Anyone carbonate Welch's juice wine?

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CereousBrewer

CereousBrewer

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I have three batches of Welch's juice concentrate wine in progress (concord, white grape/raspberry, and white grape/peach) and was wondering if anyone has tried carbonating this recipe to make sparkling wine. If so, do you add dextrose in the same manner as priming beer (5oz/5 gal)?

Thanks in advance for your input.
 
G-Man said:
I have three batches of Welch's juice concentrate wine in progress (concord, white grape/raspberry, and white grape/peach) and was wondering if anyone has tried carbonating this recipe to make sparkling wine. If so, do you add dextrose in the same manner as priming beer (5oz/5 gal)?

Thanks in advance for your input.
Click to expand...

when primary fermentation is complete a standard amt of priming sugar (1oz/gal)should be fine
 
Opsamk said:
Just cap it and let it carbonate itself, this works for champagne yeast.
Click to expand...

make sure you have your bomb squad gear on when you go to check on the bottle.

You should be able to use a measured amount of priming sugar just like when making beer. the key is a MEASURED amount, after the wine has reached terminal gravity.
 
I have some welches juice wine brewing for about 2 1/2 months now. There are still a very small amount of bubbles being produced - mostly up the side of the better bottle. Is it okay to bottle? Any use in waiting? I would like it to be at least slightly carbed so I figured the bubbling would do the trick.
 
Just grabbed a taste of it.. tasted a bit weird - rich and pretty sweet - sort of like a dessert wine; but I couldn't really taste any alcohol. I don't have a hydrometer so that makes this pretty much a guess... any ideas/thoughts?

I don't think the fermentation was stuck. It's been bubbling for over two months now and the entire bottom has yeast/residue as well as both of the ridges on the sides.

?
 
If it tasted a bit hot, it should contain some alcohol but it sounds like barely any of the sugar was eaten by the yeast meaning your yeast died early. What did you clean your bottles with and what temperature did it ferment in?
 
I cleaned the better bottle and all equipment with One Step. I didn't have any problem with it the last time I used it.

The temperature during fermentation was about 60-65 degrees; whatever my house was at. I had a heating pad wrapped around it and turned on every once in a while. It seemed like the activity increased when it was on; I could be wrong.

What would you recommend? I don't know how I could make it warmer other than increasing the heat of my entire house. Should I try throwing some more yeast in there?

The recipe was:
5 gallons grap-cranberry juice
7lbs cane sugar
Yeast nutrient
1 pkg red star red pasteur yeast

===

Thanks!
 
mstef said:
I cleaned the better bottle and all equipment with One Step. I didn't have any problem with it the last time I used it.

The temperature during fermentation was about 60-65 degrees; whatever my house was at. I had a heating pad wrapped around it and turned on every once in a while. It seemed like the activity increased when it was on; I could be wrong.

What would you recommend? I don't know how I could make it warmer other than increasing the heat of my entire house. Should I try throwing some more yeast in there?

The recipe was:
5 gallons grap-cranberry juice
7lbs cane sugar
Yeast nutrient
1 pkg red star red pasteur yeast

===

Thanks!
Click to expand...

My first wine batch was a combination of muscatel grapes and welch's grape. I only added the welch's when I realized I should not have added water to grape juice (from grapes, not from concentrate...) and also added more sugar. If I leave the bottles out of the fridge for more than a couple of hours, they explode (well, they push the cork out and spew everywhere). They are stable in the fridge and have champagne bubbles. :) I know almost nothing about brewing, but mine fermented at 58-64 degrees (heat miser...)
 
maybe i should just pull some from the better-bottle and see if it gets me a little buzzed...

i really hope it's not f***ed

any advice?
 
Is there a dead yeast layer at the bottom? Any chance the temp ever got over 80? Maybe a bad batch of yeast? Or maybe you inadvertently killed the yeast? If everything has been sanitary all along, you should be fine, even with dead yeast (works as a nutrient for new yeast). Definitely clean your siphon gear, siphon a small amount, measure gravity and sample. Might be OK.
 
Hey,

Thanks for helping..

There is a big layer of dead yeast at the bottom, and a decent amount along each of the two ridges going up the sides.

Unfortunately, I don't have a hydrometer (not sure why), so I can't take a reading now, and I have nothing to compare it too.. I can only trust my tastebuds..

I tried a sip last night, and it didn't really taste like it had any alcohol in it. After 2+ months, with 7lbs added sugar, I was hoping for a high ABV. Maybe I'm just tasting wrong.. it tasted like a dessert liquor without alcohol.

