New guy needs some vimto help

[simonkidder]

Rose hip wine. Are those the itchy back things?? I didn't know they had a taste. Have u made it before? Is it any good?

Yeah I was thinking a high alcohol yeast but I wasn't sure if you could only use them with with a still. Well I'll be giving that a go. But first things first. Hopefully by weekend I'm going to have a WOW, ginger cider and some random concoction (maybe the ribena) bubbling away.

It wasn't too bad when I was down there. Better than Lancashire anyway. But then again so is the arctic circle at times compared to here.

Well second pint of cider down the second wasn't as fizzy as the first more sugar next time. But let's see how the 3rd goes down :drunk: . I'm just annoyed that I don't know the alcohol content because I never took the starting gravity

 

[Peapodmaster]

no, i'm making it now though first time! encountering problems though. umm they are like little tomatoes.. but not. they are similar to "dog rose"

well they all sound nice! tell me how they go! maybe even write a review haha. i really wanna try wow but i need grape juice which i can't find

haha yeahh i bet. well i love cornwall to the max!

Yeahh its hard to get the exact ammount of sugar each time.. even with a measure. and the ammount of liquid. oh well! if you find out the sugar you used.. and how much water you put in etc etc.

my kit was

make up to 22.7litres and add 1.2kg of sugar (40 pints at 5% ABV)

for the stronger its just 18.2litres (32 pints at 7% ABV)

so if you used about that much.. that all i can say.. if you used more sugar.. it'll be a little stronger or if you used less water it'd be stronger too. etc etc

hope i helped :)

 

[simonkidder]

Well I used 1.3kgs of sugar and made it up to 5 gallons with Water. I'm guessing it's around the 5% mark. Yeah I'll keep you updated with what I get up to over weekend

 

[simonkidder]

Well it's been bubbling for 1 week and a day now. The airlock is now bubbling at a rate of 1 bubble every 5 seconds or so. Should I let it bubble away or should i bottle it. I'm going to make it into cider and maybe wine. Suggestions welcome

 

[Peapodmaster]

you cant really make it into a wine with that str. so.. just go for a cider? :) i think it'll be nice! haha. just let it keep bubbling... read what i said earlier about stopping fermentation and back sweetening etc.. so you dont get too dry a cider.. unless you want it to be dry :)

 

[simonkidder]

Well I'm going to make it into a fizzy cider so I'll probly let if ferment out then back sweeten it with artificial sweetener. What's the best method to back sweeten it. Do I do this in the DJ or put it in the 500ml bottles??

 

[Peapodmaster]

i syphon my liquor off (into another FV) and then mix it up in there (preferably a plastic 5litre bucket) i then mixed up a few artifical sweeteners at a time (in tablet form) with boiling water and then added it to the mixture.. i then tasted it little by little.. (i also made sure that the sediment. (if any) had sunk down to the bottom. with my apple wine.. before sweetening it i syphoned it 3 times.. (for the littlist ammount of sediment.. (but thats a bit ott ) make sure to add the normal sugar for priming as well :).

 

[simonkidder]

Yeah I will be siphoning into a few DJ before bottling when i do this Do I leave it in the new DJ over night to let the sediment settle. What sort of rate do you sweeten at 1 tablet at a time or 10 at a time??

 

[Peapodmaster]

my tablets are tiny.. so i did like 5 at a time (size of a normal sweetener size).. do like.. 2 at a time maybe.. if you cant taste the difference.. then keep doing 2 by 2 (to be safe) or 4 by 4 by 4. maybe work out how much you need to sweeten a glass of the liquid and then times the ammount you used by the ammount of liquid you've got? :) (maybe a bit less to be safe)

 

[simonkidder]

Yeah that sounds like a good idea. It's still bubbling every 10 secs or so. Do you think I should leave it till it stops completely??

 

[Peapodmaster]

Definatly.. then measure it with a hydrometer. when its the same for 3 days then fermentation has stopped.

 

[simonkidder]

Ok will do I'll let you know the FG.

In other news I had 3 500ml bottles of my pear cider last night and I was rocking!! :drunk:

 

[simonkidder]

well the first batch mentioned in the first post is still bubbling away at 1 every 15 secs or so, so im guna let it carry on till it stops. but in other news i have got a 18.9ltr water bottle and filled it with the following ingredients

4ltr of vimto boiled
1 tspn citric acid
1 tspn tanning,
1 tspn nutrient
1.425kgs sugar to make it up to 600grams sugar per gallon to make it around 6.5-7% abv
topped up with water

im like a big kid. before the first one is even ready im starting another. lol. well the more there is the more i can :drink:

 

[periolus]

Hey Simon! Sorry, I haven't forgotten your yeast, I've just been really poorly. Back on my feet now so will post in the next day or two.

 

[simonkidder]

Oh no problem don't worry about it. Well the vimto has finished and has been primed and bottled. Now the next plan is to leave it under the loft and try not to touch it That's guna be difficult.

 

[Peapodmaster]

haha! well good luck with that! its hard, i bottled my RGJ + WGJ wine a few days ago.. already contemplating opening a bottle! haha. its so nice!

 

[simonkidder]

Yeah it's very difficult.
:whistle:

 

[simonkidder]

Well it's been a few weeks and it is still bubbling every 25 secs or so. I have racked it once to get rid of the main sediment. Should I leave it going or prime and bottle it??

And in other news the vimto I made with 4 ltr vimto topped up with water is a little crap, it just lacks taste. Wish I'd a used apple juice with it.

 

[Peapodmaster]

Just leave it go untill you get the usual same 3 s.g. readings over 3 days.. (1 a day) then decide whether to bottle or not. yeahh its better to use juice.. but with my ribena wine.. i only used 500ml and 4 litres of water.. that had a nice ribeaner.... taste. :P

 

[simonkidder]

Well it's been bottled a week. There is a nice layer of sediment on the bottom of the bottles but there is no fizz at all. Think that could be down to breast yeast.