Rhubarb Wine

[TasunkaWitko]

I'd stick to Yooper's recipe regarding rhubarb and sugar content per gallon. It flat out works. Remember that Rhubarb wine is pretty acidic as it is (one of the reasons I like to back sweeten with a little sugar).

Hi, Solbes, and thanks for the quick reply. I got to thinking last night that Yooper hasn't steered me wrong yet, so I came to the same conclusion: stick to her recipe as-written, especially the first time!

Sounds like you've got some nice stuff coming up with your batches; I'll make mine straight this year and see what I end up with. By next year, I should have strawberries and raspberries growing in larger quantities, so I can always be creative then.

Thanks again, and have a good one!

Ron

 

[TasunkaWitko]

I came across this recipe for rhubarb pop; I'm posting it here partially so I don't forget it and partially because I got to thinking that it might be a good project for those who have kids. This might be a way to get them involved with something fun and evidently delicious as you are making your rhubarb wine.

http://andhereweare.net/2014/03/make-rhubarb-soda-lacto-fermentation.html/

 

[TasunkaWitko]

3 lbs. rhubarb (stalk only)
1/4 pt. white grape concentrate or 1/2 lb. of light raisins (chopped)
7 pts. water
2 1/4 lbs. sugar
1/4 tsp. tannin
1 tsp. yeast nutrient
1 campden tablet (crushed)
1 tsp. pectic enzyme
1 pkg. wine yeast (champagne) I used Montrachet

Use stalk only. Freeze fruit and then place in mesh bag and tie up. Place in primary and let thaw. Dissolve sugar in a little boiling water and dissolve campden and pour over fruit. Let sit 2-3 days, stirring daily, and keep pimary covered. Then, strain fruit out and discard. Add all other ingredients (using cold water) except yeast. Cover. 12 hours later, add yeast and stir well. Cover loosely with a towel. Stir daily, breaking up cap. When s.g reaches 1.020-1.040, rack into secondary, top up if needed, and attach airlock. Rack as needed, adding campden every other racking. This throws alot of lees, so you may need to rack as early as two weeks. When there are no lees for at least 60 days, and the wine is clear and done fermenting, it is ready to bottle. Tastes best after at least one year.

Dry, this tastes a bit like pinot grigio. You may prefer it sweetened, but I don't sweeten.

I apologise if the answers to these questions are in the replies, but for some reason, I am having a heck of a lag or "hang time" trying to open any pages after the first page.

Anyway, I'm set to get this started, but need to know:

a) How much is "a little water" for dissolving the sugar? Enough to cover the rhubarb? Is the sugar water part of the 7 pints, or all of it?

b) Pectic enzyme goes in 12 hours after sugar water, with the fruit still in - correct? It doesn't seem to make sense to put it in after the rhubarb is strained and discarded?

c) 12 hours after draining and discarding fruit and adding rest of ingredients and water (up to 1 gallon?), add the yeast, correct?

That should cover it - thank you!

 

[rlmiller10]

I apologise if the answers to these questions are in the replies, but for some reason, I am having a heck of a lag or "hang time" trying to open any pages after the first page.

Anyway, I'm set to get this started, but need to know:

a) How much is "a little water" for dissolving the sugar? Enough to cover the rhubarb? Is the sugar water part of the 7 pints, or all of it? Yes, I subtract that amount of water from the final amount I add (7 pint per 3 lb rhubarb)

b) Pectic enzyme goes in 12 hours after sugar water, with the fruit still in - correct? It doesn't seem to make sense to put it in after the rhubarb is strained and discarded?

c) 12 hours after draining and discarding fruit and adding rest of ingredients and water (up to 1 gallon?), add the yeast, correct?

That should cover it - thank you!

a. For the water I make a heavy syrup, so two parts sugar to one part water by volume. I measure out the sugar by weight then put half that volume of water on it and bring to a boil to dissolve. Let cool and pour over rhubarb. I let cool as I was afraid I might get a different taste if I poured hot and "cooked" the rhubarb.

b. Pectin enzyme goes in at three days after the fruit solids are removed. But you could actually put it in anytime. I would still wait until after the fruit solids are removed. No need having the enzyme work on something that will be removed anyhow.

c. drain/strain to remove the fruit. I put the fruit in a paint strainer bag so when I remove it I squeeze it just like I would grain if doing BIAB. As soon as the fruit if removed, add everything but the yeast. Wait about 12 hours and then add the yeast. The reason for that is to let the campden dissipate so it does not inhibit the yeast you are adding.

