Something sort of Sake (Rice & Raisin Wine) 23.11.08

[percival]

regardless of what causes a stuck ferment there are plenty of people who reckon sauternes is a good solution to the problem sometimes, and specifically with country wines. They know this cos they have done it and are passing on info as a consequence of what they have done. rather like you, me and everyone else does on this forum. If lots of folks recommend sauternes for country wines and stuck ferments then its hardly expensive to give it a try, and its certainly worth passing on that info to others. There are other ways too, this is just an addition to the arsenal.

i'm aware that a sauternes yeast is not sufficient to make a sauternes wine regardless of ingredients. i suspect that everyone on the forum is too. The fact that sauternes is specified in some recipes, repeatedly, makes me want to try it. Cruising around online i find lots of parsnip wine recipes specifying sauternes, and blow me down with a feather none of them claims this will make a sauternes wine. Digging deeper i find even more cool stuff about this yeast. its all new and interesting to me, and i'll listen to all the 'experts' and take my pick, based on my experience, my background, my taste, a whim, my style, my budget, availability etc etc and how genuine that 'expert' appears to be.

once upon a time there was only 'natural' yeasts, eventually cultured yeasts and an abundance of varieties came along. it doesnt surprise me at all that a yeast perfectly suited to making one particular wine also fits like a hand in a glove for making a very different wine. Perhaps a new variety will even emerge from it that, and the whole process of evolution will keep unfolding. Or we could all just agree on one recipe for every wine and never deviate .......

 

[Wez]

do calm down please

I'd like to see everyone feeling comfortable that they are able to post their findings and own experiences in all forums on this website. Of course people will not agree from time to time, but i'd like to think that we can be civil about these differences of opinion please.

Thanks

 

[percival]

all put to rights now

 

[BrewStew]

swmbo and i are drinking the half bottle of R&R that was opened at new years.... no change! infact probably better, but a little harsher on the acohol taste... hehe you certainly know you've drunk this stuff it's got the warming power of vodka !

 

[percival]

cool, good to know that it keeps for that long (fridge and corked?)

guess you are drinking it cold again?

i've been busy with a green tea & ginger wine today (special brew for swmbo who likes both green tea and ginger). will post a brew day when its cooled down and i've decided on OG

 

[BrewStew]

no fridge, cork placed loosely in top. that's prolly why it's a but harsher come to think of it... not chilled.

nice one on the ginger wine.

i'm steering clear of ginger for a while after a rather disastrous Ginger Beer

 

[BrewStew]

just popped one of these fresh from the garage and nicely chilled...

it's got some sparkle to it! :shock: the champagne yeast must be doing it's thing slowly in the bottle... i hope i dont get popping corks!

it's crystal clear as the sediment has settled in the bottle... with careful pouring it's possible to pour it without catching the sediment or i could leave the bottle stood up for an hour if i could be bothered to wait.

it tastes fantastic now! it was a bit liqueur like before but now it tastes like wine.

swmbo loves it and is in the process of drowning herself in it :lol:


thanks Perci! :thumb:

 

[percival]

Sooo pleased that time has sorted this out for you mate and its going down well. It's still a pretty quick brew to drink time tho eh.

I've also had my early batches of sake acquire a sparkle, i wonder if it's something to do with the marmite? you know we could be onto something

My latest batch, while fast brewing and uber fast clearing, has no sparkle. The sparkle was a wonderful surprise and definately added something ... ermm i think the techie term would be a sparkle!

 

[Taylor-MadeAK]

Oh hey! We're showing off our finished sake now? I had a nice glass of mine last night with dinner:



Nothing washes down homemade sushi quite like homemade sake. :thumb:

 

[percival]

very few foods surpass sushi as a feast for the eyes, looks great. we've only done our own once, but we do still have the ingredients .... must make another batch soon!

 

[BrewStew]

mmmmmm sushi rocks! i used to frequent a sushi bar in Bedford when i lived there... although i'm glad they didn't do blowfish when i'd had a few too many and felt a bit confident :shock:

Perci, my mrs is drowning herself in this stuff now... only got 7 bottles left! :cry:

i'll have to get some more of this stuff back in stock soon then i might try to get hold of some Koji and do it the proper way sometime later this year :thumb:

 

[Smod]

You just reminded me to taste that bottle you gave me.

Quite sweet and sherry like :thumb: You can taste some raisin in it. Nice dessert wine :thumb:

 

[BrewStew]

haha that's so weird mate... swmbo and i were just talking about you cos i remembered i gave you a bottle!... glad you like it :thumb:

 

[BrewStew]

oh and what i think is great about this stuff is you can re cork it if you've only had a glass or two... come back to it a day or two later and it tastes just as good.... if not better!

 

[BrewStew]

after you said dessert wine i decided to have a few sips of swmbo's glass while eating profiteroles.... it works PERFECTLY with dessert! :thumb:

this is now officially my dessert wine and i'm hiding 3 bottles from swmbo to use for cooking and making desserts

 

[percival]

sounds like you have got a version that suits you perfectly BS. Mine has never come out sweet, are you gonna repeat it exactly... marmite and all?

As you like this one so much, and have got a taste for sweet wines now, you may want to consider making the orange wine from Berry's book. i Reckon that makes an excellent dessert wine, as does swmbo, very nice chilled. I also love it as a stand alone drink, it's kinda my signature wine. Easy to make tho some time in the kitchen needed for juicing and zesting, and care to avoid the pith. Takes a little longer to condition, about 6 months and it should be well drinkable tho. These two and rosehip have been my mainstays that encouraged me to keep on going.