New guy with some questions

[Chambers]

hi everyone! I am new to this hobby, I am a university student who recently had the pleasure of backpacking around the eastern provinces of Canada and got obsessed with microbrewed / brewpubs / homebrewed beverages and have decided to try it out myself.

so I decided on some wine as my first experiment, then hopefully some cider when my buddies dad can toss some apples my way from his farm. I just have a few questions.

I picked up some potassium metabisulphite, 2 23 liter carboys, and 2 airlocks the other day. Is campden tablets better? Is there anything aside from obvious cleaners I shouldn't use on the carboys that might mess up the process? I know fresh fruit is obviously the best way to go, but would there be problems with using frozen fruit from the grocery store? Is there a certain type of sugar i should use for adding to the wine, or will just the normal table sugar do fine?

I originally was going to just toss some mashed up fruit, water and extra sugar into the carboy with some yeast and just see what happens, but I figured this would be easier. Any help would be greatly appreciated! thanks!

 

[Yooper]

hi everyone! I am new to this hobby, I am a university student who recently had the pleasure of backpacking around the eastern provinces of Canada and got obsessed with microbrewed / brewpubs / homebrewed beverages and have decided to try it out myself.

so I decided on some wine as my first experiment, then hopefully some cider when my buddies dad can toss some apples my way from his farm. I just have a few questions.

I picked up some potassium metabisulphite, 2 23 liter carboys, and 2 airlocks the other day. Is campden tablets better? Is there anything aside from obvious cleaners I shouldn't use on the carboys that might mess up the process? I know fresh fruit is obviously the best way to go, but would there be problems with using frozen fruit from the grocery store? Is there a certain type of sugar i should use for adding to the wine, or will just the normal table sugar do fine?

I originally was going to just toss some mashed up fruit, water and extra sugar into the carboy with some yeast and just see what happens, but I figured this would be easier. Any help would be greatly appreciated! thanks!

Welcome to the obsession!
Potassium metabisulphite IS campden tablets. Well, it's the active ingredient in campden, so it's the same thing. Sometimes campden tablets are more convenient (it's hard to measure 1/8 tsp of the k-meta powder, or even less sometimes) but more expensive. You can make a sulfite solution and use a teaspoon of that, and that's easy. I don't remember the exact measurements any more, but it should be on the package directions.

Some keys- use excellent sanitation processes and protect your wine from oxidation. The biggest reason wine doesn't turn out is because of infection, or oxidation. So, use good practices in these two things and you should have no problem.

Here's a great place to start to learn about the basics of winemaking: winemaking: The Basic Steps

I've used frozen and regular pasteurized juices. The only thing you have to watch out for is preservatives in the juice. The most common seems to be potassium sorbate. If that's in the juice, you will not be able to ferment it. Otherwise, vitamin c and other ingredients are just fine in the juice. Check out my apple juice recipe, and my welch's recipe. I posted them as quick and easy (and tasty) recipes that new winemakers can try. They have common winemaking ingredients and procedures, and are pretty simple to start with. You could make the same type of wine, just using fresh juice.

 

[Pogo]

Welcome Chambers -

I advise you to do a LOT of reading while gearing up to make your first batch of anything.

You mentioned 'tossing some mashed up fruit into a carboy...'!

STOP where you are at...do NOT do this!

Carboys are essentially SECONDARY fermentors. When making wine using fruit, instead of a kit, or from juices, an open topped PRIMARY fermentor (such as a vat, tub, bucket, etc.) is required to start the process.

Cleaning a carboy after punching a bucket full of crushed fruit through its mouth and doing a PRIMARY fermentation in there, would be exactly like cleaning your dorm room from the hallway outside it, using a straightened wire coat-hanger, thru the keyhole.

Good luck,

Pogo

 

[Chambers]

Can I use normal cooking sugar to raise the alcohol level of the wine, or is there special brewing sugars I would use, or brown sugar, or is it really all personal preference. Also many of the recipes I read call for some enzyme, and yeast nutrient, are these absolutely necessary for the process, or what exactly do they do to the wine?

I plan on getting started with this, sometime Saturday probably. school has been merciless! Thanks for all your help! I am getting pretty excited to try this out hahaha. not much a student can do with no money.

one more thing! is there any intense odours during the fermenting?

 

[Smogre]

Hey Yooper. Ever notice how they change the ppm of K-meta on campden tablets? It changes.
Either way, I go half a tablet crushed per gallon.

Regarding the comment about open top fermentors...
An open top fermentor is not a requirement to start fermentation.
Cleaning Carboys is not hard. Hot water/oxyclean and a long soak works fine. Need something extra? Get a carboy brush and some elbow grease.

 

[Smogre]

... is there any intense odours during the fermenting?

That all depends. I love the smell of fermentation.

 

[Yooper]

Can I use normal cooking sugar to raise the alcohol level of the wine, or is there special brewing sugars I would use, or brown sugar, or is it really all personal preference. Also many of the recipes I read call for some enzyme, and yeast nutrient, are these absolutely necessary for the process, or what exactly do they do to the wine?

one more thing! is there any intense odours during the fermenting?

Yes, there can be some odor. It's not usually strong or bad, but it can definitely be noticed. Some yeasts will actually get sulfury smelling if you don't use yeast nutrient.

About the ingredients, NONE of them are strictly necessary. But, it really enhances the product. For example, if you're making spaghetti sauce, you don't absolutely need garlic or oregano. It's just that it's better and more like spaghetti sauce if you use the correct ingredients. Well, just like with winemaking, if you don't use acid blend when called for, or tannin, it'll still make wine but not exactly what you had in mind.
The pectic enzyme is really important- it breaks down fruit cell walls, so that you can make wine from the fruit and not have a pectin haze. Yeast nutrient will give yeast what they need for a cleaner and better fermentation. Since you're new, I'd recommend following the recipe and techniques at least for the first few times.

Hey Yooper. Ever notice how they change the ppm of K-meta on campden tablets? It changes.
QUOTE]

I did notice that- I still buy the stuff that gives me approx 50 ppm, though.