This is really good stuff. It is by far my most requested beverage. Makes me a little sad as I think I make some good beer and mead as well. But everyone seems to like the tart flavor of rhubarb wine on a warm day.

 

[TasunkaWitko]

Hi, rlmiller10, and thanks for the reply. By the sound of it, your rhubarb wine is pretty good, so I appreciate your taking the time to help.

Regarding the sugar water etc., I like your description with the syrup etc. and will make it a point to try that way in the future; however, at the time, it was getting late, so I went ahead and got started with my best interpretation of the instructions in Yooper's original post.

I'll start a separate thread in the next couple of days, so I don't muddy this one up; but basically, I cleaned and sanitized everything, then put the fruit in a strainer bag (it was still frozen but thawed pretty quickly). My dad keeps insisting that more rhubarb is necessary (he is making a batch now too, and is using 4.75 pounds), so I decided to throw caution to the wind, and used 3.5 pounds of rhubarb for this first attempt. I brought the sugar up a little, to 3 pounds, to compensate for the extra rhubarb. It looked to me as though the rhubarb was taking up a lot of room in the primary bucket, so I went ahead and heated the full 7 pints of water hot enough to fully dissolve the sugar - close to, but not quite, boiling.

Once the sugar was dissolved, I let it cool a bit, then poured it onto the strainer bag and a crushed campden tablet. If I would have been thinking, I would have dissolved the campden tablet in a little water, but that slipped my mind. The rhubarb was still partially frozen, so the water cooled very quickly to something close to room temperature.

I stirred the water and rhubarb around in order to dissolve the campden tablet and get everything together. Even with the full 7 pints of water, it seemed like part of the rhubarb was floating on top in the bag, but maybe it just needs to absorb the water.

If I read the instructions correctly, I'll now stir the rhubarb and water for a couple-three days in order to extract the juice, then squeeze, strain and discard the fruit solids from the bag. After that, I will add the pectic enzyme and the rest of the ingredients, except the yeast, which will come 12 hours after that. After adding the yeast, the procedure looks like it will pretty much follow in similar fashion to the wine I've made before.

I'm still a bit confused about the pectic enzyme being added after discarding the rhubarb. I thought that part of the pectic enzyme's job is to help break up the fruit in order to extract the juice? Then again, if the frozen/thawed rhubarb comes apart pretty well on its own, then I guess it really wouldn't be necessary to have the pectic enzyme in there at the time. As I recall, the other part of the pectic enzyme's job is to keep the wine from being hazy, so I think it makes sense now to add it after discarding the rhubarb. Never mind - confusion is gone!

All in all, it looks like I went off the rails a little bit, but not in any significant way that will affect the final outcome.

Speaking of tart rhubarb on a warm summer day, I've got a recipe for a rhubarb-strawberry strong ale that I will be trying for the first time in a couple of weeks. If you're interested, let me know - it's in .pdf format, so shoot me a PM with your email and I'd be more than glad to send it over.

Thanks again!

Ron

 

[rlmiller10]

Hi, rlmiller10, and thanks for the reply. By the sound of it, your rhubarb wine is pretty good, so I appreciate your taking the time to help.

Regarding the sugar water etc., I like your description with the syrup etc. and will make it a point to try that way in the future; however, at the time, it was getting late, so I went ahead and got started with my best interpretation of the instructions in Yooper's original post.

I'll start a separate thread in the next couple of days, so I don't muddy this one up; but basically, I cleaned and sanitized everything, then put the fruit in a strainer bag (it was still frozen but thawed pretty quickly). My dad keeps insisting that more rhubarb is necessary (he is making a batch now too, and is using 4.75 pounds), so I decided to throw caution to the wind, and used 3.5 pounds of rhubarb for this first attempt. I brought the sugar up a little, to 3 pounds, to compensate for the extra rhubarb. It looked to me as though the rhubarb was taking up a lot of room in the primary bucket, so I went ahead and heated the full 7 pints of water hot enough to fully dissolve the sugar - close to, but not quite, boiling.

