Racking

Gwyllion: 0.990 / 17% (racked)
Much too dry like this. Added about 150 gr sugar. Hope that wasn't too much, but I dissolved 100gr and that only brought it to 1.004. Wait and see.

Halle: 1.018 / ?% (didn't write it down apparently) (racked)
I don't know. Not appetising. Maybe it'll turn into something?

Imre: 1.010 / 14.5% (racked)
Lovely delicate apple taste/scent gone. Damn! Smells/tastes like dry cider now. Have added some demerera sugar.

101 things to do with vodka

As a displacement activity for being really impatient to try the apple wine, I've been making some NotMead booze...

Barenjager Recipe
Ingredients
  • 6 cloves
  • 1 vanilla bean
  • 700ml vodka
  • 300ml very nice heath honey
  • a container large enough to hold 1 liter
Directions
Making Barenjager liquor is a simple task, requiring mostly time before everyone can begin enjoying delicious homemade Barenjager drinks.
  1. First, rough chop the cloves and split the vanilla bean lengthwise before adding them to the container and filling it with the vodka.

  2. Let this mixture sit for at least 24 hours before straining the vanilla bean and the cloves from the vodka.

  3. Once the vodka is clear of any remaining pieces, stir vigorously, pouring the honey in a thin stream. Do not stop until the honey and the vodka are completely blended together. Store the finished Barenjager honey liqueur in a cool, dark area and enjoy.
It isn't quite finished yet as the last of the honey hasn't dissolved yet. Needs a few more days of regular shaking, and then I'll let it stand until it clears and syphon it off the layer of honey particles. The little I tasted was very nice though!

Gwy / Imre

Gwyllion: fed more sugar, I think about 50 grams
Imre: added bentonite. I'm not sure if bentonite is going to do it for fruit haze (have a vague recollection of pos charged and neg charged clearing methods but.. meh. I figure it's going to take ages to get this one cleared as it is super cloudy because the juice was super cloudy, so I might as well start from bentonite and see how that turns out. The next step would probably be gelatine. Will see how that goes.

I'm super curious about Imre because I think it might turn out really nice, sweet apple wine, not at all like cider. If it works out well I will be making one with orchard pear juice as well. These fruit wines also satisfy my urge to make something I can drink soonish, because they should be reasonably drinkable around when it's bottling time, not take ages to age.

Measurings

Fennah: 15% / 1.022
Still cloudy, still quite fizzy. It's been bubbling, so that seems to want more time. The drop I tasted seemed rather sweet, but it's hard to tell with the yeast taste still in, we'll see.

Gwyllion: 12% / 0.990
Hungry, hungry yeast - I fed it about 50 gr cane sugar and it foamed so hard it spilled over. Oops! Mead doesn't react that hard when I add new honey, so that was a surprise. Added a small piece of lemon peel to help keep the foam down. I'm going to try to get it to ferment out by alcohol level without oversweetening it again, so sugar in small increments I guess.

Halle: 16% / 1.020
Very cloudy and fizzy. It smells of heavy fermentation, but the drop I tasted seemed to suggest it could turn out quite nice when the yeast is done.

Imre: 15% / 1.010
Still cloudy, but hardly any fizz when agitated - this seems to be going toward finished. Underneath the yeast taste it was quite nice and appley. I Will Be Patient (for once!) and let it run its course - I'm very curious how this one'll turn out though. And I'm now thinking of doing a similar wine but with the orchard pear juice..