Hibiscus wine

I just started a hibiscus wine based on jack Keller's recipe. Finally breaking in the 3 gallon better bottle I got this Christmas.

Recipe:

Batch size: 3 gallons

5.35 ounces of dried hibiscus flowers
( I didnt weigh them when I bought them so this was what I ended up with was going for 6 ounces)
6 lbs sugar
4 tsp acid blend
3 tsp of yeast energizer/nutrient
Red star Cote de blancs yeast

Boil 2 gallons of water.
Add sugar and stir until dissolved.
Add hibiscus in a nylon strainer bag. Let hibiscus steep for 30 minutes.
Let water cool, remove hibiscus and squeeze bag to get all water out of it.
Rack to fermenter
Top off to 3 gallons, add acid blend and yeast nutrient
Stir vigorously to mix and aerate

OG: 1.110
Temp: 66.3 F

Tasted the sample and it was surprisingly fruity and had quite a bit of flavor. I've never tried hibiscus wine but this is looking promising. Picked up more color than I thought it would as well

Day 1 a few hours in. Yeast hasn't taken off yet. Might have to bring it up from the basement since spring hasn't really hit yet it's still chilly down there.

That is an interesting project. Hibiscus are common where I live in Auckland, so I could try the recipe with fresh flowers when they are in season.

I bet that would be awesome as well, just have to use more fresh hibiscus as I'm sure they weigh about twice as much as the dried ones.

I decided to make this because hibiscus are common where I'm from in florida we had bushes outside our house growing up. Iguanas would eat them like crazy to. So far so good, its a little colder in the basement here than I would want it to be but fermentation has slowly kicked off and seems to be going strong. I'll post and update at racking time in about a month and some tasting notes.

Took a gravity and temp reading on 5/2.

We're at:
1.088
57.7 Fahrenheit

Still tasting pretty good. Very sweet and fruity. Nice rich pink color. Going slow but this yeast strain is slow and the temp is lower than I'd want but it hasn't warmed up here in pa yet. It's still fermenting though so I'm going to leave it for another month.

Here's a pic. Then tend to not be oriented right when I upload from my phone.

Was finishing up another wine so I took a gravity reading. Still at 1.084. Fermenting extremely slow. Temp is up to 61.3 F.

Anyone have any experience with cote des blancs yeast? This is my first time and I've read it's very slow fermentation but this slow has me worried.

That is really slow. I think the yeast just may not have got a real strong colony in the initial stages. I do believe Cote de Blanc likes temps a bit higher and that could be a factor. Closer to 65*F - 70*F is where I have always kept it. Also another thing that may have retarded the yeast could be the acid blend used up front. If the PH was low and with dissolved CO2 building up that swings the PH lower it may have slowed down the yeast. I always add acid blends either after fermentations or if I know I am in good PH levels.

I might suggest whipping the wine to degass it and then adding a tsp of potassium bicarbonate and a tsp of yeast energizer and see if that picks this up a bit.

That particular yeast does ferment a bit slower than EC 1118, but it also likes a bit warmer temps.

Also, did you add any pectic enzyme? Hibiscus can get a little gelatinous.

Going to pick up some ph test strips and potassium bicarbonate tonight from the homebrew store when i stop to get some grain for this weekend. I'll check the ph and then add bicarbonate if it seems higher than it should be. This might be the issue as I read about similar issues with a Mango wine I want to make : https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f79/mango-pulp-wine-216092/

I did not add any pectic enzyme, pretty much followed Jack Keller's recipe.
http://winemaking.jackkeller.net/request198.asp

I really need to build a fermentation chamber to stop issues like this.

Just one quick tip based off what you just said. You mentioned "add bicarbonate if it seems higher than it should be". The problem is it being lower than it should be. I'll say if it is lower than 4.0 then add some bicarbonate to get it just at 4.0 ish range.

Arpolis said:

Just one quick tip based off what you just said. You mentioned "add bicarbonate if it seems higher than it should be". The problem is it being lower than it should be. I'll say if it is lower than 4.0 then add some bicarbonate to get it just at 4.0 ish range.