Once the sugar was dissolved, I let it cool a bit, then poured it onto the strainer bag and a crushed campden tablet. If I would have been thinking, I would have dissolved the campden tablet in a little water, but that slipped my mind. The rhubarb was still partially frozen, so the water cooled very quickly to something close to room temperature.

I stirred the water and rhubarb around in order to dissolve the campden tablet and get everything together. Even with the full 7 pints of water, it seemed like part of the rhubarb was floating on top in the bag, but maybe it just needs to absorb the water.

If I read the instructions correctly, I'll now stir the rhubarb and water for a couple-three days in order to extract the juice, then squeeze, strain and discard the fruit solids from the bag. After that, I will add the pectic enzyme and the rest of the ingredients, except the yeast, which will come 12 hours after that. After adding the yeast, the procedure looks like it will pretty much follow in similar fashion to the wine I've made before.

I'm still a bit confused about the pectic enzyme being added after discarding the rhubarb. I thought that part of the pectic enzyme's job is to help break up the fruit in order to extract the juice? Then again, if the frozen/thawed rhubarb comes apart pretty well on its own, then I guess it really wouldn't be necessary to have the pectic enzyme in there at the time. As I recall, the other part of the pectic enzyme's job is to keep the wine from being hazy, so I think it makes sense now to add it after discarding the rhubarb. Never mind - confusion is gone!

All in all, it looks like I went off the rails a little bit, but not in any significant way that will affect the final outcome.

Speaking of tart rhubarb on a warm summer day, I've got a recipe for a rhubarb-strawberry strong ale that I will be trying for the first time in a couple of weeks. If you're interested, let me know - it's in .pdf format, so shoot me a PM with your email and I'd be more than glad to send it over.

Thanks again!

Ron

Don't worry, rhubarb floats in water so even if you had extra water it would still have a little rhubarb above the water. I have put a plate on it to push it down, but forget last time and didn't see a difference. You are punching/stirring it a couple or more times a day so what is on top today will be below tomorrow.

The sugar all ferments out so adding more will only increase the alcohol.

There is probably more variation between varieties and batches of rhubarb then the difference going from 3.0 to 3.5 lb per gallon would make. So I doubt you will ever be able to see if that made a difference. It will be interesting to see how the 4.75 lb per gallon does though, if you can really taste a difference compared to yours.

As for putting all the water, I doubt that makes a difference either. The reason I hold some back is I make three gallon batches in a 3 gal carboy. So if I only end up with 2.5 gal to start I have a little head space. At my first racking to another 3 gal carboy I will top up with water and will not have diluted it below my original target.

Let us know how your strong ale turns out. I have never done fruit beers, sort of a purist that way, fruit is for wine,...hops, malt, and yeast and occasionally a little sugar for beer... Now my mead..there we can add fruit and or spices.

Regards,

Ron

 

[TasunkaWitko]

Hi, Ron, and thanks for the reply. Some very good information there, and a lot of it is reinforcing what I am learning as I make this wine.

I started a thread for this project, so that I don't clutter up Yooper's thread. If you (or anyone else!) is interested, you can follow along here:

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?t=583990

I'm an absolute newbie here, so I am always appreciative for any suggestions and feedback.

 

[Goofynewfie]

Thinking about making a strawberry rhubarb. Do you think the best way would be to do this recipe and after wine is finished add fresh strawberries and let sit for a week or so?

 

[solbes]

I added 5 lbs of strawberries (frozen/thawed 3x) directly to start of primary for a 6 gallon batch. Whatever I add in for alternative fruit, I remove an equal amount of rhubarb. The strawberry flavor came through just behind the dominant rhubarb flavor.

 

[jsiddall]

There is probably more variation between varieties and batches of rhubarb then the difference going from 3.0 to 3.5 lb per gallon would make. So I doubt you will ever be able to see if that made a difference. It will be interesting to see how the 4.75 lb per gallon does though, if you can really taste a difference compared to yours.

On the topic of pushing the quantity of fruit, I needed to clear out some freezer space so I just made a batch with 5.5 lb per gal. It was really hard to get started, likely due to the high acidity. I pitched another yeast after about 4 days of no activity and a few days after that (more than a week since starting) it finally started fermenting. Today is day 16 and it is now down to 0.996. Time will tell how it turns out.

