Coffee wine(?) 7.5 target abv

[PiXeLaTeD]

I'm about to try this recipe
5lbs. table sugar,
1lb brown sugar,
~150g (eyeballed) fresh ginger root (ground)
~1tsp xanthan gum (hoping for body and head retention)
A half lime's juice for yeast health.
2C coffee grounds split additions (dark roast, fresh ground, brewed hot for first addition and cold-brew pasteurized and added with hops)
7g cryohops (added a few days into ferment for bitterness and crisp finish)

I'm using Lavlin 71B-1122 to ferment out completely. Doesn't read much like a wine recipe, I know.

I'm topping up to 5g and brewing in a 6.5g carboy at ~52F ambient, to reduce yeast strain. Introducing yeast cake from a previous hopped ginger beer at ~80F wort/must/wash(?) temperature for a kickstart.

Man, I hope this one goes well.
Seeking an ABV of about 7% and a low enough ester/fusel profile to be immediately enjoyed. Will update.

Please let me know any thoughts you have.

Update - SG measured an hour after yeast cake starter was introduced (starter fermented at ambient for two days) was 1.048. This was at ~4:00PM yesterday. There is now a healthy foam atop the brew and the airlock is gently burping away. Fermometer is reading 72F under a jacket while empty neighbor carboy reads 58F.

I've never had what others might define as a healthy krausen. Any thoughts on why this might be? My guess - lack of nutrition for yeast, but that:s not based on anything other than me not using yeast nutrient. Thanks for reading!

Specific gravity came out at 1.046 last night (at 78F) and I can't get my hydrometer out of the carboy... Ces la vie.

 

[bernardsmith]

Krausen is found in brewing not really in wine making: wine makers use fruits and other plants that are not rich in protein. Brewers use grains. Grains are rich in proteins and proteins trap CO2 in nets created by the proteins. Think bread dough. Wine produces foam.

 

[PiXeLaTeD]

Ahhh... So the dense foam I'm seeing after nearly 24 hours is likely due to the tiny bit of xanthan gum (a polysaccharide) that I'm using as opposed to any protein in the liquid. Hmm...I would like to find some proteins that might create those molecular bonds in order to give the appropriate mouthfeel. Xanthan has a nasty tendency to feel slimey at higher concentrations.

Thank you. You taught me what to research.

 

[bernardsmith]

A sweeter wine stabilized and backsweetened with fermentable sugars will have more mouthfeel (viscosity). Some yeasts produce glycerols and that increases mouthfeel. adding glycerine is said to increase mouthfeel. A lower ABV (less alcohol: water) will have greater mouthfeel, added tannins can increase mouthfeel... There may be other ways to increase viscosity...

 

[Seamonkey84]

Adding some bananas or golden raisins to a batch is said to increase mouthfeel without adding much flavor. Tannins are often used, but you’d think that coffee would have plenty of that. Otherwise, maybe look to use honey instead of sugar to ferment/sweeten.

 

[bracconiere]

use molasses instead of brown sugar? molasses is only about 60% fermentable...

 

[PiXeLaTeD]

Thank you, again. You make a very good point. Perhaps I am a bit too hasty in my attempts to get a satisfying brew. Making 5 gallons as an experiment, for example...
I figure whatever comes of it will be enjoyable whether it achieves my goals or not.Though I must put forward that viscosity is not the only factor in mouthfeel, I do admit it is the biggest.

Update: fairly satisfying krausen/foam at the 36 hour mark.
Actual fermentation temperature has become steady at 66F.

 

[PiXeLaTeD]

Unfortunately, my addition of xanthan gum has shown to have been not the best idea, despite only being about 0.01 to 0.05 percent by weight. The liquid has a notably thick viscosity and the lack of ability to self-circulate (through convection) seems to be causing it to stall. I also failed to consider the issues I might run into when cold-crashing.

Update: As of 1:00PM of the 29th of January I racked off the existing sediment and topped up with about 3 liters of water with 1 heaping cup brown sugar and some yeast nutrient. I'm not sure racking was a great choice, but I was concerned about the amount of debris from my previous brew's yeast cake that I used for inoculation.

 

[PiXeLaTeD]

Another noob mistake - feeling weary of checking gravity every so often, I just dropped (carefully) my hydrometer in the carboy, hoping for a close-to-daily difference. After nearly two weeks at 66-74f temperatures, depending on how cold I felt that day, I was down to 1.03 SG. Then I remembered about degassing...shook the sh** out of my carboy repeatedly for a few hours to degas and came to 1.022.

Beige sediment - almost definitely yeast - is forming on the bottom of the carboy after 20 minutes of resting.

 

[AntDoctor]

What ever happened? How did it taste?