Blackberry Wine

[Hazel at the Hill]

Wilko are brilliant for all the wine basics with their little tubs of stuff - enough for (say) 20 batches of wine each, however, they have bizarrely stopped selling yeast in tubs, just in 1-portion sachets. How daft is that?

It's worth looking to see if you have a homebrew shop nearby, just for that - but remember to cock a deaf 'un when you are in there as they will soon have your head reeling with the complexities of it all!

[Closet Brewer]

Well, 'tis done. All my eggs in one basket, all my blackberries in one bucket...

Hazel, my 12lb of blackberries occupied almost 5L of space in my 15L bucket so I guess 6lb would occupy about half of a 5L bucket? By the time I added a gallon of water and enough sugar for an adequately strong brew, I'm a tad over the 10L mark. The first bubbles are appearing on the surface this morning, I'm very excited!

[Closet Brewer]

It's a complicated business and no mistake. I feel like I need a science degree!! Help!!

Sounds like you're doing fine, Muppet!
The red grape juice usually goes in with the fruit at the beginning, but chuck it in when you think of it.

The yeast don't mind how they get there, they're just happy to be in the sugary liquid!

The hydrometer is useful if you want to know what %ABV your wine is, and also good for controlling how much sugar you put in. You'd need to get a reading at the start and then when fermentation is finished, and also if and when you add more sugar during fermentation. I didn't bother with my first blackberry wine though, just followed a recipe. It turned out ok, and I think yours will too (2.5lbs sounds like a sensible amount of sugar)

I'd give it a stir at least daily.

Good luck! My first blackberry wine tasted a bit bitter at first, but it mellowed having aged for a year or so, so don't be disheartened if you're not happy with the first taste when it's finished fermenting.

[Muppet194]

Thanks CB I've just chucked in half the little bottle of grape juice and given it a stir. It's got bubbles on the surface so it's beginning to do its thing.

[Farmer_Gyles]

Mixed sachet of yeast (wilkos) with bit of warm water & added to berries. (Little concerned here as pack said just sprinkle onto surface of fruit but I stuck to recipe) .

Nothing to be concerned about
You can sprinkle dry yeast on top of the liquid and it'll be fine, although some beg to differ and recommend that you rehydrate the yeast first in a bit of warm water, then add it to the bucket - one way or another you get the same result

Do I do anything with hydrometer at this stage?

Yes, take a reading. Ideally you want a reading of something like 1.080. If it's lower, you might want to add more sugar. But that's not something to worry much about right now.
Use the hydrometer to test if the ferment has finished in a few weeks time - you want a reading below 1.000. If you get down to 0.990 then its dry as a bone.
Use the difference between the two readings to tell you how alcoholic your wine is (you'll need to do a bit of maths for this, info available online, but nothing to worry about right now).
When you make batches in future, you'll know how good / bad the last one was so can adjust the recipe accordingly.

It's a complicated business and no mistake. I feel like I need a science degree!! Help!!

It gets easier! It's actually the opposite of complicated - it just takes time to realise just how easy it is!

It's worth looking to see if you have a homebrew shop nearby, just for that - but remember to cock a deaf 'un when you are in there as they will soon have your head reeling with the complexities of it all!

Absolutely! I'm at the stage where (for the most part) I just bung it all in and let it do it's job.

[daviddevantnhisspiritwife]

Hazel -I hope the quantities I suggested were ok. I went out picking yesterday morning and looking at the size of my grape punnets to my 5L buckets, it looks to me like you need to1/2 - 3/4 fill the bucket.

[ohbeary]

I pick into a 15lt bucket that takes 12-13lb filled to just below the rim.

[jessmorris]

I would like a gander at your recipe too please! I have 2.5 pounds of the berries and will prob make it up to 4 pounds with apples I think....many thanks, JM

I had a year off wine making last year, but the 2011 Blackberry wine I made was fab. I don't think I used more than 4lb of fruit and used red grape juice as mentioned before. Colour wise it came out pretty respectable - like a light bodied red almost shiraz'ish colour (definitely not a rose).

I'll see if I can locate the recipe - I am sure I had it on a tatty old post it note somewhere.

I am using steam juicing this year and am hoping that will improve things some, the first batch of juice is thick and very dark.

[Anarchy84]

Half a bucket of blackberries
2 bags of sugar
3 chopped chillies
1 crushed garlic clove.

Mash it all up and top up with boiling water.
Cover and leave for a few days.
Sprinkle on yeast and leave for an hour then stir the whole thing up.
Cover and leave for a week.
Rack into demijohns and leave till it stops bubbling.
Rack into bottles and leave for at least 3 months.

Drink.

Simple but effective. I don't usually remember finishing the second bottle.

[Closet Brewer]

Update!

So the 12lb blackberry wine was fruity but REALLY bitter! I think all that fruit gave it way too much acid.

I added some chalk which seems to have calmed the acidity down a little.

And of course, bane of my brewing life, the bugger didn't clear properly. This haze partially responded to bentonite, but really responded well to kwik-clear, the kieselsol and gelatin combination stuff.

I think with all that fruit it'll need another year or two maturing before it's at its best. I'll stabilise it, sweeten it and stick it back in the cupboard in a demijohn. If I bottle it I'll just drink it too early cos I have no self control...

How did everyone else's turn out?

[Closet Brewer]

Half a bucket of blackberries
2 bags of sugar
3 chopped chillies
1 crushed garlic clove.

That sounds dirty! Intriguing, but dirty...

[Kirk]

If the bitterness is sort of "metallic" then it will be too much tanin from the blackberries, and the pips. It is not uncommon, elderberry is worse. As you say leaving it for a year or two to mature and mellow is the solution to this.