Beginner Ribena wine

[WildBoyDan]

Hello everyone, I'm new to the site been reading it for the last week or so, so thought I would join. Forgive me if I'm not following forum rules or etiquette by posting a new thread on this but wanted some thoughts.

i am completely new to wine making (as in I decided on Sunday it sounded fun to make some wine, so bear with me for noobishness)

I bought a 1 litre bottle of Ribena added 700g of sugar, boiled for 10 minutes, put it in a 5 litre plastic bottle, added a cup of tea a couple of tea spoons of lemon juice and a tea spoon of bread yeast. I put a pin prick in a balloon, put it over the top and put it in a cupboard.

Since doing this I have ordered some better equiptment (think I've caught the bug lol) but for this first experimental batch.. What's the chance of it working out based on what I've done.. I won't be too disappointed if it doesn't work.. Was just having a bit of fun.. Lol. Is there anything I need to be doing (please forgive my ignorance) and do people think it will produce a drinkable wine ?

Any advice suggestions on good beginners wines would be great :)

Thanks in advance

 

[yeastinfection]

not sure about the bread yeast my friend, im sure someone will be along in a mo with a suggestion.

 

[WildBoyDan]

It was just a spare of the moment thing on Sunday :) so just used what I could find at the local co-op lol.

 

[Chippy_Tea]

Welcome to the forum.
The preservatives in ribena in my opinion are not removed by boiling so it will probably finish early as mine did and I binned it, by then I had caught the bug, read more here http://www.thehomebrewforum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=49462

 

[Frogbrew]

The bread yeast won't reach the alcohol level required for wine and leaves off tastes IMO.
I use the vin class brewing yeast from eBay 250g tub @£5. Lasts me about a year and I do a lot of WOW and t/c.

 

[WildBoyDan]

I think I'm gonna see it through to see what happens :) it will atleast allow me a base to compare with when done properly. I'm gonna start a 'proper' recipe with the right tools and ingredients this weekend, any suggestions on something relatively easy? My gf likes sweet rose wine so will be looking at something in that direction.

What sort of percentage could I expect to get out of my bread yeast Ribena?

Should I look at racking this Ribena once the balloon has gone down?? (After rough 2 to 3 weeks) and then letting it sit for a while?? Or would it in theory be drinkable (though not very good after it has finished fermenting in a few weeks? I don't expect anything amazing.. But am still excited about the opportunity to taste some of this home made wine.. So any advice that may make it any less bad and drinkable would be great :) also some advice on my next step (bar binning it haha)

Thanks

 

[Chippy_Tea]

I'm gonna start a 'proper' recipe with the right tools and ingredients this weekend, any suggestions on something relatively easy? My gf likes sweet rose wine so will be looking at something in that direction.

Did you follow the link in my last post?

 

[WildBoyDan]

Ah yes just done so :) thankyou

 

[Chippy_Tea]

This one is a favourite of many on the forum -


Easy Rosé wine 13% ABV

1 litre Red grape juice (ASDA)

1 litre Apple Juice (ASDA)

800g Sugar.

1 tsp Tannin or a mug of very strong black tea. (3 bags stirred every couple of minutes as you put the rest of the ingredients together)

1 tsp Yeast (i use youngs super wine yeast compound)

1 tsp Yeast Nutrient.

1 tsp Pectolase.

1 tsp Glycerine.

1 tsp citric acid or juice of one lemon. (optional)

 

[LarryF]

I made a red grape prison hooch (craigtube) using bread yeast and it came out fine. I then made a WOW following directions and it came out stunning, well I thought it did. SWMBO says to me she prefers the prison hooch and can I make it again. It just goes to show, you can take the girl out of Peckham...........

 

[WildBoyDan]

This one is a favourite of many on the forum -


Easy Rosé wine 13% ABV

1 litre Red grape juice (ASDA)

1 litre Apple Juice (ASDA)

800g Sugar.

1 tsp Tannin or a mug of very strong black tea. (3 bags stirred every couple of minutes as you put the rest of the ingredients together)

1 tsp Yeast (i use youngs super wine yeast compound)

1 tsp Yeast Nutrient.

1 tsp Pectolase.

1 tsp Glycerine.

1 tsp citric acid or juice of one lemon. (optional)

I've been to asda and bought the grape juice and apple juice. Gonna look at making a start on this one.. Just waiting for my equipment to be delivered :)

Thanks for your help

 

[Chippy_Tea]

Keep us posted.

 

[WildBoyDan]

Three weeks in and the Ribena wine still seems to be fermenting vigorously, the balloon is still inflated, and looking in the bottle it is still bubbling.. any advice on what I should do next? should I wait for the fermentation to finish before I rack it? what should I be doing from here on in?

any advice would be greatly received

Thanks Danny

 

[WildBoyDan]

Keep us posted.

I started your easy rosé wine, I've done 2 versions just to see how they turn out, I've used don Simon 100% grape juice x1litre and done Simon 100% applejuice ( they both came in 2 litre bottles so I thought I would try a little experiment) I've done 1 batch with a 5litre plastic bottle, bread yeast, and a balloon. The other batch in a demijohn, with wine yeast, and an airlock, just want to see how much difference there turns out to be.

 

[Chippy_Tea]

Keep us posted. :thumb:

 

[WildBoyDan]

..........

 

[Personal91]

..........

i know this is an old post but was hoping to hear how this all worked out

 

[Chippy_Tea]

He is probably still waiting t for the ribena wine to stop fermenting :lol:

When i first joined the forum a regular here gave me a tip i have never forgotten - "the best place for juice with preservative in it is on the supermarket shelf" i have to agree, more trouble than it is worth and there are loads that don't have it.