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My girlfriend has recently forced me to learn about homebrewing. On Monday, we began our first batch of mead, which we produced in two half-gallon Mason jars. For our first batch, we used a blueberry mead recipe that was found on the Homebrewing forums. The other one was just a basic mead recipe we found online.
We are looking forward to our first taste in 3-4 weeks.
We discarded the Basic mead batch as it failed to ferment after three days. We realized it's because we didn't add the yeast nutrient to the batch when making it. Many low-quality homebrewing recipes found on Google call for raisins specifically to feed the Mead. According to the Homebrewing Forums, Raisins are an awful source of yeast nutrient, and you're better off just buying actual yeast nutrient.
The forum members provided me with several valuable pointers and procedures to follow for future batches. They also link me to some quick and easy recipes that will be ready and drinkable in a short time.
My Girlfriend and I spent 7-8 Hours on Sunday, brewing 12 half-gallons of mead in multiple different flavors!
Labeled with the Date and Number. 1-12 Right to Left.
We have 2 Blueberries (Jars 1 and 2)
3 Cherries (Jars 3, 4, and 7)
4 Apples (Jars 5, 6, 8, and 9)
1 Regular base Mead (Jar 10)
2 Grape Wines (Jars 11 and 12)
Initially, we saw no signs of fermentation, so we became increasingly disheartened. However, this morning, all 12 jars showed signs of vigorous fermentation! Our airlocks are working correctly and releasing the excess CO2 that's created. We will be adding more Nutrients today, tomorrow, and the next day as specified in the TOSNA regimen linked in my previous post. In 3-4 Weeks, these should be ready to taste test.
i did some extremely low-budget homebrewing last year: homebrand fruit juices, baking yeast, balloon with a hole poked in it for an airlock, in the plastic bottle that the juice came in. it worked well, in the sense that it fermented and became alcoholic, but it did not taste good lol
My first year in college my friends bought a bunch of some product on Amazon we made wine from it. We were too young to buy alcohol and didn't have friends older than 21 lol. Thinking about it made me miss them. If I recall correctly we put sugar with warm water mixed in with the product. If made well it had like 10% alcohol concentration.
All 6 gallons of Wine have finished fermenting and are now ready for consumption. We bottled it last weekend into the Wine bottles we'd been saving up! We've stored our bottles in a dark cabinet above the sink, allowing them to age in peace. We bought a floor corker and a package of #9 and #8 corks. We used #9 corks as they drastically increase the shelf life of bottled wine, allowing it to age for longer. Unfortunately, the bottles with caps have much thinner necks, meaning we had to use #8 corks to prevent the neck of the bottle from shattering or cracking.
Again, here's a rundown of what our 6-gallon batch consisted of. I will provide the recipes we used below, along with the method we used to juice the fruit.
2 Blueberries (Jars 1 and 2)
3 Cherries (Jars 3, 4, and 7)
4 Apples (Jars 5, 6, 8, and 9)
1 Regular base Mead (Jar 10)
2 Grape Wines (Jars 11 and 12)
Please note that I will go into more detail on the blueberry jars, as we have additional notes for me to copy and transfer over here. The remaining jars are mostly the same in terms of process.
JAR #1 and #2 (1/2 Gallon Mason Jar)
Ingredients needed:
1lb. Blueberries
25.6 oz Honey
1/8 tsp Peptic Enzyme
1/2 tsp Yeast Nutrient
1/2 tsp Yeast Energizer
1/2 tsp or 1.5 Grams of activated yeast (Lalvin ICVD47)
2 Gallons Distilled Water
Directions:
Mix Honey with Water -> Water should be no hotter than 104 Degrees Fahrenheit (If too hot, the water ruins the honey's natural flavor). Shake the mixture for 5 minutes, or until it is thoroughly mixed. -> Add Blueberry Juice and room temp water. Add 1/8 tsp Peptic Enzyme - Cover + wait for 24 hours.
Make a yeast starter with 1/4 cup water (84 Degrees Fahrenheit) + 1/4 cup Must -> Add Yeast ->Make sure yeast is working -> Pitch yeast after 30 Minutes + Stir Must to suspend.
