Hi all!

You seem to be having so much fun that I decided to join in! So about
8 weeks ago I started making wine. I've got 5 batches (in gallon jugs)
in different stages of fermentation in my kitchen .

So far, I've been sticking to the recipes on Jack Keller's web site.

I have a question about my latest attempt. I made a spiced banana
wine, the recipe is here, second from the top:
http://winemaking.jackkeller.net/recipe2.asp.

I increased the recipe 1 1/2 so I'd have something for topping up
during racking. The increase also used up the whole can of white
grape concentrate. I used the Lalvin EC 1118 yeast.

My starting SG on April 3 was 1.097. I stirred daily for 5 days, just
as the recipe said. Tonight, April 7, I strained out the chunkies and
racked to the secondary -- one gallon jug and a 1.5 liter jug. I
measured the SG and it was 0.998.

Is it okay that the fermentation went so quickly? I added another 1/4
sugar (divided between the two jugs) so that the yeast doesn't stop
working yet. I didn't think that would hurt. I didn't measure the SG
again, but I'm estimating that I raised it to around 1.006 or so.

Before I started this batch, I googled this group for info on banana
wine. You who said this smells like vomit are right! But I haven't
thrown it out yet. I doubt I taste it for a year or so though.



TIA!

Cindie

tovaryn wrote:
Hi all!

You seem to be having so much fun that I decided to join in! So about
8 weeks ago I started making wine. I've got 5 batches (in gallon jugs)
in different stages of fermentation in my kitchen .

So far, I've been sticking to the recipes on Jack Keller's web site.

I have a question about my latest attempt. I made a spiced banana
wine, the recipe is here, second from the top:
http://winemaking.jackkeller.net/recipe2.asp.

I increased the recipe 1 1/2 so I'd have something for topping up
during racking. The increase also used up the whole can of white
grape concentrate. I used the Lalvin EC 1118 yeast.

My starting SG on April 3 was 1.097. I stirred daily for 5 days, just
as the recipe said. Tonight, April 7, I strained out the chunkies and
racked to the secondary -- one gallon jug and a 1.5 liter jug. I
measured the SG and it was 0.998.

Is it okay that the fermentation went so quickly? I added another 1/4
sugar (divided between the two jugs) so that the yeast doesn't stop
working yet. I didn't think that would hurt. I didn't measure the SG
again, but I'm estimating that I raised it to around 1.006 or so.

Before I started this batch, I googled this group for info on banana
wine. You who said this smells like vomit are right! But I haven't
thrown it out yet. I doubt I taste it for a year or so though.



TIA!

Cindie



Hi Cindie

There is nothing wrong with a quick fermentation time. Your wine will
be just fine.

Regards

Frank

tovaryn wrote:
Hi all!

You seem to be having so much fun that I decided to join in! So about
8 weeks ago I started making wine. I've got 5 batches (in gallon jugs)
in different stages of fermentation in my kitchen .

So far, I've been sticking to the recipes on Jack Keller's web site.

I have a question about my latest attempt. I made a spiced banana
wine, the recipe is here, second from the top:
http://winemaking.jackkeller.net/recipe2.asp.

I increased the recipe 1 1/2 so I'd have something for topping up
during racking. The increase also used up the whole can of white
grape concentrate. I used the Lalvin EC 1118 yeast.

My starting SG on April 3 was 1.097. I stirred daily for 5 days, just
as the recipe said. Tonight, April 7, I strained out the chunkies and
racked to the secondary -- one gallon jug and a 1.5 liter jug. I
measured the SG and it was 0.998.

Is it okay that the fermentation went so quickly? I added another 1/4
sugar (divided between the two jugs) so that the yeast doesn't stop
working yet. I didn't think that would hurt. I didn't measure the SG
again, but I'm estimating that I raised it to around 1.006 or so.

Before I started this batch, I googled this group for info on banana
wine. You who said this smells like vomit are right! But I haven't
thrown it out yet. I doubt I taste it for a year or so though.



TIA!

Cindie



Hi Cindie

There is nothing wrong with a quick fermentation time. Your wine will
be just fine.

Regards

Frank

Cindie,
You added 1/4 what, cup? You started with a pretty high SG, keep in
mind the higher the alcohol, the harsher it will taste (for lack of a
better way of putting it).

Most country wines are lower in alcohol and have a fruity taste, this
batch may approximate a brandy. Not that that is a bad thing, it just
may taste a bit hot. As Frank said, fast fermentation is ok for the
most part.

Joe


Is it okay that the fermentation went so quickly? I added another
1/4
sugar (divided between the two jugs) so that the yeast doesn't stop
working yet. I didn't think that would hurt. I didn't measure the
SG
again, but I'm estimating that I raised it to around 1.006 or so.

