Home Brewing: Winnies Knicker Rotter

Ah now for Nan's speciality Winnies Knicker Rotter AKA Wheat and Raisin wine

Ingredients

• Wheat 1lb
• Brown sugar 2 1/2lb
• Raisins 2 lb
• Citric acid 2 tbsp
• Water 1 gallon
• Yeast and nutrient
• Amylozyme

Soak the wheat in a pint of water overnight to allow it to soften.
Mash it up with the raisins and pour on hot water.
Add the citric acid and allow it to cool to luke warm.
Add the enzyme, yeast and nutrient, cover well and leave to stand for at least ten days. Don't forget to stir it every day.
Strain the mixture and pour into the fermenting jar. Add the air lock and leave until it clears.
Don't bottle it until the fermentation has finished.
If it's not sweet enough for you add more sugar and allow to ferment more.

Home Brewing: Who'd've thought it?

Here we go with the 'Who'd've thought it?' recipe AKA Blackberry wine

Ingredients

• Blackberries 4lb
• Sugar 3lb
  
• Water
  
• Yeast Nutrient
  
• Pectic Enzyme

If you find any maggots remove them. They don't add to the wine very well!

Pop the blackberries into a plastic bucket and mash them up. When that's done pour over boiling water and stir well. Once it's lukewarm add the pectic enzyme.

After a day add the yeast and nutrient. Cover the bucket and stir each day for four to five days

Strain the must through some netting or muslin onto the sugar. Stir until sugar is dissolved. Pour into a fermenting jar, fill to shoulder and fit an air lock. Any spare must can be kept in a small bottle also with air lock or cotton wool plug.

When it's stopped foaming over the top of the jar add the spare must to base of neck

Leave until clear then rack

Home Brewing: Rocket Fuel

Here is my Nan's recipe for Rocket Fuel AKA Peach wine

Ingredients:

• Peaches 3lb
• White sugar 2.2lb
• Brown sugar 1lb
• Citric acid 3tsp
• Tannin a smidgeon(grape or tea choose your poison)
• Water 1 gallon
• Yeast and nutrient
• A Pectic enzyme(a variety are available on the market)

Wipe and stone the peaches
Pop the peaches into a bucket and mash well by hand
Cover them with boiling water and leave overnight
Stir in the pectic enzyme, cover and leave for three days
Strain through muslin (an old muslin nappy does quite well tied to the unpturned legs of a chair. I object to my tablecloths being used the same way as they don't work as well)
You may need to strain it again if some sludge is left
Add the citric acid, tannin and nutrient
Put 2 lb of sugar into a bucket and add enough boiling water to dissolve it.
Allow to cool
Put the strained peach juice and sugar solution into a fermenting jar
Add sufficient boiled water to bring the mix up to the shoulders of the jar
Add the yeast and fit the air lock
Fermentation should start within three days
Roughly after two weeks add 1/2 pint of syrup (sugar dissolved in water to proportions noted above)
It will probably take seven to eight months for it to ferment but you can keep it going for longer
You may need to split up the ferment to allow for the extra syrup
Don't forget to stir the misture once a day for the first couple of weeks
This should clear very well if you rack it after all the sugar is in.
Don't rack it again unless fermentation has finished

See also:
The Embroidery Library

Home Brewing: Damsons in distress

Ok here's my Nan's recipe for 'Damsons in Distress' AKA Damson Wine


Ingredients:

• Damsons 4lb
• Barley 1/2lb
• Sugar 3lb
• Water 1 gallon
• Yeast and nutrient
• A pectic enzyme(they have a variety of brand names)

Grind the barley up
Mix it with the stoned(now don't get any stupid ideas) fruit
Bung the above into a bucket
Pour boiling water over them and leave to cool
Add the pectic enzyme(You need this for a clear wine)
Strain the mix through a sieve onto the sugar
Add the yeast nutrient
Stir the mixture until all the sugar is dissolved
Add the yeast(try a Burgundy yeast with this you'll get better results)
Keep covered for approximately one week in a warm place
Decant it from the bucket into a fermenting vessel and pop an airlock on
You can siphon off when it clears for the first time but don't bottle it until it has finished fermenting(Exploding bottles make a huge mess)

Drink and enjoy!

The Dragon

See also:
The Embroidery Library