Sunday, August 2, 2009
Fermenting Berries into Wine to Fill up my Wine Rack
Well this Saturday was officially the opening date for picking blueberries at our favorite organic u-pick blueberry farm. Less than two miles from our house, we made our way early-ish on Saturday morning to beat the heat and get as many of the sweet ripe berries as we could. We know if we want to make a mead good enough to save in our wine rack, we need the freshest berries we can get our hands on. Two of us managed to pick 15 pounds of berries in two hours, before the sun convinced us it was time to cool off inside. While 15 pounds is excessive for even a five-gallon batch of mead, we knew we'd need plenty left over for munching, sharing (with my 2 year old nephew in particular, who cannot get enough!) and a sweet dessert, like blueberry pie, for example. Plus, we like to freeze berries when they are fresh and perfect from the summer and enjoy them all winter long.
Once we got ourselves cleaned up and cooled down from the morning of picking, we washed off the berries and sorted out which ones we wanted for the mead. We had a great time mashing the five quarts worth (about five pounds) of berries into a watery squishy mess in the primary fermentation vessel (that's fancy-home brewing language for five gallon bucket). We warmed up some honey and water in a huge pot to help the honey dissolve into nice solution. Adding the honey water mixture to the berries, now we get to wait for the yeast to work their magic for a few days before we can strain and transfer the solution to a carboy for the secondary fermentation. With attention to sterilization and getting our timing right, we'll have 25 bottles of blueberry mead aging in our wine rack, waiting for the perfect occasion to be opened up and enjoyed!
Labels: berry picking, homemade mead, meads, wine racks
Friday, July 17, 2009
Gathering supplies
Well, so far this summer has been treating me well. All of these beautiful, warm, sunshine-y days have encouraged my garden to absolutely flourish. And I just love going down to the Farmer's Market to check out all the seasonal produce and deliciously fresh fruits available. It's getting me excited for the berry picking and wine making that's right around the corner.
Right now I am working on getting all the materials I need to make a big batch of honey wine. I've gotten a carboy, a couple of five gallon buckets, some good cleaning brushes and an airlock. Now I just need to gather up 50 empty wine bottles to fill with homemade mead, since by the end of the fall I plan to have enough to fill up my wine rack to last me the year. I could buy some, but I think I'll be able to get all the bottles I need without too much trouble. My friends are definitely willing to drink as much wine as they need to help me out, and I certainly will be drinking my share of wine in order to get enough bottles! Maybe I could invite a crowd over and put my sweet new wine charms to use, in an effort to empty some of those bottle for my home-brewing adventures.
Anyway, by the time I've gotten all my materials together I'll be off to pick pounds and pounds of blackberries for a fabulous brew. Until then I'll keep soaking in this sun and pestering my friends to take their empty wine bottles out of the recycling bin and bring them to me!
Right now I am working on getting all the materials I need to make a big batch of honey wine. I've gotten a carboy, a couple of five gallon buckets, some good cleaning brushes and an airlock. Now I just need to gather up 50 empty wine bottles to fill with homemade mead, since by the end of the fall I plan to have enough to fill up my wine rack to last me the year. I could buy some, but I think I'll be able to get all the bottles I need without too much trouble. My friends are definitely willing to drink as much wine as they need to help me out, and I certainly will be drinking my share of wine in order to get enough bottles! Maybe I could invite a crowd over and put my sweet new wine charms to use, in an effort to empty some of those bottle for my home-brewing adventures.
Anyway, by the time I've gotten all my materials together I'll be off to pick pounds and pounds of blackberries for a fabulous brew. Until then I'll keep soaking in this sun and pestering my friends to take their empty wine bottles out of the recycling bin and bring them to me!
Labels: berry picking, homemade mead, wine bottles, wine rack
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