Cindie,
You added 1/4 what, cup? You started with a pretty high SG, keep in
mind the higher the alcohol, the harsher it will taste (for lack of a
better way of putting it).

Most country wines are lower in alcohol and have a fruity taste, this
batch may approximate a brandy. Not that that is a bad thing, it just
may taste a bit hot. As Frank said, fast fermentation is ok for the
most part.

Joe


Is it okay that the fermentation went so quickly? I added another
1/4
sugar (divided between the two jugs) so that the yeast doesn't stop
working yet. I didn't think that would hurt. I didn't measure the
SG
again, but I'm estimating that I raised it to around 1.006 or so.

Cindie,
You added 1/4 what, cup? You started with a pretty high SG, keep in
mind the higher the alcohol, the harsher it will taste (for lack of a
better way of putting it).

Most country wines are lower in alcohol and have a fruity taste, this
batch may approximate a brandy. Not that that is a bad thing, it just
may taste a bit hot. As Frank said, fast fermentation is ok for the
most part.

Joe


Is it okay that the fermentation went so quickly? I added another
1/4
sugar (divided between the two jugs) so that the yeast doesn't stop
working yet. I didn't think that would hurt. I didn't measure the
SG
again, but I'm estimating that I raised it to around 1.006 or so.

Yes, sorry. 1/4 cup extra sugar. About 3 tablespoons extra in the
gallon and 1 tablespoon in the 1 1/2 liter. It seems that 2 Tbs in a
gallon raises the SG about .004 or so -- I'll have to keep
experimenting to define the ratio...

Banana brandy huh? Ah well, we'll see how it goes... I'm in learning
mode and having fun so far. I guess I can always mix it with fruit
juice later.

What starting SG should I set for a goal for country wines?

Thanks for the advice!

Cindie

Yes, sorry. 1/4 cup extra sugar. About 3 tablespoons extra in the
gallon and 1 tablespoon in the 1 1/2 liter. It seems that 2 Tbs in a
gallon raises the SG about .004 or so -- I'll have to keep
experimenting to define the ratio...

Banana brandy huh? Ah well, we'll see how it goes... I'm in learning
mode and having fun so far. I guess I can always mix it with fruit
juice later.

What starting SG should I set for a goal for country wines?

Thanks for the advice!

Cindie

Cindie,
I'm actually not the best person to answer this since most of my wines
are grape. 1.085 ends up between 11 and 12 ABV%. Anything over 10%
will usually keep longer as a rule. There are many styles of wine; the
Germans make a lot of sweeter inexpensive wine at around 8% because the
acid is higher and it's all good.

Let taste be your guide. As a rule a little sugar can round out a
finished wine, so anytime you are not sure you like something just add
a bit of sugar and see if it improves. If you bottle sweet wine you
should use sorbate. Some bottle it dry and add the sugar when they
open it to avoid adding sorbate. Chilled wine also softens any rough
edges also.

I'm not saying you need to do any of this, this wine may come out
exactly the way you like it. These are just a few of the tricks
winemakers end up using. It really does evolve over time, it's not
uncommon for something you considered pitching out comes out perfect.

A good winemaker told me that in any given 5 years you will get 1 great
crop, 1 horrible and 3 so so. You can't just shut the doors when the
fruit won't make life easy on you, so winemakers are always adapting to
what is on hand.

Jack Keller has a ton of info on fruit wines. He has made them for
years. You can trust his site to get you in the right range.

Joe

tovaryn wrote:
Yes, sorry. 1/4 cup extra sugar. About 3 tablespoons extra in the
gallon and 1 tablespoon in the 1 1/2 liter. It seems that 2 Tbs in a
gallon raises the SG about .004 or so -- I'll have to keep
experimenting to define the ratio...

Banana brandy huh? Ah well, we'll see how it goes... I'm in
learning
mode and having fun so far. I guess I can always mix it with fruit
juice later.

What starting SG should I set for a goal for country wines?

Thanks for the advice!

Cindie

Hi Cindy,

banana ferments like greased lightning, because of all the goodies present
in the "juice". Yeast just loves banana. Other country wines, especially
apple and a few flower wines, love banana too. It highly improves tast and
mouth-feeling and gives your wine a "bite". You will not tast banana
however, unless you cook the peel too. In fact, banana ferments so d....
quickly and producing so much foam, that you must be very careful not to
fill your carboy too much, for else (it happened to me, the first time) the
floor and sometimes even the ceiling will bear the marks of
bananafermentation (aaahhhhh my wife.........)
Ed

No flowers, no bees,
no leaves on the trees,
no wonder:
november

"tovaryn" schreef in bericht
oups.com...
Hi all!

You seem to be having so much fun that I decided to join in! So about
8 weeks ago I started making wine. I've got 5 batches (in gallon jugs)
in different stages of fermentation in my kitchen .

So far, I've been sticking to the recipes on Jack Keller's web site.

