Beet Wine - My First Attempt

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TasunkaWitko

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Beet Wine - My First Attempt


No, i'm not crazy ~

On a recent thread, I discussed how my grandfather would make different wines:

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?t=591190

One of them, I found out last night when talking with my dad, was beet wine. This makes sense, since he was German and Swedish; beets are integral to the foodways of both cultures, not to mention Ukraine, where my German ancestors lived for a few generations before emigrating to North Dakota.

I figured to myself, why not? I am a food historian, I'm very keen to explore and preserve my "Germans from Russia" heritage, and it's a tie to one of the greatest men I've known in my life. I should give this a try....

So, I looked - and lo and behold, I found what looks to be a solid recipe in Massacessi's Winemaker's Recipe Handbook:

Beet Wine

2.5 pounds beets
1 gallon water
2.25 pounds granulated sugar
2 teaspoons acid blend
1 teaspoon yeast nutrient
1/4 teaspoon grape tannin
1 crushed Campden tablet
1 package wine yeast (I have Montrachet)

Wash beets, skin the beets and cut into small pieces. Place in nylon straining bag, tie top, and gently boil in 2 quarts of the water until tender. Pour hot liquor over sugar in primary fermentor and mix thoroughly. Put bag with pulp in fermentor, stir in remainder of water (cold) and all other ingredients except yeast. Cover primary. After 24 hours, add yeast. Cover primary. Stir daily, check SG and press pulp lightly to help extraction. When fermenter reaches SG 1.040 (3 to 5 days) strain juice lightly from bag. Syphon wine off sediment into glass jug secondary. Attach airlock. When ferment is complete (SG has dropped to 1.000 - about 3 weeks) syphon off sediment into clean secondary. Re-attach airlock. To aid in clearing syphon again in 2 months and again if necessary before bottling.

This wine may be more to your liking slightly sweetened. At bottling add 1/2 teaspoon of stabilizer, then 1/4 cup dissolved sugar per gallon.

In addition to the above, Jack Keller recommends aging this wine for a year.

I'll try this when I get the chance; I have a gallon of rhubarb wine (watered-down, thanks to my #2 son) to bottle, then 2 gallons of apfelwein and a gallon of chokecherry wine to move along before I can start this, but it is at the top of my list.

More as it happens, etc. &c....

Ron
 
Not only am I again fascinated by your project, I've just realized it's entirely possible we're related.
 
I don't mind drinking a juiced apple and beet, though I wonder how that Earthy flavor is going to be in wine. I guess I'll have to wait a year for you to describe it to us. ;)
 
I don't mind drinking a juiced apple and beet, though I wonder how that Earthy flavor is going to be in wine. I guess I'll have to wait a year for you to describe it to us. ;)

Often the flavors of wines made from vegetables are not as "earthy" as you might imagine. Folk for hundreds of years made country wines from carrots and peas and all manner of root and green vegetables. My carrot wine hints at a carrot flavor but tastes more like a hock
 
In my reading here on the forum, I came across another recipe for beet wine that I will post here, for a couple of reasons. The first is to preserve it as a quasi-historic recipe; the second is because it is in all likelihood very, very close to the way my grandfather did it. Come to think of it, there is a third reason as well: it was reported as being very, very good, and I think that I just might try it!

Anyway, here it is, from OHIOSTEVE. I made a few slight modifications for the sake of clarity, but the essentials are as he describes:

Amish Red Beet Wine

I went to an Amish home tonight and the guy's wife makes wine. He offered me a taste of 2 different kinds, peach and red beet. They were both better than anything I make.

I asked how she made the beet cause it was VERY good; she said:

Beet Wine

1 quart of beet juice
2 pounds of sugar (the husband said 3 pounds; he may be right as it was pretty sweet)
Add water to one gallon
Pitch a packet of bread yeast.

Let it go until it "quits working," then drink it

Here I follow recipes, use sorbates and sulphites and "proper" yeast, and hers kicked the crap outta mine....

