So Winter’s on it’s way here in the Emerald Isle, and with less to do in the shorter evenings, (not to mention an imminent lockdown looming), I’ve been fixing to put my hand to a new hobby.
Truth be told I’m more of a gin-fiend than a wine-snob, but expanding ones horizons is an integral part of being Irish.
I think…
The wine I’m making is surprisingly straightforward. It’s a 7-day fermentation, where you sterilise a bucket along with your equipment, fill it with grape juice and water, add yeast, mix it up, and monitor for 5 days.
This is an airlock. It sits on the top of the bucket and helps control the escaping gases necessary for fermentation.
This is a hydrometer, sitting in a sample tube of the wine. It measures the strength of the alcohol. It’s currently at 1.080. My hope is that it raises to 1.099 over the next 5 days, making it fit for siphoning and the next stage of fermentation.
Hopefully all goes well over the next week, as I’ve got a fleet of bottles that I’ll have sterilised and primed to house my homemade monkey piss. Although I’m doing a 21 litre batch, which should make 30 bottles, I’m anticipating a 22 bottle yield when all is said and done. This I write down to evaporation, sulphite sediments, and general spillage.
Assuming all this goes off without a hitch, I’ve got my corks and corker ready to seal the deal. This being my first ever brew, God knows I’ll make a roaring ton of mistakes.
If any of you fine and knowledgeable people have any advice or spot something I’m doing wrong please shout and help save my brew!
