Quote:
Originally Posted by KegRiver
Are there any other home brewers on site?
I'm looking for some ideas on making wine with High Bush Cranberries.
I have no problems with Chokecherry wine and other wines but I've also been trying to make wine with High Bush cranberries and am getting mixed results.
I kinda want to get this figured out because they are the most abundant and easy to pick wild berry close to me. And they don't seem to be good for much else.
Two years ago I made a batch more or less by accident. It smelled odd while fomenting but was the best wine I've ever made once it was done.
So I tried another batch this year and it's aging now. I am not crazy about the taste of this batch.
Both brews were made with four gallons of berries steam juiced down to two gallons of juice. The first batch was on the strong side taste wise so this time I diluted the juice 50/50 with water.
I don't see how that would change the taste though so I'm wondering if there is some other reason for the poor taste.
There were three differences in the two batches.
That first batch was made with berries picked while they were still firm.
This fall I got busy with the harvest and didn't get to pick any until they were mostly liquid inside and I'm wondering if that may be the reason for the taste.
I did add more sugar this year but again I don't see that changing the taste. I added five pounds this year and only four the previous batch.
And although I intended to add yeast to the first batch I didn't because it started fomenting on it's own before I got to it.
This year I added one packet of Lalvin EC 1118 yeast.
Everything else was the same, one teaspoon of Yeast energizer,, and one teaspoon of acid blend.
Did I miss something or do something wrong? Would crushing the berries and brewing them whole work better.
What has been your experience with brewing high bush cranberries?
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Possibly the answer you seek lies within the bolded section. Oddly in the first batch You may have won the wine lottery with a wild strain that should not have survived the steam extraction.
2nd point is a juice filled cranberry is odd. It may be low acid and may have needed extra acid blend specifically Malic