Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.

Beet Wine

Collapse
X
 
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts

  • Beet Wine

    Beet Wine - My First Attempt

    No, i'm not crazy ~

    My grandfather would make different wines: chokecherry, bullberry, apple, crababbple...and beet. This makes sense, since he was German and Swedish; beets are integral to the foodways of both cultures, not to mention Ukraine, where my German ancestors lived for a few generations before emigrating to North Dakota.

    I was out at my parents' place a few nights ago, and talked with my dad about how Grandpa would make this beet wine. Grandpa's "method" (although he probably never would have referred to it that way) consisted of re-purposing a large glass battery case, which would have looked something like this:





    He would wash and peel the beets, then pare them (like a potato), then cut them up into small chunks. He would then toss them into the battery case and add the sugar and water. As to the amounts of beets and sugar, Dad didn't know for sure, but he was certain that Grandpa made wine 5 gallons at a time. Grandpa would then pitch the yeast (bread yeast) and let the magic begin. When it was done working, he'd bottle it, and that was that.

    I'm not much of a "real" wine drinker, but I am enjoying these home-made "country" wines more and more, made from the bounty of the land. True connoisseurs might shudder at them, but they taste great, they look wonderful, they are a tie to the land and - for me - have the added bonus of being a connection to my past and a continuation of a family tradition.

    I figured to myself, why not? I am a food historian, I'm very keen to explore and preserve my "Germans from Russia" heritage, and it's a tie to one of the greatest men I've known in my life. I should give this a try....I mean really, the more I think about it, what could be more "German-from-Russia" than beet wine?

    So - for all of the Doubting Thomases out there, this one's for you!

    This is a pretty easy story to tell, so far:



    3.4 pounds of beets, sugar and spring water; not pictured are a package of Montrachet wine yeast and a campden tablet (to protect the wine from infection and to ward off oxidation). You can read more about campden tablets and their purpose in winemaking here:

    http://www.midwestsupplies.com/purpo...ampden-tablets

    Note: The (very) few recipes that I found for beet wine contain several additives that probably "balance" and "improve" the wine to something a little more in line with modern practices. Pectic enzyme is presumably not necessary; however the biggest benefit that I can see would probably be some acid blend. I do not know for sure if this is the case, but I suspect that it might be. On the other hand, some reports stated that beet wine made the "right" way - that is, with the additives - has been lackluster and even inferior. I will most likely experiment with some of those additives at some point, but for this first attempt, I chose to stick with just the campden tablet, and called it good.

    Moving forward, I cut off the tops and roots of the beets, then pared them with a carrot peeler:



    Some recipes said that paring the beets is unnecessary, but my grandfather did this, so I did, too. The peelings, roots and tops of the beets were buried in the garden, to keep the land happy.

    This actually left me with exactly 3 pounds of beets:



    I was estimating that I would have anywhere from 2.5 to 3 pounds total, so this was just fine.

    My grandfather would then chop up the beets into small pieces with a knife; however, I am either too lazy or too busy to do that, so I cut them into medium-sized pieces, then pulsed them through my food processor:



    This seemed to work quite well.

    Some recipes call for cooking the beets at this point, in order to extract the juice. This seems unnecessary to me, and could, in my opinion, result in some sort of off-flavor. Would it? Won't it? I don't know. But the thing is, my grandfather did not cook the beets; my father insisted on that - so I didn't cook them, either.

    Meanwhile, I heated my gallon of spring water on the stovetop to the point where it would easily dissolve 3 pounds of sugar. This amount of sugar was arrived at after reading the recipes referred to above, and should be a good amount.

    By this point, I was starting to wonder if I was the recipient of some family joke, but I kept with it anyway, and am glad that I did.

    The next step was to put the beets into a fine mesh bag, then pour the warm sugar water on top of the bag in the fermenting bucket, along with a crushed campden tablet. The water turned beet-red (no pun intended) immediately:



    Truly a beautiful colour!