I think I might try the wine this way, at least the first time. I may add campden in order to ward off oxidation, but that will probably be it.

We'll see....
 
I'm not much of a "real" wine drinker either, but I am enjoying these home-made "country" wines more and more, made from the bounty of the land. True connoisseurs might shudder at them, but they taste great, they look wonderful, they are a tie to the land and - for me - have the added bonus of being a connection to my past and a continuation of a family tradition. I mean really, the more I think about it, what could be more "German-from-Russia" than beet wine?

On that note, I was out at my parents' place a couple of nights ago, and talked with my dad about how Grandpa would make this beet wine. I wanted to compare it to the two methods that I have posted above, and while it is similar, there are a couple of differences.

Grandpa's "method" (although he probably never would have referred to it that way) consisted of re-purposing a large glass battery case, which would have looked something like this:

eec21e9ec3733eaeb094a2afcd024baa.jpg


b76d119b457f13c7e42c2ef2e8264424.jpg


He would wash and peel the beets, then pare them (like a potato), then cut them up into small chunks. He would then toss them into the battery case and add the sugar and water. As to the amounts of beets and sugar, Dad didn't know for sure, but he was certain that Grandpa made wine 5 gallons at a time, so the recipe in my opening post would be a good place to start (2.5 pounds of beets and a like amount - maybe a little less - of sugar per gallon). Grandpa would then pitch the yeast (bread yeast) and let the magic begin. When it was done working, he'd bottle it, and that was that.

Doing it this way, the beets apparently released their juice with no trouble. Dad says that Grandpa absolutely did not boil the beets to extract the juice.

I have a mechanical juicer, but I think that I might just pare the beets, pulse them a bit in my food processor, and then toss them in a mesh bag and into the fermenting bucket. If it was good enough for Grandpa, it's good enough for me. As noted above, I will use campden and employ other methods to ward off oxidation, but other than that, it's looking as though the old-school way might be the best path, especially for such an old-school wine.

Hopefully, a 1-gallon batch of this will be started sometime this week. More as it happens, etc. &c....

Ron
 
G'morning, gents -

Thanks for the comments ~ we'll see how it goes!

To add to the "chronicle," here are three Beet Wine recipes from noted wine recipe guru, Jack Keller:

BEET WINE (1) [Heavy Bodied]

4 lb. young beets
2-1/2 lb. granulated sugar
4-6 cloves
1/2 oz. shredded ginger
1 lemon
1 gallon water
wine yeast and nutrient

Use only young, well washed beetroot, slicing thinly and bringing to boil in 6 pints water with lemon zest, cloves and ginger. Simmer until beetroot is tender, but not mushy. Strain liquid over sugar in primary fermentation vessel, stirring well to dissolve sugar. When lukewarm (70 degrees F.), add lemon juice, yeast and nutrient. Cover well and set in warm place for two days. Pour into dark secondary fermentation vessel (dark glass, or colorless glass wrapped in brown paper), top with remaining water, fit airlock, and move to a cooler place (60-65 degrees F.). Siphon liquor off sediments after two months and again when clear. Bottle in dark glass to preserve color, store in dark place, and sample after one year. Improves with age. [Adapted from C.J.J. Berry's 130 New Winemaking Recipes]

http://winemaking.jackkeller.net/recipe2.asp

BEET WINE (2) [Medium Bodied]

3 lb. beets
3 lb. granulated sugar
6 cloves
1/2 oz. shredded ginger
1 lemon
1 gallon water
wine yeast and nutrient

Wash beetroot well and dice, unpeeled, into 1/4 inch cubes. Bring to boil in half the water with zest of lemon and simmer until beet is tender but not mushy. Strain onto sugar, lemon juice, cloves, and ginger, add rest of water in primary fermentation vessel, and stir well to dissolve sugar. When cooled to 70 degrees F., add yeast and nutrient, cover well, and set in warm place for three days, stirring daily. Strain through coarse muslin into dark secondary fermentation vessel and fit airlock. Rack when clear and bottle in dark glass. Store in dark place and taste after one year. [Adapted from C.J.J. Berry's First Steps in Winemaking]

http://winemaking.jackkeller.net/recipe2.asp

BEETROOT WINE

What Americans call beets have traditionally been called beetroots by the British. This is to distinguish them from beet tops or greens, which are served after boiling or steaming.