 

[travis4077]

...
In any case, give it time and it will clear. Make sure the airlock has liquid and then put it in a cool, dark place and check back on April fools day. By then is will probably have cleared and will be ready to rack to secondary.

As suggested above, on March 7th I set the wine in the basement in a cool, dark spot. April 11th I transferred the wine from the primary to the secondary and added 3/4 a can of frozen white grape juice to back sweeten it a bit and to get it back to the gallon mark. Since then it has been sitting in the kitchen, air locked in case fermentation restarted. There is some more sediment at the bottom, it's definitely going to require another transfer, but in the meantime it has gone from cloudy to clear.
Is it about ready to be capped and put in the fridge, or transfer and let sit for another month? I was kind of hoping it would be ready by July 16th, if not that's not a big deal.

 

[Yooper]

As suggested above, on March 7th I set the wine in the basement in a cool, dark spot. April 11th I transferred the wine from the primary to the secondary and added 3/4 a can of frozen white grape juice to back sweeten it a bit and to get it back to the gallon mark. Since then it has been sitting in the kitchen, air locked in case fermentation restarted. There is some more sediment at the bottom, it's definitely going to require another transfer, but in the meantime it has gone from cloudy to clear.
Is it about ready to be capped and put in the fridge, or transfer and let sit for another month? I was kind of hoping it would be ready by July 16th, if not that's not a big deal.

It's probably done fermenting, but I'd take a gravity reading now and then one in a week. When I make this, it's very clear- like read a newspaper through it clear. But if yours is done, and you're happy with the clarity, then it could be bottled. To drink it in a couple of weeks seems pushing it to me, but if it tastes good, then I guess that's fine.

 

[travis4077]

I just noticed that the water level has evaporated below the "breather holes" on the air locks float. I'm going to assume this is bad....

 

[rlmiller10]

I just noticed that the water level has evaporated below the "breather holes" on the air locks float. I'm going to assume this is bad....

I would not assume that. Just the cap sitting in the pipe would keep most things out. And I assume it is already fermented and was just aging. So the alcohol level should be high enough to protect from most infections.

I would taste it and unless it has a poor taste from oxidation I would bottle and enjoy as often as possible.

 

[Shaddark]

A photo of my rhubarb and boysenberry in the secondry and about to be racked again. About 2 1/2lbs of rhubarb and just over 2 lbs of boysenberrys. Very hard to see sediment as the color is so deep.

 

[cernst151]

Has anyone tried using any of the standard wine clarifying agents like Chitosan et al to speed up the clarification process? I'm not against waiting until fall to have beautiful clear rhubarb wine but it would be nice to drink it this Summer. I just want to know if that would do anything bad to the flavor. I would think it would be fine since we use it all the time in regular grape wine.

 

[Chips11]

I went with the chopped raisins instead of the white grape concentrate. My wine is a light yellowish/brownish color but is still very cloudy. I put in 1/2lb per the recipe. Is that going to stay that color? It also lost slot of its rhubard flavour. Any advice?

 

[Yooper]

I went with the chopped raisins instead of the white grape concentrate. My wine is a light yellowish/brownish color but is still very cloudy. I put in 1/2lb per the recipe. Is that going to stay that color? It also lost slot of its rhubard flavour. Any advice?

It shouldn't be "brownish" or lost its rhubarb flavor. Can it be oxidized, maybe with a lot of headspace or something?

 

[Chips11]

Any advice

 

[rlmiller10]

Any advice

Time and patience. Put it in a cool dark place and check back next month.

It should eventually clear. That milky look is mostly from yeast still hanging out.

 

[mng8r]

When s.g reaches 1.020-1.040, rack into secondary, top up if needed, and attach airlock.

I have a couple of batches clearing that I started last spring and am going to be starting a new one. One question I had is the the step about racking to secondary at the above time. I'm wondering if there would be an issue just leaving it in the primary a few weeks longer with an airlock on and then racking off?

Thanks,
Ron

 

[Yooper]

You could- I wouldn't because spent lees can cause an off flavor in the wine, due to the alcohol content. It makes the yeast "burst" and die, and most wine yeast strains don't handle it well. The flavors resulting can be like a rubber stopper taste or smell, or other flavors.

