Brew Your Own Cheap Wine
Preface: Ive never done this before, and im totally inexperienced about brewing. I did a little bit of research online and found this was the easiest and cheapest way to brew wine, which seems like the easiest of all alcoholic drinks to make. Follow these directions at your own risk
Like the title says, this method of brewing is not expensive (cost me roughly $12. This will make me 2-3 gallons of wine. maybe more), but the returns arent for connoisseurs. This is for cheap-asses, college kids, and 15 yr olds who cant buy anything themselves. If you do it right, its enjoyable, cheap, easy to do, and most importantly, alcoholic. Plus, it only takes a maximum of 2 weeks to fully ferment!!!
Step 1: Buy ingredients. Get the cheap stuff. It doesnt matter what quality it is because its hobo-wine. I made a gallon jug of this. The recipe calls for:
2 cans of juice concentrate (room temp) I chose welchs concorde grape. You should be able to use any type of concentrate like strawberry, kiwi-whatever etc. Two juice concentrates makes 1 gallon.
- 2-3 cups of sugar
- water
- water container (I used a water jug that was 60 cents at the store, plus I got to use the water)
- Active Dry yeast
- bleach
- funnel
- rubber band
- balloon
Step 2: Sterilize everything youre going to use to keep the fermenting wine in. You dont want unwanted bacteria growing in your wine, it ruins it. Bleach out your funnel and your jug. Rinse well, and wash with dish soap. Air dry.
Step 3: Go ahead and bring your water to a near boil. What I did was let the water boil just for a bit to kill anything in it (just in case), and then I took it off the heat and let it cool. I heated mine in separate pots because I didnt have any large enough to hold it all.
Step 4:
While youre waiting for your water to heat, go ahead and add your room temperature juice concentrate to the clean, dry jug. Use the funnel if you need it.
Step 5: As the hot water cools, dissolve 2-3 cups of sugar in the water. Most recipies Ive read say 2 is fine, but i added 3 so the yeast had enough nutrients and so that the wine would be sweeter. Stir while pouring.
Step 6: Activate the yeast. Follow the instructions on the back of the packet. For me, I added 1 teaspoon of sugar into a separate bowl along with 1/4 cup of water at 100-110 degrees Farenheit. Add the yeast to the concoction and stir briefly. Let sit for 10 minutes. The yeast should be very frothy now.
Step 7: Pour the dissolved sugar-water into the jug thats holding the juice concentrate. Your juice/sugarwater might be warm. Cool it off a little by placing the jug in the sink and fill the sink with cool water. When you introduce your yeast to their syrupy mix, it cant be too hot or it will kill the yeast and ruin your project. I waited until the jug was just warm to the touch. 80-90 degrees i estimate.
Step 8:
When the mix is cooled enough, add the yeast to the mix.
Step 9: Cap the jug containing your sugar water, juice concentrate, and yeast and shake violently. Try not to spill. Do it enough just to mix everything up.
Step 10: Remove the cap, place a balloon over the top to allow for expansion. The yeasties produce CO2, and its got to go somewhere. You cannot introduce air to the mix or it will ruin it/make vinegar. Bad bad bad! Some people use valves, some make tubing that runs from the jug to a glass of water so air cannot get in, but it allows the CO2 to escape. I use a balloon. Note: when using a balloon, make sure it doesnt over inflate and pop. Again, this will ruin your batch. If you want you can put a rubber band over the ballon to further secure it. If you really want to i suppose you can tape it as well. I didnt.
Step 11: Keep your jug in a relatively warm place (room temp). The yeast can handle 60 degrees, but i wouldnt want to chance it. Also, i wouldnt expose it to direct sunlight.
There it is! I just brewed it up tonight, now I just wait 10-14 days and then i can
Step 12: ENJOY!
When youre done fermenting, you can siphon the good stuff out while leaving the clumpy yeast in the jug. To repeat, just make sure to sterilize again and youre good to go.
Again, im way not a pro at this. I just thought some of you might want to try this with me and we can help eachother along. If you know what youre doing, post in here and give advice. Id love to hear it.
Pictures and conversations can be found here: www.leftofme.com/how-to-brew-cheap-wine
http://www.leftofme.com for the best of Thai Girls
Finding Great Wine Stores
When you have a great taste for wine and want to enjoy it with your family and friends, you have to go to a wine store to look for the best wine you c...
An Overview of Wine - The Drink of Gods
Wine has been called the drink of the gods. This may be debatable, but it has definitely been the drink of the ages. Here is an overview of wine you c...
Cooking with Wine: How Bad Can the Wine Be?
We all love using wine in cooking. It adds a definite special something to almost any dish.So what wine should you use?The rule of thumb you hear all...
Why A Wine Cellar Is Important To Your Wine Collection
Those who collect wine, not just to drink but to age are those who should be getting a wine cellar. There are two types of wines out there on todays w...
Home Wine Racks
Wine is an alcoholic beverage that is produced by the fermentation of grape juice over a long period of time.Wine racks are specially designed furnitu...
Fine Italian Wines for Everyone
Italy is famous for many things, but perhaps it is most famous for its wine. The wines of Italy are almost as varied as the people themselves. Wine is...
You Can Look Up Everything That You Need To Know About Wine Online
If you are a genuine wine lover or even if you are just slightly interested in the subject you can find everything that you need to know about wine on...
What Type of Tea Ball Should You Get?
There is no better way to enjoy the amazing taste of tea brewed from fresh tea leaves with the ease of cleanup that is associated with a tea bag than ...
French Wine Appraisal
Wine appraisal is the process of appraising or deciding on the value of a particular wine by a wine expert. Wine appraisal or wine evaluation, as it i...
Wooden Wine Rack Vs. Metal Wine Rack
There is more than one kind of wine rack on the market and choosing the right wine rack for your wine collection is no small task. You have a choice b...
Wine Gift Baskets
Wines are essential for almost every joyous celebration. Usually parties are thought to be incomplete without wine and therefore it makes an ideal gif...
The History Of Italian Wine
You can find expensive Italian wine and not so expensive Italian wine and they are both as delicious as the other. It is pretty hard to go wrong with ...
Wine Shelf Is Not A New Concept To The World
Traditional wine racks or shelfs permit the wine devotee to have a proficient looking wine rack in their own home. A traditional wine rack is most oft...
Wine Related Gifts
Wine is a wonderful gift for almost any occasion. Whether it is an informal meeting of friends or a grand ball thrown for a wedding or other gala, win...
Wine Clubs
Wine clubs are fun and convenient way for wine lovers to experience wine at its fullest. You can give a wine club membership as a present to a loved o...
White Zinfandel Wine
White Zinfandel wine is a blush wine made in California from early-picked Zinfandel grapes. The red grapes are quickly separated from their skins duri...
Finding a Great Wine Club
Wine lovers from around the world often form a wine club to discuss their love of wine and learn more about some of their favorites. There are many di...
Wine Storage Cabinets
The construction of a wine cabinet is often the most overlooked aspect in building a good wine collection, though it is of great importance. The purpo...
Commercial Wine Racks
Wine racks are specially designed furniture cases for the purpose of keeping and storing wine bottles. These wine racks are available in different sha...
Wine And Food Gift Baskets
Of all the things in life that seem to be important to a lot of people wine and food gift baskets seem to frequently rank near the top of the list. Wh...