I recently developed..one which yields a more full-bodied wine. The earthy flavor [that many refer] to often attends young beet wines, but disappears with aging. Since beet wines should be aged at least a year before sampling and preferably two, no earthy taste should be noted if the recipe is followed precisely. The dark secondary and bottles are specified to prevent any exposure to light from bleaching out the beautiful color of this wine.

Beetroot Wine

5 lbs fresh beetroot
2 lemons
2 lbs finely granulated white sugar
1 lb light brown sugar
6-1/2 pts water
1 tsp yeast nutrient
Montrachet Wine yeast

Scrub the beetroots well and slice thinly without peeling. Place slices in large pot and add zest of lemons and 1-1/2 qt water (this water is from the 6 1/2 pints, leaving 3 1/2 pints to be added later). Bring to boil covered, reduce heat and cook at low boil an additional 20 minutes. Remove from heat and remove beets (remove the peelings before eating) with a slotted spoon. To the pot, add the white sugar, juice from the lemons and yeast nutrient and stir until sugar is completely dissolved, then add remaining water. Allow to cool to 90 degrees, transfer to a secondary, add activated yeast in a starter solution and attach an airlock. Ferment three weeks and rack. Add brown sugar and stir gently but well to dissolve, then top up. Refit airlock and ferment to dryness (30-45 days). Rack, add a finely crushed and dissolved Campden tablet, top up, refit airlock and bulk age in a dark place for six months. Rack into dark bottles and store in dark place additional 12 to 18 months before tasting.

http://winemaking.jackkeller.net/reques29.asp
 
I started this on Saturday, pretty much as I described above.

After washing, paring and chopping, I had exactly 3 pounds of beets. I added 3 pounds of sugar, a crushed campden tablet and 1 gallon of spring water. I pitched the yeast (Montrachet) yesterday, and all seems to be going well.

I also managed to get a few nice photos - will post them when I can, with more details.

Ron
 
Alrighty - for all of the Doubting Thomases out there, this one's for you! :mug:

This is a pretty easy story to tell, so far:

Beet%20Wine%20-%201.jpg


3.4 pounds of beets, sugar and spring water; not pictured are a package of Montrachet wine yeast and a campden tablet (to protect the wine from infection and to ward off oxidation). You can read more about campden tablets and their purpose in winemaking here:

http://www.midwestsupplies.com/purpose-of-campden-tablets

Note: The recipes posted above contain several additives that probably "balance" and "improve" the wine to something a little more in line with modern practices. Pectic enzyme is presumably not necessary; however the biggest benefit that I can see would probably be some acid blend. I do not know for sure if this is the case, but I suspect that it might be. On the other hand, some reports stated that beet wine made the "right" way - that is, with the additives - has been lackluster and even inferior. I will most likely experiment with some of those additives at some point, but for this first attempt, I chose to stick with just the campden tablet, and called it good.

Moving forward, I cut off the tops and roots of the beets, then pared them with a carrot peeler:

Beet%20Wine%20-%202.jpg


Some recipes said that paring the beets is unnecessary, but my grandfather did this, so I did, too. The peelings, roots and tops of the beets were buried in the garden, to keep the land happy.

This actually left me with exactly 3 pounds of beets:

Beet%20Wine%20-%203.jpg


I was estimating that I would have anywhere from 2.5 to 3 pounds total, so this was just fine.

My grandfather would then chop up the beets into small pieces with a knife; however, I am either too lazy or too busy to do that, so I cut them into medium-sized pieces, then pulsed them through my food processor:

Beet%20Wine%20-%204.jpg


This seemed to work quite well.

