Any ideas for a small, cheap batch?

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billcom6

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I got a small 2 gallon bucket sitting around unused and was thinking about making something in it. Nothing extravagant or complicated, something quick and cheap. Like throw a couple pounds of blackberries and a bottle of juice together or something like that. Anybody got any ideas or recipes they have made using store bought juice (non grape)?
 
WINE COOLERS :D

Hit up your local supermarket, get white cane sugar (if you don't have some) and hit the frozen juice concentrates aisle. Most of those canned concentrates that I've seen don't have preservatives in them because nothing grows in frozen stuff :)

Get enough cans to make a somewhat strong batch going - often the directions are something like add (355ml) can and 3.5 cans full of water, so you'll need 3 to make a little over 4L - buff with sugar to hit desired ABV and still be plenty sweet. If you're using a yeast with nuts enough to eat all the sugar, keep an eye on it and crash when appropriate.

I've got a batch of fruit punch going.. if it works out I have lemonade and limeade to mix up. My brother's done it with grape juice and his current experiment is blueberry pomegranate.

#tag#winecoolers, hard soda, hard lemonade & more
 
I have decided to make a batch using some frozen concentrates. Is there any major preservative I need to look out for (the only one I really know of is sorbic acid) that might actually be in frozen concetrate?

Also I plan to make a hard strawberry lemonade flavor, probably using two cans of strawberry and two cans of lemonade. Now I know lemonade can sometimes be hard to get going because of the acid content, so should I start the batch with only the starwberry then add the lemonade after fermentation has really started goin?
 
I did a strawberry lemonade that turned out fantastic...

I used two cans of lemonade and one can of strawberry daiquiri mix for one gallon. It turned out kind of tart, so be sure to backsweeten with more strawberry. Also, yes using straight cans of lemonade can be hard to get going. Mine still hasnt after a few days.. (fingers crossed)
 
Longneck- Recipe, PLEASE. That's exactly what I'm going after next.

Bill - I hadn't heard of sorbic acid but you're right. Beyond that, maybe sodium benzoate - s'what goes in shelf-stable beverages.

With regard to lemon concentrates, I think you've hit the nail on the head. If you look at the skeeterpee recipe, the guy has mathed out the alcohol he wants and starts his yeast on just a little bit of lemon juice and sugar, adding more when his yeast is really rolling.
 
2 cans generic lemonade
1 can generic daiquiri mix (strawberry)
2 cups sugar
water to a gallon.

starter
1 tsp champagne yeast
1 tsp yeast nutrient
1 cup apple juice
2 tsp must

OG:1.07
FG: .99

I let it ferment dry, racked onto sorbate and campden. Added two more cups of sugar. Sat until clear then bottled in flip top bottles.

I think the total cost was under $6 minus carboy etc.

It didnt last very long after that :)
 
There are a few beers that are pretty easy to do. Here is an easy one for a Scottish Ale.

7 lbs. 2 row pale malt
1/2 oz. hops (5% aa)
1 1/2 lb. crustal malt (60-100L)
1 tsp. gypsum in mash water
Scottish Ale liquid yeast

Bohl wort for on hour with hops added at the start of the boil. Ferment for 7-10 days. Bottle. Enjoy.

Very malty, rich, and one of the easiest recipes for beginners.

Enjoy!
 
1 gallon old orchard apple juice
1 gallon old orchard pomegranate blue berry
1/2 pound on honey
I use champagne yeast...

I ferment for about two weeks. Then rack until all the lees is fallen. I love this stuff I make it 5 gallons at a time.
 
Well I started it tonight. This is whay I used

2 cans frozen concentrate - Kroger brand wildberry flavored
2 cans frozen concentrate - Kroger brand Lemonade flavored
2 cups of dextrose
1 packet of champaigne yeast (forget what brand)
(I already had the dextrose and yest so the juice cost me about $5)


I added the two cans of wildberry along with water, the sugar, and the yeast to my bucket. Once it gets fermenting I will add the lemonde to it. Starting gravity was 1.030.
Guess we will have to wait a few weeks to see how this turns out.
 
So I started it on Sunday.
On Wednesday night fermentation was moving really slow, so I added a little more sugar to try and move it along. That seemed to work because it was fermenting more on Thursday. I wanted to make sure it was moving good before adding the first can of the lemonade, since some people say that can be hard to get moving. So I added a can last night, and now it is fermenting like crazy!!! I swear the bubbler is bubbling like every 10 seconds now. I didn't expect fermentation to really slow down or anything, but I didn't expect it to jump into hyperspeed all of a sudden. Gonna add the second can of lemonade tonight, then the waiting game starts.
 
I started my yeast in a cup with warm water and sugar for like 15 minutes before adding it directly to the mixture of wildberry concentrate, dextrose, and water.
I don't really know what the terms must or starter really mean so I can't answer directly.
Yeast I am using is Red Star Champagne yeast because that is what I had lying around.
 
I started my yeast in a cup with warm water and sugar for like 15 minutes before adding it directly to the mixture of wildberry concentrate, dextrose, and water.
I don't really know what the terms must or starter really mean so I can't answer directly.
Yeast I am using is Red Star Champagne yeast because that is what I had lying around.

Must is the fruit/juice that you are fermenting. When alcohol is created the must becomes wine.

A yeast starter is usually made up of some of your must, warm water and some sugar and yeast nutrient. You then pitch your yeast on top of this and let it ferment for several hours or even days. The purpose of a yeast starter is to ensure the yeast are viable and to increase the inoculation colony before pitching the yeast onto the must. The starter should be covered but not sealed off. The yeast need oxygen to multiply.