 

[cernst151]

After freezing, thawing, and freezing my rhubarb again last Summer I finally got started on this a couple weeks ago but found the initial recipe a bit confusing. I read through all of the comments in this chain and have consolidated the answers to various questions along the way into a somewhat clarified set of instructions. This will make it easier for me so I figured I'd pass it along in case it helps anyone else.


This is a 1 gallon recipe. Multiply based on how much rhubarb you have. Don't multiply yeast.

3 lbs. rhubarb (stalk only)
1/4 pt. white grape concentrate or 1/2 lb. of light raisins (chopped)
7 pts. water (divided)
2 1/4 lbs. sugar
1/4 tsp. tannin
1 tsp. yeast nutrient
1 campden tablet (crushed & dissolved in small amount of water)
1 tsp. pectic enzyme
1 pkg. wine yeast (champagne) I used Montrachet

OG should be between 1.09 & 1.1

Use stalk only. Freeze fruit and then place in mesh bag and tie up. Place in primary and let thaw.

Dissolve sugar in a little boiling water (2 parts sugar/1 part water) and dissolve campden and pour over fruit (in mesh bag). Let sit 2-3 days, stirring daily, and keep pimary covered.

Then, strain fruit out and discard. Add all other ingredients (concentrate/raisins, tannin, yeast nutrient, pectic enzyme, enough cold water to hit OG) except yeast (maybe use the water to “rinse” rhubarb solids to get all juice & sugar out). Cover.

12 hours later, add yeast and stir well. Cover loosely with a towel for 2-3 days, then seal with a lid/airlock. Stir daily, breaking up cap.

When s.g reaches 1.020-1.040, rack into secondary, top up if needed, and attach airlock.

FG should be around .992

Rack as needed, adding campden every other racking (1/gallon). This throws a lot of lees, so you may need to rack as early as two weeks. Top up with white wine as necessary to avoid oxidation from excess head space. When there are no lees for at least 60 days, and the wine is clear and done fermenting, it is ready to bottle. Tastes best after at least one year.

FG should be around

Dry, this tastes a bit like pinot grigio. You may prefer it sweetened, but I don't sweeten.

Thanks Yooper! I can't wait to drink it.

 

[mng8r]

My first batch (1 gal) ended up with a FG of 0.994. My latest batch (5 Gal) is stuck at 1.000. Unless I blend it with my next batch, it looks like I'm stuck with 5G of sweet rhubarb wine.

 

[rlmiller10]

My first batch (1 gal) ended up with a FG of 0.994. My latest batch (5 Gal) is stuck at 1.000. Unless I blend it with my next batch, it looks like I'm stuck with 5G of sweet rhubarb wine.

1.000 is not really sweet. How does it taste? If there is some residual sugar it will probably add to the flavor as this can be very tart and acidic when dry.

Although good to drink as is, my neighborhood loves it mixed 50/50 with seven up on a warm day. So if you have a bit of sweetness left it should be great.

 

[mng8r]

1.000 is not really sweet. How does it taste?

The first batch is dry, but this tastes sweet, not syrupy sweet, but can definitely taste the sweetness. Then again, many of the rhubarb wines I've tasted at local wineries have been back sweetened and are sweeter.

 

[AkTom]

I pulled the fruit out yesterday. The rhubarb was sweet so I brought it upstairs. My wife put it in a baking dish with an oatmeal crumb topping. Not bad...
Thanks for the recipe.
Cheers

 

[escher007]

Thanks for the recipe... I made some rhubarb wine last year and was somewhat disappointed. If I want it sweeter, what do you guys use to backsweeten it? Also, are screw top wine bottles fine to reuse for homemade wine? Thanks!

 

[jimmyjusa]

Just cut down two plants today, this is a 5 gallon bucket. Guessing ill be able to make a few gallons out of this.

 

[canuckbrew]

Well crap, first batch of fruit wine in 20 years and I f'd it up. I now remember that I need to always write out by hand what my ingredients and steps are in advance and not simply calculate on the fly.