Some recipes call for cooking the beets at this point, in order to extract the juice. This seems unnecessary to me, and could, in my opinion, result in some sort of off-flavor. Would it? Won't it? I don't know. But the thing is, my grandfather did not cook the beets; my father insisted on that - so I didn't cook them, either.

Meanwhile, I heated my gallon of spring water on the stovetop to the point where it would easily dissolve 3 pounds of sugar. This amount of sugar was arrived at after reading the recipes posted above, and should be a good amount.

By this point, I was starting to wonder if I was the recipient of some family joke, but I kept with it anyway, and am glad that I did.

The next step was to put the beets into a fine mesh bag, then pour the warm sugar water on top of the bag in the fermenting bucket, along with a crushed campden tablet. The water turned beet-red (no pun intended) immediately:

Beet%20Wine%20-%205.jpg


Truly a beautiful colour!

I loosely covered the bucket with a clean tea towel, then set it in a dark, temperature-stable place for 24 hours. After that, I stirred the mixture and pitched the wine yeast.

Since then, I have been stirring the must periodically, and using the large spoon to squish down the bag in order to continue to extract juice from the beets. Fermentation seems to be starting up quite nicely, and I suspect that it will be in full swing by the time I get home from work today.

I have managed to sneak a couple of very small samples clinging to the spoon after stirring the must; early impressions are that I am onto something really good here, and I am thinking that I will end up with some very interesting wine. It's too early to really describe it, but it is definitely good, and for the most part unexpected.

That is all for now - more as it happens, etc. &c....

Ron
 
Well, this project is cruising right along; we're definitely making wine, and that's a good start. The beet aroma and flavor are coming through nicely, without being over-bearing or obnoxious. The colour is simply beautiful - I can't say enough about that!

Ambient temperatures have been a bit on the low side, in the mid 60s; I'm not too concerned about this, but it is something that should be noted. I try to keep temperatures around 69-71, but my "temperature control system" consists of a closet lined with clothes and a space heater, so it's not going to be an exact science. No worries, though, as I am pretty sure most farmhouses that made this stuff didn't have a laboratory nearby.

We're past the halfway point for primary fermentation; this weekend, I'll most likely transfer the must over to secondary, unless I see a reason not to.
 
This is still going well, as far as I can tell. Fermentation may or may not be slowing down a bit, but it definitely seems to be taking place. I am loving the colour and even the beet aroma, which brings me right back to my grandfather's garden in North Dakota.

On the other hand, I have been second-guessing myself (dangerous!); therefore, I have a couple of questions for those who might be able to shed some light on the issues.

First and foremost, I am absolutely not hung up on making this wine taste like anything that it isn't; I want to get the "beet effect," but I also want it to have the best chance for optimum development. Things such as healthy fermentation, as well as retaining the colour and flavour, are my top priorities.

With that in mind:

A) Should I have added acid blend or tannin?
B) How about yeast nutrient or energiser?
C) If the answer to A and/or B is "yes," is it too late to add it?

Once again, I would rather not add anything, if possible. I have no problem at all running this one "as-is" and using it as a learning experience, so if it is too late, that's not a problem. Having said that, if any of the above will help it retain its own natural properties longer or in better fashion, then I may add it.

Thanks -

Ron
 
I'm way over my head here, but perhaps I'll motivate someone smarter to correct me. I'd be wary adding (B), as it's meant to be consumed by growing yeasts, and if you're far enough along that they're no longer reproducing and just making alcohol, then it might remain as residue.

I'd guess you'd be ok with (A) though. But you're not asking the most important question:

What would Grandpa do?
 
Acid blend and tannins can be added post-fermentation, so no hurry. And if your wine is chugging along without smelling farty, I'm guessing no to the nutrients also. Usually for meads etc you can have staggered nutrient additions, often three: at pitch, at 1/3 done and 2/3 done. IOW, if starting SG is 1.100, you add second and third nutrient additions at 1.066 and 1.033. Any later and the nutrients just become fodder for other organisms that are not usually wanted.