Temp never got over 80. I did have a heating pad around it, but with a room temp of 63~, it probably only raised the degrees by a little whenever I turned it on.

What should I do? Fill up a cup and see if I get a buzz (ha)? Throw some more yeast in there and wait another month (don't want to wait any more). And the only yeast packet I have left right now is a different kind than I originally used..

Ah..

Thanks in advance
 
mstef said:
Hey,

Thanks for helping..

There is a big layer of dead yeast at the bottom, and a decent amount along each of the two ridges going up the sides.

Unfortunately, I don't have a hydrometer (not sure why), so I can't take a reading now, and I have nothing to compare it too.. I can only trust my tastebuds..

I tried a sip last night, and it didn't really taste like it had any alcohol in it. After 2+ months, with 7lbs added sugar, I was hoping for a high ABV. Maybe I'm just tasting wrong.. it tasted like a dessert liquor without alcohol.

Temp never got over 80. I did have a heating pad around it, but with a room temp of 63~, it probably only raised the degrees by a little whenever I turned it on.

What should I do? Fill up a cup and see if I get a buzz (ha)? Throw some more yeast in there and wait another month (don't want to wait any more). And the only yeast packet I have left right now is a different kind than I originally used..

Ah..

Thanks in advance
Click to expand...
I have to qualify this response by stating I've brewed one batch of beer and one batch of wine, and have one of each brewing now.

Given my limited experience, wine should be bitter (dry is the "correct" term, I guess) after fermentation, unless you kill the yeast and add more sugar. In effect, the yeast will continue to consume the sugar until it's all gone, though theoretically, you could get it so alcoholic the yeast would stop consuming the sugar (around 20% or so???) So, to get a sweet wine, normally you have to stabilize then sweeten. If yours is still sweet after 7 weeks, I would imagine the yeast has not worked through all the sugar. That seems odd to me, but I only have one experience to draw on :) Though, since you have a layer of dead yeast, that's a good sign at least some has been "working". If you rack it, that movement will cause the fermentation to pick up a bit. Did you stir your must at first?
 
It's been more like 10 weeks.

I expect a dry, bitter taste, but it tastes more rich and sweet, and not really alcoholic. I only have one better-bottle, so I can't move it. I can bottle it though - I have a few 3L and 4L bottles.

Yes, I stirred a lot when I first mixed up the batch.

I'll sanitize a baster tonight, fill up a full cup, and see what I think.

I just don't want to end up throwing away 10 weeks and $30 worth of 'wine'.
 
Do you have a hydrometer? I'd take a reading and wouldn't bottle until you are around 1.0 or less. Otherwise, I'd let it continue to do it's thing. If you don't, I would probably let it continue until it starts to get bitter or dry. Are you seeing any activity on the air lock?
 
No hydrometer..

There are little bubbles running up the sides and middle - nothing crazy but you can see them..

Airlock bubbles out like once every 5 or so minutes..
 
If the airlock is moving the yeast are working. A hydrometer is a cheap investment too. I'd highly suggest getting one to see what its reading.
 
Well the bubbles are just about non-existent now. I just don't understand why it tasted so weird and so non-alcoholic after 2+ months of bubbling. I'll pull a good sample tomorrow to get a real taste and report back.

Thanks for the feedback so far
 
You could try a yeast energizer (not a yeast nutrient). This article has some background, explanations and recommendations, http://www.grapestompers.com/articles/stuck_fermentation.htm

specifically "Make a yeast starter by pulling off approximately 1/2 gallon of must, and add 1.5 to 2 teaspoons of yeast energizer (thiamin HCL) and 1 packet of "killer" or champagne yeast. Mix well, cover loosely and place in a warm spot. Once you have a vigorous fermentation you can add it back to the original must"
 
Alright..I went ahead and bottled it up..

While siphoning, it was surprisingly carbonated. After I bottled it up, I had to unscrew the caps about once a day to let the gas out.

So, the wine is pretty sweet, but less than the regular juice was. After adding 7lbs of sugar, to have it less sweet than it was by itself is a good sign. Weird cause you still can't taste the alcohol but you can sort of smell it.

The girlfriend and I both had two cups to see what the alcohol content was like cause I don't have a hydrometer for some reason. It was definitely pretty strong alcohol-wise. It takes me a year to get drunk but she was pretty buzzed already..

Last weird thing was that we both had some pretty bad heartburn for a while and just an overall odd feeling. Any idea what would cause that?
 
@DoctorCAD: I would have to say that's definitely it. You can still see some bubbling in the bottles, and I open the caps to let out the gas every once in a while. How do I remove the acid? I haven't added any kmeta or sulfides yet.
 

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