbs fruit and 3 lbs sugar from the start and GP yeast. She says it will produce a sweet wine and to alter it to taste by experimenting if that's too sweet, but go no lower then 2.5 lbs sugar. I'm not a great fan of dry wines so a strong sweet wine could be up my street. My uderstanding from the book is that the yeast will run out of steam and there will be a residual sweetness left over. She talks about country wines traditionally being sweet rather than dry. The book is from the fifties so maybe we're a bit more sophisticated in our tastes these days? I guess it's all theory for me right now. Even though I have two on the go I've yet to finish one and actually taste it. I followed her 3 and 3 recipe for rhubarb and it has been going for a few weeks now and hasn't stalled. Appreciate all the advice as always, it's an education

[zazen999]

What book is that?

[zazen999]

For my 5 gallons of elderberry - I use 5 lbs of fruit, 2lbs of raisins, and 5 lbs of sugar. That's for 5 gallons!

For one gallon, 3lbs of sugar is immense.

[Hazel at the Hill]

For a sweeter wine, you can simply add sweetener at the end (adding sugar will kickstart fermentation again and that could go on indefinitely).

Well, not quite , it will keep going until the concentration of alcohol kills the yeast. Strongest I've had (and I use wilko gen purpose wine yeast) was just over 16%. I had to serve it in sherry glasses!

For what it's worth, I tend to bung in 2 3/4lb sugar to about 3lb of fruit at the start which normally produces a starting SG of about 1080-1090) then when that has pretty much fermented out, I taste it, and if it is dry as a bone I add another 4oz of sugar. Sometimes this gets the brew fermenting again, sometimes not. I stabilise it with a campden tablet and a tsp of stabilising powder after what I think is the last racking then leave it a few weeks more in case it throws any more sediment then I bottle it.

Start-to-bottle time varies - the rhubarb is pretty much the quickest, I could bottle that within a month of starting off, crystal clear; yet the quince has been sitting in a demijohn for about 10 months and is still not quite clear.

I leave everything for 12 months (at least) from start-to-drink, and the parsnip wines I leave for an extra year in the bottle.

Oh - and yes, Redser, brewing is exactly like gardening - no two opinions the same!

Good luck with your wines.

[Hazel at the Hill]

For my 5 gallons of elderberry - I use 5 lbs of fruit, 2lbs of raisins, and 5 lbs of sugar. That's for 5 gallons!

For one gallon, 3lbs of sugar is immense.

It's what CJJ Berry recommends for most of his recipes, although that can come out a bit on the sweet side by today's palates, I think.

[zazen999]

It's what CJJ Berry recommends for most of his recipes, although that can come out a bit on the sweet side by today's palates, I think.

I'll stick with using the hydrometer I think!

[Hazel at the Hill]

I'll stick with using the hydrometer I think!

Yes, I used CJJ as a starting point in times past - I tend to make it up a bit more now I have more experience, and rely rather more on a satisfactory hydrometer reading than on the 'recipe'.

The funny thing is, that when I put in 3lb fruit to 2 3/4 lb of sugar (this is for a gallon), the hydrometer reads about 1080, which by the time it's fermented out to about 990, give a wine about 12%. Mind you, I've never used raisins in my wines and I would think that they would add a tremendous amount of sweetness.

[Alison]

It's what CJJ Berry recommends for most of his recipes, although that can come out a bit on the sweet side by today's palates, I think.

Interesting that you've found that as most of the wine I've made has been to his recipes and they always turn out out very dry - not doing anything special and to be honest would prefer something a bit more medium for OH so have been sweetening before serving.

[Hazel at the Hill]

Interesting that you've found that as most of the wine I've made has been to his recipes and they always turn out out very dry - not doing anything special and to be honest would prefer something a bit more medium for OH so have been sweetening before serving.

Let's see - out of the first few I made, following CJJ quite closely, I did three batches of apple wine which were notably sweet, and the jerusalem artichoke too. I started to put a bit less sugar in from about then.

[redser]

This is the book by Mrs Gennery-Taylor ...
Easymade Wine and Country Drinks (Paperfronts): Amazon.co.uk: Mrs. Gennery- Taylor: Books

First edition 1957

I love the opening ...

PART 1

GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS

EARLY DAYS

Soon after I married I decided to make some wine.

Me too!

[redser]

So to synopsize - for the beginner, try some recipies, see what you like/dislike, then learn to use a hydrometer to perfect your wine to suit your own palette. Got it. Thanks a lot

[zazen999]

I used a hydrometer from day 1 - my first was a bought mix and my second was fruit tea bag wine.

I don't even drink - it's for my OH and for pressies.

[Two_Sheds]

try some recipies, see what you like/dislike

Absolutely. Theory is all very well, but you have to do a practical to really "get" it

learn to use a hydrometer

That bit took me some time, but it's really well worth using one

[Two_Sheds]

Just had a thought: the easiest thing to make is vodka + fruit.

Raspberries + vodka = delicious

[redser]

Thanks for that TS. Have plenty of raspberries so will give that a go