Don't know if beets are a "complete" food like grapes are, but if it ain't broke....
 
Stella's right, beets are pretty nutritious & if it works, don't fix it. That being said, I think the only thing missing from beets for yeast nutrition, would be available nitrogen. Easily provided with an addition of diammonium phosphate (DAP). I'd add a 1/2 dose, since fermentation has been going for 5 days, probably doesn't need a full dose now.
It's up to you though, it's your wine after all.
Regards, GF.
 
Hey, guys -

Great minds must think alike, because when I got home from work last night, that's exact;y what I did (1/2 dose of yeast nutrient). When I stirred the must this morning, I noticed a little more evidence of fermentation than in the past couple of days, so I think things are going well.

I'll probably transfer this to secondary tomorrow; then, the wait begins....

ADD moment -

I live in Chinook, Montana. Sugarbeets as an industry and - surprisingly - as a culture have been a "thing" here for a very long time. We had a thriving sugarbeet production here up until the late 1970s or so; we still have a "Sugarbeet Festival" every year, and our high school mascot is...the SugarBeeters.

Sugarbeet wine is on my list of things to try, but that will most likely have to wait until next year. These beets are just regular beets, grown wonderfully at a local Hutterite colony.
 
I transferred my beet wine to my secondary fermenter last night, 31 October. The wine looked wonderful and smelled nice and "beety," in a good way. As far as I can tell, everything is going just fine.

I'll try to forget about it for a couple of weeks while it finishes fermenting and clears a bit. After that, we'll take a look and see what we have.
 
Follow-up - 17 January 2017:

Between being busy and procrastinating, I was not able to rack this wine over until 17 January. I added 1 crushed campden tablet and topped the gallon off with some extra wine that I had from racking over into secondary. There was a surprisingly-low amount of lees, but fermentation had definitely taken place, and I am definitely ending up with wine, here.

There was enough left over for a small sample, so of course I tried it. This wine is very interesting and surprisingly good. The colour is simply beautiful, a jewel-like hue somewhere between magenta and burgundy, similar to yet slightly lighter than the “bucket” photo above. It is hard to describe, so I will get a photo next time. There is a definite flavour of beets, but not in a bad way - it is very slightly earthy and finishes with a nice “beet-ness.” Its over-all character has a slight alcohol harshness, as it is still a young wine, but if it does any maturing at all, I think I am going to have something really special here.

I’ll rack it one more time in a month or two, then bottle it a month or two later. By mid-summer or autumn, we’ll see what we end up with.

That is all for now - more as it happens, etc. &c....

Ron
 
I've been waiting for this update! Sounds promising, are you going to have a naming contest? I'd like to reserve "Beet yourself up".
 
I love beet wine. I made a bunch, it's great. Needs some acid though, so I either add lime juice after its done or acid blend while brewing.
 
Hi, guys, and thanks for the kind words. The wine continues to do its thing without my help, and I think it's going to end up being pretty god, and certainly unique.

@buMbLeB - For this one, being that it is really the essence of everything about my family heritage, I am simply calling it, "Grandpa's Beet Wine." I do like the "Beet Yourself Up," though! I think if you give this a try, you'll like it. It's something pretty special, and I still can't get over the beautiful colour.

@Crohnnie - I wanted to keep it pretty close the the "original" for my first attempt, only adding a campden tablet and using Montrachet, rather than bread yeast. Having said that, the one thing I did consider adding was indeed acid blend. I may have to add a little for my next attempt at this, in order to compare. Some of the reading I did suggested that additives left a "flabby" wine, but I am not sure which additives those were. In order to get an idea, I might try adding a little lime juice to a glass as you mentioned in your post, and then go from there.

Thanks again, guys - I'll try to have more later, but for now I can definitely call this a success, as well as a blueprint for future attempts.

