pint of lager
brewing on the verandah
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Blackberry season is in full swing and for those of you that are lucky enough to have access to unsprayed bushes to pick, you may like to give this a go.
2 kg blackberries
1.25 kg sugar
2 level teaspoons tartaric acid
1 level teaspoon tannin
nutrient
pectinase
2 campden tablets
yeast
This is for a 5 litre batch
Firstly pick your blackberries.
Crush the berries, I use a potato masher.
Add the sugar, acid, tannin, nutrient and bring it up to 5 litres.
Crush the campden tablets and dissolve in a cup of water, add to berry mix and stir. Leave 24 hours.
After the 24 hours has elapsed, add the pectinase at the rate suggested on the pectinase container. Leave another 24 hours.
Add the yeast.
Allow to ferment for 5 days.
Strain off the pulp. The pips from the berries are bitter and if you leave too long on the pips, the wine goes bitter.
Add 0.25 of sugar, stir and top up to 5 litres with water.
Wait a week or two, rack to a glass 5 litre demijohn and top up with wine.
Wait another two weeks, rack off sludge and top up with wine if necessary.
Wait for a few months then bottle.
I found 5 litre batches a pain so bought a 20 litre glass demijohn and do large batches.
Have fun picking so many berries. A glass of beer helps the picking process. Look out for snakes. There was a resident feral pig hiding the last time I went picking.
2 kg blackberries
1.25 kg sugar
2 level teaspoons tartaric acid
1 level teaspoon tannin
nutrient
pectinase
2 campden tablets
yeast
This is for a 5 litre batch
Firstly pick your blackberries.
Crush the berries, I use a potato masher.
Add the sugar, acid, tannin, nutrient and bring it up to 5 litres.
Crush the campden tablets and dissolve in a cup of water, add to berry mix and stir. Leave 24 hours.
After the 24 hours has elapsed, add the pectinase at the rate suggested on the pectinase container. Leave another 24 hours.
Add the yeast.
Allow to ferment for 5 days.
Strain off the pulp. The pips from the berries are bitter and if you leave too long on the pips, the wine goes bitter.
Add 0.25 of sugar, stir and top up to 5 litres with water.
Wait a week or two, rack to a glass 5 litre demijohn and top up with wine.
Wait another two weeks, rack off sludge and top up with wine if necessary.
Wait for a few months then bottle.
I found 5 litre batches a pain so bought a 20 litre glass demijohn and do large batches.
Have fun picking so many berries. A glass of beer helps the picking process. Look out for snakes. There was a resident feral pig hiding the last time I went picking.
