Hugh Fearnley W : Gorse flower wine

[metalmickey]

Hi All,

Ist post so apologies if its in the wrong area.

Right ive knocked up a batch of of the gorse flower brew following this recipe,

But the directions are sparse

Ive done the cookery bit and the 3 day stew and its now in a DJ.

its rather cloudy and fizzing away at the moment although it seems a bit too simple?

will it clear naturally and do i just bottle it when it stops fizzing?

thanks for your combined wizdoms!

Neil

 

[retourrbx]

it'll clear on its own - once its stopped fizzing, syphon into another demijohn, minus yeast, and leave for a month - have a look and see how it it. You can continue this process until clear then bottle or clear enough then bottle and let it clear further in there - making sure to store upright

:thumb: Was it painful picking the flowers?? Considered this myself

 

[metalmickey]

i picked em from ashdown forrest as theres plenty of gorse flowers, although its probly better to pick clumps of flowers if possible rather than individually. Look for fuller bushes like these.

i managed to pick about 7/8 pints of flowers on my own in about 1.5- 2 hours. i picked without gloves and didnt have too many problems with the thorns. I also make sloe gin so im used to prickly bushes.

 

[retourrbx]

lovely - if you haven't already, try Rhubarb schnapps - same as sloe gin but rhubabrb and vodka - Very Nice!

 

[metalmickey]

sounds deeeelish, what are the ratios of sugar, spirit and fruit?

ive done a couple of different sloe gins with 300g/300g to a litre of gin and one with 400g fruit to 200g of sugar.

i realise that a lot of these infusions are "to taste" but if theres a standard spec that i could modify id be interested to know.

 

[metalmickey]

Right,
the gorseflower wine has reached the "bottle" stage on my hydrometer. Ive given it a quick taste and its very dry although not unpleasant and cloudy.

I havent added anything to the must to stop fermentation although there arent many bubbles in it now so it just needs degassing.

id like to sweeten the brew, but dont want to kick off further fermenation.

can anyone tell me how i should proceed now?

Thanks in advance

Neil

 

[Samarith]

Splenda is my prefered sweetener, its a non fermentable sugar so it won't ferment out.

Sweeten a pint to taste, the add the equivalent amount for the rest of the brew.

Leaving it in a cool place for a while and it should clear, if not try adding some finings (available are homebrew shop, wilkos or larger boots stores...not footware type )