I have a question about my latest attempt. I made a spiced banana
wine, the recipe is here, second from the top:
http://winemaking.jackkeller.net/recipe2.asp.

I increased the recipe 1 1/2 so I'd have something for topping up
during racking. The increase also used up the whole can of white
grape concentrate. I used the Lalvin EC 1118 yeast.

My starting SG on April 3 was 1.097. I stirred daily for 5 days, just
as the recipe said. Tonight, April 7, I strained out the chunkies and
racked to the secondary -- one gallon jug and a 1.5 liter jug. I
measured the SG and it was 0.998.

Is it okay that the fermentation went so quickly? I added another 1/4
sugar (divided between the two jugs) so that the yeast doesn't stop
working yet. I didn't think that would hurt. I didn't measure the SG
again, but I'm estimating that I raised it to around 1.006 or so.

Before I started this batch, I googled this group for info on banana
wine. You who said this smells like vomit are right! But I haven't
thrown it out yet. I doubt I taste it for a year or so though.



TIA!

Cindie

Hi Cindy,

banana ferments like greased lightning, because of all the goodies present
in the "juice". Yeast just loves banana. Other country wines, especially
apple and a few flower wines, love banana too. It highly improves tast and
mouth-feeling and gives your wine a "bite". You will not tast banana
however, unless you cook the peel too. In fact, banana ferments so d....
quickly and producing so much foam, that you must be very careful not to
fill your carboy too much, for else (it happened to me, the first time) the
floor and sometimes even the ceiling will bear the marks of
bananafermentation (aaahhhhh my wife.........)
Ed

No flowers, no bees,
no leaves on the trees,
no wonder:
november

"tovaryn" schreef in bericht
oups.com...
Hi all!

You seem to be having so much fun that I decided to join in! So about
8 weeks ago I started making wine. I've got 5 batches (in gallon jugs)
in different stages of fermentation in my kitchen .

So far, I've been sticking to the recipes on Jack Keller's web site.

I have a question about my latest attempt. I made a spiced banana
wine, the recipe is here, second from the top:
http://winemaking.jackkeller.net/recipe2.asp.

I increased the recipe 1 1/2 so I'd have something for topping up
during racking. The increase also used up the whole can of white
grape concentrate. I used the Lalvin EC 1118 yeast.

My starting SG on April 3 was 1.097. I stirred daily for 5 days, just
as the recipe said. Tonight, April 7, I strained out the chunkies and
racked to the secondary -- one gallon jug and a 1.5 liter jug. I
measured the SG and it was 0.998.

Is it okay that the fermentation went so quickly? I added another 1/4
sugar (divided between the two jugs) so that the yeast doesn't stop
working yet. I didn't think that would hurt. I didn't measure the SG
again, but I'm estimating that I raised it to around 1.006 or so.

Before I started this batch, I googled this group for info on banana
wine. You who said this smells like vomit are right! But I haven't
thrown it out yet. I doubt I taste it for a year or so though.



TIA!

Cindie

Thanks Joe!

I decided to try several small batches just to learn how to make wine.
Once I'm confident that I understand the process, I'll try grape. I'd
hate to spend $$ on a good wine kit just to ruin it. A few bananas,
peaches and Welch's concentrate are easier to toss if all goes wrong.

Thanks Joe!

I decided to try several small batches just to learn how to make wine.
Once I'm confident that I understand the process, I'll try grape. I'd
hate to spend $$ on a good wine kit just to ruin it. A few bananas,
peaches and Welch's concentrate are easier to toss if all goes wrong.

Yep, this foamed really well! The cap that developed while it was
fermenting was also kind of solid each time I stirred it down. It even
generated some mild heat. I should have measured to see how much it
increased from room temp... I'll do that next time....

I did cook the peels and the banana smell was awesome while it was in
the primary for the first three days. Then the smell grew
overpoweringly bad for the next two days. Not rotting banana-type
stink--just really bad. I'm glad it's in the secondary. The smell has
cleared out.

It continued to ferment like mad for a day or so in the jug, but now it
is still and settling. The color looks good -- kind of a golden-cream.


And I'm planning my next little batch! What to do what to do...

Thanks!

Cindie

Yep, this foamed really well! The cap that developed while it was
fermenting was also kind of solid each time I stirred it down. It even
generated some mild heat. I should have measured to see how much it
increased from room temp... I'll do that next time....

I did cook the peels and the banana smell was awesome while it was in
the primary for the first three days. Then the smell grew
overpoweringly bad for the next two days. Not rotting banana-type
stink--just really bad. I'm glad it's in the secondary. The smell has
cleared out.

It continued to ferment like mad for a day or so in the jug, but now it
is still and settling. The color looks good -- kind of a golden-cream.


And I'm planning my next little batch! What to do what to do...

Thanks!

Cindie