Parsnip wine

[brumbrew]

When I first found a bottle of this in my late grandfather's shed I was dubious. He brewed some weird concoctions, but as a young boy I always enjoyed the collecting of the ingredients and helping him brew. A lot of his stuff was given to me when he passed away.

If left to age this stuff is divine!

I have done this wine a few times and being bored today decided to do a couple of wines as I have plenty of free demijohns.

1kg parsnips chopped roughly
500g table sugar
3 litres of boiling water
1 lemon
Handful of raisens

Get the pan full of water boiling add lemon and sugar to dissolve. Add the raisens or any dried mix peel works.

Some say peel the parsnips. I can't be bothered so chopped roughly and added to pan. Boil for an hour or until the parsnips look like theyd be a pain to fish out or some smaller bits have fallen apart.

(Not peeling means they go really soft but the outer hardened membrane keeps it mostly together)

Fish out the parsnips or strain the lot through a bag. Top up with cool water to around the neck line.

Refractometer reading 22% sugar.

Ferment with either gv1 or gv9 wine yeast. You could go for champagne yeast. I forget the number but I'm sure gv7 the restart yeast in of the same calibre.

When airlock activity slows down. Maybe 2 weeks on. Rack off into another demijohn cover and rest in a warm place for a month.

Check gravity. If ready, rack off again into a bottling demijohn or bucket bottle as you see fit.

This one always gets better the longer you leave it. I'm making a few batches now to give away a Christmas. It's only 6 months away!

 

[brumbrew]

Parsnip at the front.

To the left ginger beer. That's always going.

Back right simple mead

 

[Clint]

Sounds like you have it sorted thanks to your training!
I've just ventured into tc as well as ag so got plenty going on. Interested in the wine thing as I have an allotment.

 

[brumbrew]

Sounds like you have it sorted thanks to your training!
I've just ventured into tc as well as ag so got plenty going on. Interested in the wine thing as I have an allotment.

Well I work very close to Birmingham markets. And when I leave wok I can get masses of fruit and veg for next to nothing. I also forrage for stuff because as you say. I was taught well.

Ive got enough room in my garden to grow stuff. Only trouble is that everything we grow manages to get eaten before I can get my hands on it.

Failing that when you see carrots or parsnips reduced to pennies at supermarkets just remember it can be turned to wine.

I'm also AG brewer but wine made on the cheap is a bit of a legacy for me from ol grandad.

Ive not done much TC other than turbo wines also from bought juice.
I found brewed to a high strength then mixed with lemonade was the best for that.

 

[brumbrew]

Racked this earlier. Still a little cloudy. And very dry. Added some nutrients a quater of a pack of restart yeast I had in the fridge and about 150 grams of sugar. Give it a few more days then will rack again and add kwik clear to drop the new and old yeast out before bottling.

 

[Dutto]

What won't get eaten is the pods that the peas came in!

Here's my Wine Diary entry:

PEAPOD WINE

• Started July 2015
• Bottled August 2015
• Verdict– By June 2016 still tasted of peapods so NRB.
• Tried last bottle on 6th January 2017 – a superb sweet wine similar to Muscadet. Bugger!

I got the recipe off t'Internet and haven't done it since but it was well worth the wait ... :thumb:

... if you have any spare pea-pods!

 

[brumbrew]

And I've not long finished off this year's crop of peas too! Bugger! Mind you the dog enjoyed the pea pods. Oh well next year.

 

[brumbrew]

Racked this off the sediment last week. Added kwik clear but it hasn't really cleared. Plenty has settled out buts it's still real cloudy.

Added around 100g of extra sugar as it will be nice as a sweet wine. And it's bubbling again.

 

[Dutto]

Hmmmm ... ?

I hope you realise that adding more sugar will just increase the ABV until such time as the yeast reaches the point where it has produced enough alcohol to kill itself; and only then will you see an increase in sweetness.

Normally, I let a brew ferment out and if I want more sweetness I use Candrel or other Sucralose artificial sweetener.

 

[brumbrew]

Hmmmm ... ?

I hope you realise that adding more sugar will just increase the ABV until such time as the yeast reaches the point where it has produced enough alcohol to kill itself; and only then will you see an increase in sweetness.

Normally, I let a brew ferment out and if I want more sweetness I use Candrel or other Sucralose artificial sweetener.

Yes I do. It's not my first rodeo. But as I put enough in at the start to reach around 14% I expect it to 'die off' soon.

Plus the added sugar 'should' help the yeast wake up a little. Eat some sugar then move back onto its own byproducts. Helping to remove any dodgy comping (edit: compounds) as they will break them down after all the sugar is gone.

I quite often hold back a little sugar in wine making just to have a little secondary re ferment. Seems to work well for me.