Cranberry 1092

[CrealCritter]

Last year my wife canned about 2 gallons of some cranberry juice with dried cranberries. It turned out way to sweet to drink. So she said, why not ferment it? so that what I set out to do. I pulled a hydrometer reading. Good Lord no wonder its to sweet, initial gravity of 1140 or like 19% alcohol potential . She didn't know the cranberries were pre-sweetened and she added her usually amount of sugar when she canned the jars.

I added enough water to bring it to a little over 3 gallons and a more reasonable initial gravity of 1090 or 12% alcohol potential.

Anyways I have all the cranberries in a 6 1/2 gallon bucket in a fermenting bag along with the liquid, pectic enzyme, yeast nutrient & Campden tablets. I'll pitch the yeast tomorrow and cross my fingers these berries were not treated with sorbic acid. If they have been sorbated/sulfited they will not ferment and it's all for not...

 

[frustratedearthmother]

Is the plan to make wine? or some other fermented delight?

 

[CrealCritter]

Is the plan to make wine? or some other fermented delight?

Wine for my daughters and daughter-in-laws. I want to try and do 6 750 milliliter of different fruits & berries as a Christmas present to each one of them. I'm going to call it Hootenanny Hoosh (not so fine wine) The Type & Initial Gravity and date I started it. So this one will be Cranberry 1090 June 16 2019. My youngest daughter is designing labels for me

I have Strawberry in the secondary.
Cranberry started today.

I still need to make Concord, Blackberry, Apple Cherry Cider and Water Melone.

Aldi has watermelon for 1.99 each. It takes 1 watermelon per gallon of wine, according to the recipe I have anyways.

 

[frustratedearthmother]

Dang! You are going to have a great stash of delicious "hooch."

 

[Mini Horses]

Hmmm...need taste testers??

 

[CrealCritter]

I can't quite figure this batch out. I was ready to pitch the yeast after the needed 24 hours campden wait period. I decided to pull a hydrometer reading and it's 1.120 or like 16% alcohol potential I noticed the musk is a lot more cloudy now also.

I guess the pectin enzyme pulled out some additional sugars - IDK???. Anyways I need to get this down to or below 1.105/14% alcohol potential before I pitch the yeast. Only one thing to do... Add sterile water a little at a time, mix it in well, pull hydrometer readings and continue until the musk is at the target gravity. Then pitch the yeast and cross my fingers.

 

[CrealCritter]

After squeezing as much juice out of fermentation bag until i got tired of messing with it and adding sterile water. I got this batch of cranberry musk down to approx 1.102, which is a little less than 14% alcohol potential. Now I'm happy... If this batch ferments, It'll be named Cranberry 1102.

But my planned 3 gallon batch turned into a little less than 4 1/2 gallons. More wine more better I guess.

I gave it a good splashing stir, pitched the yeast, put the lid back on the bucket and crossed my fingers. I'll check it later this evening and see if it has ignition.

Chickens will love me long time when I give them the cranberries out of the fermentation bag.

I sure hope these cranberries were not sorbated/sulfited or they won't ferment and I'll have to dump it all down the drain.

 

[CrealCritter]

Hmmm...need taste testers??

Oh I got lots if taste testers around here. No shortage of those, that's for sure... It's the first thing asked "can I taste it?"

 

[frustratedearthmother]

I sure hope these cranberries were not sorbated/sulfited or they won't ferment and I'll have to dump it all down the drain.

 

[CrealCritter]

I got ignition

Cranberry used to make the must about 3/4 of a gallon. Chickens will love me long time.