So I did the sugar syrup and poured it over the rhubarb BUT then I added the rest of the water instead of letting the concentrated sugar pull the juice out of the rhubarb for 2-3 days and THEN add the water. I've got 12lbs of rhubarb so I am not going to toss it. My question is should I add more campden tablets? I have added 1 tab per gallon per the recipie. The recipe calls for 1 tab per concentrated sugar/rhubarb mixture. Right now with the extra water I have a dilute sugar, yeast/bacteria happy environment. I want to try and have it sit 2-3 days before squeezing out the rhubarb and adding the yeast. I don't want any environmental yeast to start growing in the next 2-3 days. Is 1 tablet per gallon ok or do you think I should add another 1/2 - 1 tab to hold out and then just aerate it good and add the yeast in a starter mixture in 3 days?

Ah well, live and learn.

 

[Grainpaw]

Leave it sit the 3 days, preferably under 70 degrees. Nothing will happen unless it was somehow contaminated after the campden tablets. Prepare a starter with your yeast. Some yeasts have killer factors to discourage the competition.
This is not brewing. Some things are the same, but you need more patience, among other things. Assume you don't know, and Google a few different sources to answer your questions. As always, beware of Prohibition folklore. Some things have changed since 1932.
http://winemaking.jackkeller.net/reques34.asp
for example.

 

[Grainpaw]

Precipitated chalk is Calcium carbonate, to neutralize excess acid. A ten dollar Acid Test Kit will tell you where you stand. Other ways to deal with excess acid are dilution with water, or blending with a lower acid juice or wine.

 

[AkTom]

4 1/2 gallons. Degassing again using the allinonewinepump. Works great. Tastes very good. I just am waiting for all the co2 to come out before I bottle.
Cheers

 

[rlmiller10]

AKTom, I have never had mine that golden color (if the color is reproducing correct on my monitor). Mine is always more of a ruby. Is it really that golden.

 

[AkTom]

@rimiller10 yes it is.

 

[Northerngal]

I read most of the thread, but I admittedly didn't read it all. So forgive me if this question has already been answered.
If you're interested in making this taste more strongly of rhubarb (either because you don't have access to very much rhubarb, or just because you want to increase the rhubarb taste), is there anything you can do to increased the rhubarb taste from less fruit? Like mash it, or dice it, or.... I don't know. Something?
I haven't made this or any other wines yet, but I know that when rhubarb comes into season, I never see very much of it in my local grocery stores.

I didn’t see an answer posted (but am only on page four!)

You can try making an FPac (use the search function to explain process) or adding additional rhubarb to secondary (after primary fermentation is complete). Itypically do this after one or two months, as a much less vigorous fermentation kicks off it doesn’t blow off the aromas and flavours as much. Another possibility is adding the secondary fruit addition after stabilizing. Feel free to PM me any questions and I’ll do my best to assist.

 

[bjhbrew]

Hello, I am a beer brewer trying out this recipe for my first batch of wine. I should probably have started with a 1G batch but I was able to pull 18lbs of rhubarb out of my Mom’s garden for free so I’m going ahead with a 6 gallon batch. I was hoping someone could offer some guidance on a couple nuances. I’m at the point where the rhubarb has been pulled out after 3 days and I’ve added all other ingredients except yeast and will wait 12 hours before pitching yeast. Here’s what has me confused: I’m using a 30l primary bucket and as I added the water I noticed it looked fuller than I expected. I purposefully held back 3L and took a gravity reading, I’m at about 1.092 right where I should be at but again with 3L still not added. So what’s up? Did I extract that much extra liquid from the rhubarb? What should I do? I guess I could just leave it but I don’t really know how much total liquid is in the fermenter so I’m worried that when I rack it over to my 6 gallon carboy I’m going to come up short and have to top up. I’m also worried that I’m near the top of my primary bucket already and don’t want to over flow. Thoughts?

 

[Blacksmith1]

Store the extra, use it to top up after racking. It will ferment a tiny bit but won't hurt anything.

 

[bjhbrew]

Thanks, are you saying to add the missing plain water after racking or to remove some of the must to add back in later? How much foaming up can I expect? Is it at all like krausen on beer?

 

[jimmyjusa]

Thanks, are you saying to add the missing plain water after racking or to remove some of the must to add back in later? How much foaming up can I expect? Is it at all like krausen on beer?

If you are de-gassing there can be substantial foaming. If you let it ferment out there is not as much foaming as with beer, I'd assume it's a function of the protein in the beer at least in part.