Blackberries with mold

Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum

Help Support Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

kk1181

Member
Joined
Apr 22, 2012
Messages
9
Reaction score
0
I have about 20 pounds of blackberries. Some of them have a little mold on them. They are now in the deep freezer. How do I kill the mold when I start fermenting?

Do I boil them?

Do I thaw them and mash them and pour hot water on them?

Does the freezer kill the mold?
 
I am also curious, is it possible to kill the mold without using campden tabs, I have bb wine to make, but a wife who is sensitive to sulfites.
 
Pick out the ones that have mold and toss them....sometimes like this year when the BB crop got hit with a frost in April I shed a tear as I toss them.
 
A good rule of thumb for making wine is to consider if you'd eat the fruit/veggie/honey/whatever as is. If not, don't make wine with it either.

Use only perfectly ripe fruit without mold and shriveling on the fruit in the wine.
 
Yooper said:
A good rule of thumb for making wine is to consider if you'd eat the fruit/veggie/honey/whatever as is. If not, don't make wine with it either.

Use only perfectly ripe fruit without mold and shriveling on the fruit in the wine.

Ding ding ding.
-Tell her what she's won Johnny.
-She's won some delicious wine.

Putting quality in gets quality out.
 
Yeah I've picked out moldy berries, but I'm sure there are mold spores floating round in there, is it a question of just hoping my yeast over powers mold or natural yeast? Or should I juice the berries and heat to a pasteurization temp?
 
If they are still fresh and not frozen yet it would help. Are they still fresh? After picking out anything bad and a good wash I would give them a thorough spray of starsan if I really wanted to use the berries. After sitting for a few minutes to drain I'd put them on a sheet pan and freeze them. Bag them up when they're frozen and use them however afterwards.
 
Seems like if you've picked out the reallybad berries and pasteurize the rest at 150 f or 65c you should be fine. Yep it'd be better if all berries were perfect when you picked them and stayed that way till you was ready to make some hooch , but I guess nature has other plans.

Just remember, folks been makin booze for longer than HBT and modern science been around; I doubt they threw out a whole batch cause they was worried bout a few loose mold spores. Drink in good company, it heals most wounds.
 
I never heat fruit for wine, except for my banana wine recipe. Heat does a couple of things- it sets the pectin (think jelly) and it gives the wine a "cooked fruit" flavor. Sort of like the difference between a eating a fresh apple and eating the apples out of an apple pie.

Most winemakers use campden tablets (sulfite) to sanitize the fruit when they make up the must. One campden tablet per gallon of wine must (crushed and dissolved in some water) will do the trick and then just add the yeast 24 hours later.

I normally put the campden tablet(s) in 1/4 cup boiling water and pour that over my fruit and then continue by adding the water and sugar and the rest of the ingredients (except for the pectic enzyme and yeast). Stir well, let it sit for 12 hours and then add the pectic enzyme. 12 hours after that, add the yeast.
 
I never heat fruit for wine, except for my banana wine recipe. Heat does a couple of things- it sets the pectin (think jelly) and it gives the wine a "cooked fruit" flavor. Sort of like the difference between a eating a fresh apple and eating the apples out of an apple pie.

Most winemakers use campden tablets (sulfite) to sanitize the fruit when they make up the must. One campden tablet per gallon of wine must (crushed and dissolved in some water) will do the trick and then just add the yeast 24 hours later.

I normally put the campden tablet(s) in 1/4 cup boiling water and pour that over my fruit and then continue by adding the water and sugar and the rest of the ingredients (except for the pectic enzyme and yeast). Stir well, let it sit for 12 hours and then add the pectic enzyme. 12 hours after that, add the yeast.



Yes I would use campden but my wife is sensitive to sulfites and since this batch is for her well.... I think I will take my chance, I'll make a yeast starter and make sure I have a good culture before I pitch so they battle anything on the berries. They are nice berries and were frozen about an hour after picking so I'm not too worried!
 
agent44 said:
Yes I would use campden but my wife is sensitive to sulfites and since this batch is for her well.... I think I will take my chance, I'll make a yeast starter and make sure I have a good culture before I pitch so they battle anything on the berries. They are nice berries and were frozen about an hour after picking so I'm not too worried!

A thought..... When you add sulfites to the fruit at the beginning of fermentation, it should dissipate by the time you bottle.
 
Back
Top