I want to make wine from Mountain Dew Throwback

[Fid]

I've gotten a couple of pretty good chuckles out of this thread.
Keep us posted, glad to see someone is having fun!

God Speed dude, God Speed.

 

[slowjerk]

Should I get the yeast going first THEN dump it in? I'm kinda pissed it didn't work.

Keep the tips coming. I'm going to start a new batch.

 

[Stout-n-Braggot]

Yes, get the starter going a couple days before pitching, mix it well and put it into your brew when it is at high krausen, that will get you the best results.

 

[slowjerk]

Alright, I'll do that. Can anyone give me a quick lesson in making a yeast starter and explain what high krausen is?

 

[Stout-n-Braggot]

You need to make a sugar solution and sterilize it (usually by boiling), let it cool, then pitch yeast into it and let it go. High krausen is the point when beer fermentation is in high gear and there is a large "head" on the surface of what is being fermented, that "head" is called krausen. For your starter you'll need to let it sit until you see good signs of fermentation.
For beer we usually use malt extract for the sugar in the yeast starter, you could use plain white sugar or some light honey so as not to mess too much with the flavors of the Dew. For my smaller starters I usually pour my boiled and cooled solution into a 1 qt glass milk jar with a stopper and airlock and then pitch the yeast (don't forget to aerate, and use a sanitized funnel), easy to store for a couple days while the yeast gets itself going.
If started champagne yeast doesn't get this thing going I doubt anything will, besides maybe a really hardy strain of brettanomyces...

 

[LexxTalon]

yeh... a starter is just a solution of sugars well mixed on a small scale to give the yeast something to eat BEFORE you add it to your carboy... so that when you do add it... it's already fermenting at a very high... healthy level.

So for this... I'd put a cup of water in a small sauce pan...

add about 2 TBSP of sugar(or honey)... mix it really well...

I like to add some of what will be fermented as well... just to get the yeast into the right mode... so you can add just a little bit of Dew to the mixture as well if you'd like.

then add some nutrient (and energizer if you have it)... and mix that really well.

Then bring it to a low boil.

Once it hits that low boil... turn the heat down a bit and let it boil slowly for about 10 minutes... just to get the sugar/honey melted and well blended into the water.

Let that cool COVERED until it hits about room temp... or you can use an ice bath or put it in the fridge to cool it quicker... but you have to keep an eye on it to make sure that it doesn't get too cold for the yeast.

once it's reached room temp... sprinkle the yeast in (the entire amount of yeast you plan to use)... and give it a good mix... then throw it into a small bottle (make sure it's clean and sterilized!)... cap it... shake it up a bit... throw it in a dark corner and let it work. Keep an eye on it. Should be kicking ass in about a day. Once it's started fermenting heavily, put it into your carboy... and let it work it's magic.

Some suggest using an airlock with this... but I've never had an issue just capping it. Just make sure once it gets heavily fermenting... you pitch it. Don't forget about it or you'll have a very powerful bottle bomb on your hands... lol!

 

[LexxTalon]

oh... and krausen is just foam.
It's produced by the attenuation of the sugars by the yeast... and is just a really good indicator as to how well your yeast are doing on the sugars provided.

You'll see when you get this going... it should be nice a foamed up when it's ready to be pitched.

 

[oldmate]

Actually, I would use a starter but then acclimbatise the yeast to the acidity of the mountain dew by adding half a cup of dew to the starter (once it has really taken off) per hour for a few hours, then dump it into the demijohn.

 

[slowjerk]

holy sh** guys! You'll never believe this!
I've had to put things on hold for a week or so (mid terms) and haven't had time to make a starter or anything.
I just walked into the kitchen to get a glass of water and hear fizzing coming from the jug of Pinot Dew!!
The yeast finally took off nine or so days after I pitched it!!
But now I have no idea when it went or when I should airlock it!

Someone let me know when they think I should airlock it.

Edit: it smells great!

 

[Stout-n-Braggot]

It should be airlocked from the moment it is put into the fermentation vessel

 

[oldmate]

Airlock it ASAP. Also, need pics.

 

[WIP]

Not necessarily, a lot of people open top ferment. If you want to wait, you will be able to tell when it calms down a bit. Just put it in then. You can do it any time between now and then though.

 

[ulsh72]

Just started my batch last night.

Small test batch. 3 20oz bottles Mt Dew throwback in a 2 L jug with Champagne yeast. Made a kickin starter with sugar water before adding to the dew. Also used some yeast nutrient as well.

We'll see how/if she kicks off. If I don't get activity in a few days, I'll add the rest of my starter. Typical preservatives only prevent yeast from multiplying, so if you add enough live culture, you get results. I had that problem with some store(WalMart) bought Cider I fermented.

Good luck all, However it turns out, it will be unique!

 

[slowjerk]

Alright guys here it is, a quick video showcasing the Mountain Dew wine. I wasn't sure how I'd show the activity in pictures so I made a video. It's popping the air lock about 3-4 time a minute. That's awesome!



If I had to do it again I would probably add some corn sugar at the beginning to get the OG up to over 1.10.

 

[Rushis]

Pinot Dew and a growler from Shorts on the same counter...

Ironic and blasphemous

 

[slowjerk]

Pinot Dew and a growler from Shorts on the same counter...

Ironic and blasphemous

Haha! Maybe if I make a batch of Pinot Dew IN the Shorts growler it will summon the Devil himself.

One of the benefits of living in northern Michigan is not only having access to a ton of Bells, but also Founders and Shorts.

 

[DrJerryrigger]

This is great, SUBSCRIBE!
Exited to hear about taste tests. Do they still make that red MD?...

 

[Hoppin_Mad]

This kind of sounds like taking the long way around to get to this....

Good luck though!

 

[slowjerk]

This kind of sounds like taking the long way around to get to this....

Good luck though!

I'm pretty sure it will taste much worse.

 

[DrJerryrigger]

I'm pretty sure it will taste much worse.

"pretty sure"?! I'm positive, but I still want to try it.
Or better yet fermented Red Bull... if only they sold it in gallon jugs.

 

[Homercidal]

Now we know you have a web-enabled camera, so there is NO excuse for not posting a video of you tasting for the first time!

 

[slowjerk]

It is no longer bubbling the air lock. Good? Bad?

 

[WIP]

Gravity?

 

[oldmate]

"pretty sure"?! I'm positive, but I still want to try it.
Or better yet fermented Red Bull... if only they sold it in gallon jugs.

I'm about to start a fermented red bull. I'm going to make a dense starter, then add the redbull in little by little and then backsweeten with redbull once it's finished. The whole batch should be around 500ml, I'm not wasting any more resources on it. It's for a friends 21st party, I'm going to make him drink it regardless of how bad it ends up tasting.

 

[Cascadegan]

Rosée de la Montagne - a fabulously citrusy dry pinot utilizing a recently ressurected recipe from the mid 20th century.


I would drink it.

 

[ulsh72]

Mine still hasn't started.

Added yeast x2 from starters. Last ditch effort was to add some tangerine to give the yeast a little more to munch on.

Now I'll just wait...........

 

[slowjerk]

I'm on vacation but will get a gravity reading when I get home

 

[slowjerk]

OK, 19 days after pitching the yeast the gravity is .996
The original gravity was 1.05
This means it's 7.34% alcohol :rockin:
I put it back on airlock after getting the reading.
Any suggestions?

 

[oldmate]

Sample it!


Does it need to age.....?

 

[weirdboy]

At .996 you are pretty much done fermenting.

How did the hydrometer sample taste?