I have heard this done with pumpkins and I think it has good results. But with pumpkins you get your flavor from the rind. The middle is not that desirable. For watermelons it is the opposite. The rind is not very pleasant and the middle is what you want. So will the rind give some nasty off flavors? Not sure. It could still be worth a go though.
Watermelon Wine
- Thread starter akardcd
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I have heard this done with pumpkins and I think it has good results. But with pumpkins you get your flavor from the rind. The middle is not that desirable. For watermelons it is the opposite. The rind is not very pleasant and the middle is what you want. So will the rind give some nasty off flavors? Not sure. It could still be worth a go though.
buckeyebuckeyebuckeye
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Hello everyone, hope you can help me out. I've got a watermelon wine recipe that is 1 gallon, but all I have are 5 and 6 gallon car boys and fermenters. I will try to bump the recipe up to 2 or 3 gallons, but any advice on storage for primary and secondary?
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Cheesy_Goodness
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Assuming the most volume you could possibly have is 2-3 gallons, you should probably be ok for primary fermentation. Your issue is going to be when you rack to secondary when headspace is more of a concern.
I'd spend a few extra bucks on 1-2 one gallon fermentors. I don't know how your LHBS is pricing wise, but I can pick up one for about 5 bucks at mine.
Good luck!
I'd spend a few extra bucks on 1-2 one gallon fermentors. I don't know how your LHBS is pricing wise, but I can pick up one for about 5 bucks at mine.
Good luck!
fbird55
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Finally bottled my watermelon wine. It turned out really nice! I was pleasantly surprised. I'll post pics later.
A couple of things I learned:
1) Watermelon is not an acidic fruit, you will have to adjust acid content A LOT: get a pH meter. I can't remember how much acid blend I used to start my 6 gallon batch, but it was whatever was suggested in the jack Keller recipe. It wasn't nearly enough to get the pH down to a reasonable level so I used tartaric acid to get it the rest of the way so I could cold crash later if needed.
2) My batch needed to cold crash. I let it bulk age for six months, and the taste was still very off when kept at a decent pH. As this is one of my first wine attempts, I didn't know what to expect from cold crashing, but figured I had nothing to lose because it tasted awful. A ton of tartaric acid precipitated during cold crash and I was left with a nice, crisp, dry white watermelon wine. I actually really enjoy it.
3) Give it time to age: it needs it. Mine is probably still a bit young at 6 months.
4) it's not going to taste like watermelon or watermelon candy. As I said, this is my first batch, and I knew it wouldn't taste like watermelon, but 99.9% of the people I have let try the wine are expecting boons farm. Haha. Just thought I'd leave a word of warning.
5) Use a fast acting yeast if you're not an expert. I had no problems, but I didn't want to have a rancid disaster for my first batch so I played it safe.
6) I don't have my notes in front of me, but my potential alcohol reading started at somewhere near 13%. I'd tone it down closer to 11.5% if I make another batch although it's actually quite nice chilled.
7) I didn't add fruit to the secondary. I would try that next time if only for color.
All-in-all a very successful first run with (what I found out after buying 6 large watermelons) a difficult fruit. I left half dry and sweetened the last 3 gallons with 1 can Apple juice concentrate. I'm going to enjoy it for the next few years!
A couple of things I learned:
1) Watermelon is not an acidic fruit, you will have to adjust acid content A LOT: get a pH meter. I can't remember how much acid blend I used to start my 6 gallon batch, but it was whatever was suggested in the jack Keller recipe. It wasn't nearly enough to get the pH down to a reasonable level so I used tartaric acid to get it the rest of the way so I could cold crash later if needed.
2) My batch needed to cold crash. I let it bulk age for six months, and the taste was still very off when kept at a decent pH. As this is one of my first wine attempts, I didn't know what to expect from cold crashing, but figured I had nothing to lose because it tasted awful. A ton of tartaric acid precipitated during cold crash and I was left with a nice, crisp, dry white watermelon wine. I actually really enjoy it.
3) Give it time to age: it needs it. Mine is probably still a bit young at 6 months.
4) it's not going to taste like watermelon or watermelon candy. As I said, this is my first batch, and I knew it wouldn't taste like watermelon, but 99.9% of the people I have let try the wine are expecting boons farm. Haha. Just thought I'd leave a word of warning.
5) Use a fast acting yeast if you're not an expert. I had no problems, but I didn't want to have a rancid disaster for my first batch so I played it safe.
6) I don't have my notes in front of me, but my potential alcohol reading started at somewhere near 13%. I'd tone it down closer to 11.5% if I make another batch although it's actually quite nice chilled.
7) I didn't add fruit to the secondary. I would try that next time if only for color.
All-in-all a very successful first run with (what I found out after buying 6 large watermelons) a difficult fruit. I left half dry and sweetened the last 3 gallons with 1 can Apple juice concentrate. I'm going to enjoy it for the next few years!
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