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Ok I'll check it and go from there. Still fairly new at winemaking and this is one of the first non kit wines I've done. Not that familiar with PH and appropriate levels yet.

I will definitely be taking your suggestion of adding acid blends after fermentation has completed from now on.

I tried to check the PH with the test strips. They were pretty hard to read because the color of the wine sticks to everything and it instantly made the blue pad purple and it was hard to discern what shade of yellow/green it was underneath having never use them before. As near I could tell it was reading the lowest the strips would test for 2.8. I added 1 tsp of potassium bicarbonate, stirred with stir stick for 5 minutes to aerate. Took another reading, seemed around 3.0-3.2, so I added another tsp of p.b. and mixed again. It was reading 3.4 -3.6 maybe. Not wanting to mess it up completely and not sure if I was reading the strips correctly I decided to leave it and popped the airlock back on.

Oh and I did add a tsp of yeast nutrient/energizer blend sold at my local homebrew shop as "SuperFerment". I'll check it in a week when I check on the beer I made saturday as well. Hoping this gets the yeast moving a little bit more, think a combination of low ph and low temp made for a weak yeast at the start. I will say I did another kit wine next to this the whole time, it used cuvee yeast and didn't have a hiccup so maybe more of a ph issue.

Haven't checked the gravity yet but there is airlock activity so its restarted hoping it keeps going and finishes up. Post gravity after this weekend when I check it again.

Thank you Arpolis, appreciate the help! Question though, should I add more acid blend at the end now since I added potassium bicarbonate to decrease the acid? I'm thinking I should just leave it.

If anyone else chooses to make this, wait until fermentation is complete to add the acid blend.

Just leave it. If you end up in the 3.5-4.0 range that is still acidic enough to balance sweetness and bitter flavors. Only add more if you think you need it after tasting. Also make sure it is really clear too because yeasty tastes can throw you off.

Still bubbling away steady for a week now. Checked gravity and its down to 1.070. Hoping the yeast stays strong enough to finish the wine off. Check it again in a week or two.

It should be fine but will go slow. The active yeast you have are probably too old and are not in their replicating/splitting phase where they multiply rapidly. This meaning you have a smaller yeast count per volume. The only problem with that is that this just will take a while. It all looks promising.

This is the fastest its been fermenting since I started it, so it is very promising. This yeast is suppose to be slow anyway so I'm thinking another 6-10 weeks until its done but at least its making progress. Looking forward to tasting the finished product.

Thanks again for the help! I'll post some updates as I progress with this.

Finally got around to bottling this batch. Finished at 1.012. It has a very acidic finish, hoping that will mellow with a bit more age. If I make it again I'd definitely leave out the acid blend until the very end if it needs it.

Hibiscus wine is in my plans for 2015. I usually make juice with it and find that it really needs other fruits to taste descent. how does hibiscus wine taste? do you find it lacks something, you do you find it stands well on its own?

I have made a batch or two of hibiscus wine (not blended with other fruits) made from dried hibiscus. Tastes very drinkable. Don't have my notes handy but I think I used 71B for the yeast. I think the idea of adding acid blend before fermentation has completed is wrong headed for just about any wine I know. The danger is that the pH can drop to a level that places stress on the yeast. That can result in a stalled or stuck fermentation. The only reason (IMO) to add acid blend is for taste and the only way you will know how the wine will taste is by tasting it... so while I certainly have no problem tasting the wine each time I measure the gravity the first time that taste is really important is when I am about to rack from the primary. In other words, adding acid blend to the primary is in my opinion the same as adding salt to your plate before you have even tasted the food. Adding acid blend before bottling rather than while the wine is still fermenting seems to me to have more meaning and usefulness.

First batch I made had cinnamon sticks and lemons in it and everyone loved it. This last batch I made I substituted lime for the lemon. It's been aging for a couple months now need to go check it out.

Verratti said:

Hibiscus wine is in my plans for 2015. I usually make juice with it and find that it really needs other fruits to taste descent. how does hibiscus wine taste? do you find it lacks something, you do you find it stands well on its own?

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Mine has a floral almost fruity start and a tangy acidic finish. Its still pretty young though, Tasted good at bottling time, ill let it sit in the bottles another 3 months or so and try it then.