Ron
 
Good luck, I'm sure you'll have good results. I left some for a while and it started to smell bad but I still drank it and didn't die. Yours will probably turn out better; just fine.
 
Has anybody ever though of using sugar beets to make this stuff instead of the regular red kind of beet. It would seem to me that it might be a better idea since sugar beets are used for producing table sugar.
 
Has anybody ever though of using sugar beets to make this stuff instead of the regular red kind of beet. It would seem to me that it might be a better idea since sugar beets are used for producing table sugar.

Beetroot has a long history as a country wine. You can find a recipe for this in Terry Garey's The Joy of Home Wine Making (pps 150 -152).
 
Has anybody thought of using Sugar Beets instead of red beats. The sugar content would be higher.
 
How is the testing different for say beet wine than grape wine?

Is SO2 more heavily monitored? Is pH still tested as normal?
Would there be higher reducing sugars?
 
I have no idea, Hanna - I simply made it about the same as my grandfather did. The only "refinements" that I made were adding a campden tablet and using Montrachet rather than bread yeast. So far, it is making what I consider to be a very nice wine, but I have no "scientific data" on it.

@bernardsmith might be able to provide some insight into the more technical aspects, and I would certainly bow to his knowledge and experience in that regard.

Re: Sugarbeets, that is a goal for this fall, when we will have some available. ;)
 
If sugar beets taste anything like they smell when they're extracting the sugar from them, I'll pass. The smell from sugar factories is similar to the smell of a feed lot. Just sayin'. How's that beetroot wine progressing Tasuka?
Regards, GF.
 
If sugar beets taste anything like they smell when they're extracting the sugar from them, I'll pass. The smell from sugar factories is similar to the smell of a feed lot. Just sayin'. How's that beetroot wine progressing Tasuka?

Aye, I know - however, considering where I'm from, it's almost required that I at least try it. Sugar beets were big here back in the day; we have a Sugar beet festival every fall....and, our high school team is...the SugarBeeters:

701badc93e6f958ca880d4203121fc6b.jpg


Interesting fact: not only the sugar beet tops but also the pulp from the processing were actually used to fatten up cattle in feedlots the last 30 days of their lives; that's why you would almost always see one right next to a sugar beet processing plant, and such is the case in our town, even though the sugar beet industry itself is long gone.

As far as this red beetroot wine is going, I am assuming at all is well. I'll try to rack it one final time in a couple of weeks - or, depending on the amount of sediment I see, I may bottle it. I suspect that it isn't going to clear any more than it already has, but I could be wrong.
 
Hey, GF -

My sincere apologies for not following up on this. I've been out of it for a while due to a couple of trips that we took to the eastern half of the state and to North Dakota. Also, with the ridiculous heat that we've been having, I haven't been brewing (or anything else) much. I aim to correct that neglect.

The beet wine has been bulk-aging in a 1-gallon fermenter since my last post. I should be bottling it soon, and will almost certainly have some left over for some sampling. I still have crab apples and flathead cherries (as well as chokecherries) that I have to make wine from, so I need to get back in the saddle, and soon.
 
Hey, GF -

My sincere apologies for not following up on this. I've been out of it for a while due to a couple of trips that we took to the eastern half of the state and to North Dakota. Also, with the ridiculous heat that we've been having, I haven't been brewing (or anything else) much. I aim to correct that neglect.

The beet wine has been bulk-aging in a 1-gallon fermenter since my last post. I should be bottling it soon, and will almost certainly have some left over for some sampling. I still have crab apples and flathead cherries (as well as chokecherries) that I have to make wine from, so I need to get back in the saddle, and soon.

No worries, been busy trying to keep the lawn alive in this heat, the smoke from the Lolo peak fire doesn't help either. Until I get another freezer, I'm stuck to brewing during autumn & winter, so I know the feeling. I've still got plums & cherries in the freezer from last year That I need to get fermenting; maybe it'll be cool enough come October.
Regards, GF.
 
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