Why we do this.

[Anglezarke]

Just done first racking of 2020 Raspberry. Already it's fallen clear and bright without fining, with a glorious colour and full bodied taste redolent of the fruit. And some people wonder why we go to all the trouble! Cheers!

 

[Mr_S_Jerusalem]

That looks excellent, do you have a recipe?

 

[Anglezarke]

Of course - happy to oblige.
Raspberries 4 lb
Sugar 3 lb
Water 1 gallon.
Yeast 1 tsp
Nutrient 1 tsp
Pectic enzyme 1 tsp.
Citric acid 1tsp. (I add this to the sugar and boil it - making up to one gallon)
That's the original recipe but I reduce the sugar to 2lb and add a litre of Asda red grape juice to help thing along - so I get more than a gallon.
Place fruit in a bucket, pour over the water (boiling) , stir well and allow to cool. Add pectic enzyme and a day later yeast and nutrient.
Cover and leave for 4 days stirring frequently, then strain and pour into fermenting jar, filling to shoulder, keep rest of liquor in a separate jar until initial vigorous ferment has subsided. Leave until cleared then rack for the first time.
I get about 8 lbs of raspberries from a patch which grow wild near where we live so the cost is minimal. If you are using whatever quantity of raspberries you can get, adjust the proportions of everything accordingly.
Good luck!

 

[Mr_S_Jerusalem]

Oh quite a standard one then. I wouldn’t have thought you would get such a deep colour from raspberries, that’s brilliant.

 

[Anglezarke]

I think the Asda grape juice helps, although before that became available the colour was still a ruby red.

 

[WinBase]

i currently have a raspberry brew on the go since 28/dec and fermentation is really slow now, (about a bubble per 30 secs). i'll probably leave till the end of the month to rack off. I used 4 packets of frozen raspberries (1.4kg) from morrisons at a cost of £1.75 per 350g, and the colour is fantastic, but it is likely to spend 4-6 months conditioning in the demi-john and a similar time in the bottles before drinking, so i'll let u know what it tastes like next xmas :) GL