So... I think i just made blueberry sake (or maybe a shrapnel bomb?)

Here is my recipe:

1/2 Gallon (fermented in growler)

1 lb brown rice (lightly milled)
2 oz white rice (lightly milled)
2 oz rye (lightly milled)
1 oz toasted rye (whole)
9 oz turbanado sugar
3 oz white table sugar
8 oz brown sugar
1/4 package cote des blancs dry yeast (started)
1/10 tube of white labs english ale yeast
1/4 tsp Wyeast nutrient
handful of blueberries

grains tied up in bag
Boil 3 quarts water in open top pressure cooker
remove water from burner, drop in grain bag
put pressure cooker lid on, let set off heat for 35 min
remove grain bag, sparge 3 cups water
boil must adding all sugar
stir for 25 min adding sparge
let set 5 min open, off heat
immerse in cold ice water, cool to 80 degrees
pitch started yeast
add handfull blueberries

I am waiting on my next package of airlocks and stoppers to arrive, should be here monday. I VERY LOOSELY put the lid on my growler, and set the potential bomb in an overflow basin. will replace lid with airlock once they arrive.

I have no idea what the OG is, but it must be high, as the must was THICK.

used a gallon recipe found on line, cut it in half, then changed out the grains, yeast, and added blueberries.

what do yall think? do i have a potentially quaffable sake, or a deadly bomb waiting to disfigure someone for life?

the recipe said it should finish out around 16% abv, but that was using sherry yeast.

Anyone wanna weigh in with possible FG & alcohol level?
do you think it will be drinkable?

--bump--

OK, 4 days in, no fatalities, no mess. This could work.

12 hours after going into primary I had my first bubbles in the lock. I was really expecting an explosive fermentation on this. I have no idea what OG was. It has stayed a steady bubble since it started, but it does not appear to be in danger of blow off.




We shall see in a month I suppose.

No sake I have ever done has involved any steeping or boiling. You probably are not going to get much conversion out of the rice as rice usually requires some amylase activity to break it down before the yeast can do anything with it.

That being said I hope it turns out as something tasty. You have enough other sugars in there to ferment. It will be interesting to see your results.

If you want some more traditional rice recipes to try out as well, arpolis has a thread on here making classic Japanese sake and I have one making traditional rice wine.

Your O.G., based off of the 20oz sugar/half gallon (no clue about a handful of blueberries since your handful likely does not equal my handful, plus your berries will not be my berries) would be 1.100. This is based off: 2 oz sugar will raise the SG of one gallon by 0.005. Off the top of my head, if this ferments to 1.000 your ACV would be around 13%.

I agree with Arpolis that per the current recipe the added rice will not contribute a fermentable sugar. No clue about the conversion of the grains you added, but don't you need malt/malt extract/hops or something to convert grains? In brewing, how is rice converted into a fermentable, the same as grains? A brewer I am not, sorry.

As far as I know, in winemaking, there is no correlation between a thick must and a high O.G.

Do you have a link you can share which would indicate the original recipe?

saramc said:

I agree with Arpolis that per the current recipe the added rice will not contribute a fermentable sugar.

Click to expand...

I did not know I had an opinion on this yet? :cross:

What everyone else here said is true about the grains but I think this will turn out ok. Once about half your gravity has dropped then give it a taste. Try to look past the yeasty taste and If it tasted bread like or has a funky texture that you do not like. You can go pick up amalyse extract at the LHBS and add in a tsp/gallon to convert some of the grains into sugar. Since your adding the amalyse at room temp in an active fermentation like this then you will not get a high conversion but enough to clean up the must a little with all the grain floating around.

Ooh, my bad. Per sonofgrok. Sleep deprivation is getting me. Have yet to sleep since 0600 on Wednesday. Getting ready to go to total silence mode soon.
Thanks for chiming in Arpolis!

UPDATE:

funny deal here...

I meant to throw this stuff out a few weeks ago. I tasted it about 7 days into fermentation and it was AWFUL! tasted like bad humming bird food, and no alcohol.

It got moved over by the sink, to get dumped out. somehow it got shoved back behind the coffe container and the blender, and was spared. So there it sat for 3 more weeks, with the airlock removed, just an open hole in the cap.

today, i was brewing up some new wine, and in the process of cleaning and making counter space, i found this growler that had my paper label attached to the neck, which clearly read "CRAP". i unscrewed the lid, and was just about to dump it when i decided to give it a try. it is still quite sweet, but now definately has alcohol. not sure ABV, but would wager a guess around 11 or 12% flavor is good too! i decanted it to another container to get rid of the thick crud at the bottom of the growler (there was alot) currently i am cold crashing it in a BPA free water bottle i had laying around. tomorrow, i will attempt to freeze concentrate it for an additional alc. boost.

this will definatly be consumed.

Just goes to show, down the drain in never the answer!

Jnco_hippie said:

tasted like bad humming bird food

Click to expand...

How exactly do you know how hummingbird food tastes?