Top off with water (don't overfill) -> Cover with Cap and Airlock -> Sit in a dark place around
JAR #3, #4, and #7 (1/2 Gallon Mason Jar)
25.6 Oz Honey with 1.5 Cups of Water
Add 1 Cup Cherry Juice
Add 1/8 tsp Peptic Enzyme and wait 24 Hours
1/2 tsp energizer and nutrient
1/2 tsp activated yeast
JAR #5, #6, #8, and #9 (1/2 Gallon Mason Jar)
Jar 5 >4 apples skinned + diced
Jar 6 and 9 >3 apples skinned + diced
Jar 8 >2 apples skinned + diced
25.6 Oz Honey with 1.5 Cups of Water
Add 4, 3, or 2 skinned + Diced apples
Add 1/8 tsp Peptic Enzyme and wait 24 Hours
1/2 tsp energizer and nutrient
1/2 tsp activated yeast
JAR #10 (1/2 Gallon Mason Jar)
25.9 Oz Honey with 1.5 Cups of Water
1/2 tsp nutrient
1/4 tsp energizer
1/2 tsp activated yeast
JAR #11, and #12 (1/2 Gallon Mason Jar) - Half the first two steps of this recipe if you want to make only one jar
1.25 lbs. Sugar with/ 1qt boiling water
6lbs of grapes (Juiced first - will have less then 6lbs after juicing)
All 6 gallons of Wine have finished fermenting and are now ready for consumption. We bottled it last weekend into the Wine bottles we'd been saving up! We've stored our bottles in a dark cabinet above the sink, allowing them to age in peace. We bought a floor corker and a package of #9 and #8 corks. We used #9 corks as they drastically increase the shelf life of bottled wine, allowing it to age for longer. Unfortunately, the bottles with caps have much thinner necks, meaning we had to use #8 corks to prevent the neck of the bottle from shattering or cracking.
Again, here's a rundown of what our 6-gallon batch consisted of. I will provide the recipes we used below, along with the method we used to juice the fruit.
2 Blueberries (Jars 1 and 2)
3 Cherries (Jars 3, 4, and 7)
4 Apples (Jars 5, 6, 8, and 9)
1 Regular base Mead (Jar 10)
2 Grape Wines (Jars 11 and 12)
Please note that I will go into more detail on the blueberry jars, as we have additional notes for me to copy and transfer over here. The remaining jars are mostly the same in terms of process.
JAR #1 and #2 (1/2 Gallon Mason Jar)
Ingredients needed:
1lb. Blueberries
25.6 oz Honey
1/8 tsp Peptic Enzyme
1/2 tsp Yeast Nutrient
1/2 tsp Yeast Energizer
1/2 tsp or 1.5 Grams of activated yeast (Lalvin ICVD47)
2 Gallons Distilled Water
Directions:
Mix Honey with Water -> Water should be no hotter than 104 Degrees Fahrenheit (If too hot, the water ruins the honey's natural flavor). Shake the mixture for 5 minutes, or until it is thoroughly mixed. -> Add Blueberry Juice and room temp water. Add 1/8 tsp Peptic Enzyme - Cover + wait for 24 hours.
Make a yeast starter with 1/4 cup water (84 Degrees Fahrenheit) + 1/4 cup Must -> Add Yeast ->Make sure yeast is working -> Pitch yeast after 30 Minutes + Stir Must to suspend.
Top off with water (don't overfill) -> Cover with Cap and Airlock -> Sit in a dark place around
JAR #3, #4, and #7 (1/2 Gallon Mason Jar)
25.6 Oz Honey with 1.5 Cups of Water
Add 1 Cup Cherry Juice
Add 1/8 tsp Peptic Enzyme and wait 24 Hours
1/2 tsp energizer and nutrient
1/2 tsp activated yeast
JAR #5, #6, #8, and #9 (1/2 Gallon Mason Jar)
Jar 5 >4 apples skinned + diced
Jar 6 and 9 >3 apples skinned + diced
Jar 8 >2 apples skinned + diced
25.6 Oz Honey with 1.5 Cups of Water
Add 4, 3, or 2 skinned + Diced apples
Add 1/8 tsp Peptic Enzyme and wait 24 Hours
1/2 tsp energizer and nutrient
1/2 tsp activated yeast
JAR #10 (1/2 Gallon Mason Jar)
25.9 Oz Honey with 1.5 Cups of Water
1/2 tsp nutrient
1/4 tsp energizer
1/2 tsp activated yeast
JAR #11, and #12 (1/2 Gallon Mason Jar) - Half the first two steps of this recipe if you want to make only one jar
1.25 lbs. Sugar with/ 1qt boiling water
6lbs of grapes (Juiced first - will have less then 6lbs after juicing)