If you are just going to hydrate your yeast then just pitch it on top of warm water for 15 minutes, stir, and pitch onto your must.
 
After fermenting for about two weeks I tasted it the other night and it tasted pretty great IMO, so I think I want to finish it and drink it soon, but before I do I have a couple basic questions.

1. What do I need to stop fermentation? I know you need like 2 chemicals, and I have camdem tablets which are one of them, what else do I need?

2. I want to use gelatin to clear it, but have never done that before. I am fermenting in a 2 gallon bucket, can I clear with gelatin in that, or do I need a different shaped/sized container?
 
i have 6 gallons of pineapple wine fermenting right now, just use the dole canned juice
 
1. What do I need to stop fermentation? I know you need like 2 chemicals, and I have camdem tablets which are one of them, what else do I need?

2. I want to use gelatin to clear it, but have never done that before. I am fermenting in a 2 gallon bucket, can I clear with gelatin in that, or do I need a different shaped/sized container?

YUMMAY :D

Campden tablets are sodium or potassium metabisulfite. The other one you'll want is potassium sorbate. Understand that what you're doing is adding yeast birth control, not killing the yeast itself. More on that in a sec.

You can clear it with gelatin in a bucket, sure. The container doesn't matter as much because the gelatin's making everything clump and fall out. In fact the bucket might be better because you can get a wide thin layer of lees instead of a narrow thicker one (I think this translates to more booze when you rack but don't quote me on it) :mug:

So sorbate/sulfite won't stop a ferment that's really rolling because a) most commercial yeasts dont really give a rip for campden tablets the way wild yeasts do, b) the yeast can't reproduce when you add the chemicals, but they've already done so and all those yeasties can still eat.

If you've the means (that usually translates to "the fridge space") you can both stop your ferment and speed clearing without gelatin by sticking that bucket in the fridge. Or if you want, rack to two 1g jugs and stick those in the fridge. This also does not kill the yeast but makes it go dormant rather promptly. I usually do that instead of chemicals for something like a wine cooler that won't need two years of aging on a shelf to be drinkable.. you just have to keep your bottles in the fridge :D
 
Thanks for the info.
My fermentation has finally started to slow down, so I will probably just let it stop on its own.
Is there a guide for clearing with gelatin? Like how much to use what to do.
 
2 cans generic lemonade
1 can generic daiquiri mix (strawberry)
2 cups sugar
water to a gallon.

starter
1 tsp champagne yeast
1 tsp yeast nutrient
1 cup apple juice
2 tsp must

OG:1.07
FG: .99

I let it ferment dry, racked onto sorbate and campden. Added two more cups of sugar. Sat until clear then bottled in flip top bottles.

I think the total cost was under $6 minus carboy etc.

It didnt last very long after that :)

NOTE: I am just starting to learn about wine and the math that goes along with it, so if you have time to answer please assume I know very little. Thank You :D


I decided to try this, so I bought the cans. I added up the sugars by gram on the cans and the added table sugar to come up with 982g total.

Math:

Aldi's Lemonade Frozen Concentrate, 27g * 8 servings = 216 * 2 cans = 432g.
Strawberry Daiquiri Frozen Concentrate, 30g * 5 servings = 150g.
1 cup of sugar = 200g * 2 cup = 400g.

432+150+400 = 982

According to my math this produces an O.G. between 1.095 and 1.105 for a 1 gallon yield. Beersmith places it slightly higher at 1.112.

Math:

982g / 72g per 1% of alcohol per gallon = 13.64% alcohol, or 1.100 - 1.105

OR 982 / 3.79 liters per gallon = 259g per liter, so 1.095 - 1.100 on the scale on this page

This is way off from CaptainLongneck's O.G of 1.07. What am I missing / calculating incorrectly?

Thank You,

Cody
 
good lord just turn your sugar into syrup mix the fruit juice up and then add water until your SG is where you want it at. make sure the mixture is cool when you take readings or they will be off but im not going to get into that right now....
 
NOTE: I am just starting to learn about wine and the math that goes along with it, so if you have time to answer please assume I know very little. Thank You :D


I decided to try this, so I bought the cans. I added up the sugars by gram on the cans and the added table sugar to come up with 982g total.

Math:

Aldi's Lemonade Frozen Concentrate, 27g * 8 servings = 216 * 2 cans = 432g.
Strawberry Daiquiri Frozen Concentrate, 30g * 5 servings = 150g.
1 cup of sugar = 200g * 2 cup = 400g.

432+150+400 = 982

According to my math this produces an O.G. between 1.095 and 1.105 for a 1 gallon yield. Beersmith places it slightly higher at 1.112.

Math:

982g / 72g per 1% of alcohol per gallon = 13.64% alcohol, or 1.100 - 1.105

OR 982 / 3.79 liters per gallon = 259g per liter, so 1.095 - 1.100 on the scale on this page

This is way off from CaptainLongneck's O.G of 1.07. What am I missing / calculating incorrectly?

Thank You,

Cody

Good math but I find sometimes the math will just not add up some times. Just put your ingredients together, take your gravity reading and adjust for what you want. The math usually just gets you close.
 
good lord just turn your sugar into syrup mix the fruit juice up and then add water until your SG is where you want it at. make sure the mixture is cool when you take readings or they will be off but im not going to get into that right now....

Yeah, well ... My wife says I think too much, so you are in good company. :)

Good math but I find sometimes the math will just not add up some times. Just put your ingredients together, take your gravity reading and adjust for what you want. The math usually just gets you close.

Okay, that makes sense. Thank you.

Cody
 
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