    I loosely covered the bucket with a clean tea towel, then set it in a dark, temperature-stable place for 24 hours. After that, I stirred the mixture and pitched the wine yeast.

    Since then, I have been stirring the must periodically, and using the large spoon to squish down the bag in order to continue to extract juice from the beets. this project is cruising right along; we're definitely making wine, and that's a good start.

    Ambient temperatures have been a bit on the low side, in the mid 60s; I'm not too concerned about this, but it is something that should be noted. I try to keep temperatures around 69-71, but my "temperature control system" consists of a closet lined with clothes and a space heater, so it's not going to be an exact science. No worries, though, as I am pretty sure most farmhouses that made this stuff didn't have a laboratory nearby.

    The beet aroma is coming through nicely, without being over-bearing or obnoxious. I have managed to sneak a couple of very small samples clinging to the spoon after stirring the must; early impressions are that I am onto something really good here, and I am thinking that I will end up with some very interesting wine. It's too early to really describe it, but it is definitely good, and for the most part unexpected.

    And...the colour is simply beautiful - I can't say enough about that!

    We're past the halfway point for primary fermentation; this weekend, I'll most likely transfer the must over to secondary, unless I see a reason not to.

    That is all for now - more as it happens, etc. &c....

    Ron
    Fundamentals matter.



    Helfen, Wehren, Heilen
    Die Wahrheit wird euch frei machen

    Foods of the World Forums - From Afghanistan to Zimbabwe, it's all good

    BaitShopBoyz.com - Shoot the bull with the boyZ

  • #2
    Don’t spill that stuff on yer carpet Should make for some interesting story telling what with magenta tongue and teeth...
    In God I trust- All others pay cash...
    Check out the Mad Hunky and products at https://madhunkymeats.com or https://www.facebook.com/MadHunkyMeats
    Lang 60D, The Beast, 18 and 22 WSM, Brinkmann Backroads trailer, Weber 22 Kettle, gutted MB burning watts

    Comment


    • #3
      Originally posted by Richtee View Post
      Don’t spill that stuff on yer carpet Should make for some interesting story telling what with magenta tongue and teeth...
      I made a lot of beer, wine, and mead in my day...The biggest mess I ever made was raspberry mead.

      I had a bunch of red raspberries in the mead...pulp, seeds, the whole gig. I didn't use a mesh bag like Ron did, so this was in a 5 gallon carboy...as luck would have it it was floating on the top of the wort and looked like a pulp head on the top. As the yeast got going, it naturally foamed up and the pulp blocked the blow-off tube. I had this going on the kitchen counter with the blow-off tube discharging in the sink. I was all the way upstairs in the master bedroom and I heard what sounded like a shotgun...I ran downstairs to see that the rubber stopper had blown out and there was a spray of red raspberry mead all over the kitchen, and a giant wad of red pulp and raspberry seeds on the white ceiling. What a flippin' mess.

      Take care of that stuff Ron!! gonna be a good experiment.
      BBQ Eng.

      The "Cow Girls" were adopted from the shelter, and found on petfinder.com.
      Adopt a homeless pet - http://www.petfinder.com
      I built the Iron Maiden - Iron Maiden Smoker Build

      Over 5000 unreadable posts...Photobucket can kiss my ass...they will never get a dime. I will not pay a ransom.

      Comment


      • #4
        Originally posted by BBQ Engineer View Post
        I made a lot of beer, wine, and mead in my day...The biggest mess I ever made was raspberry mead.

        I had a bunch of red raspberries in the mead...pulp, seeds, the whole gig. I didn't use a mesh bag like Ron did, so this was in a 5 gallon carboy...as luck would have it it was floating on the top of the wort and looked like a pulp head on the top. As the yeast got going, it naturally foamed up and the pulp blocked the blow-off tube. I had this going on the kitchen counter with the blow-off tube discharging in the sink. I was all the way upstairs in the master bedroom and I heard what sounded like a shotgun...I ran downstairs to see that the rubber stopper had blown out and there was a spray of red raspberry mead all over the kitchen, and a giant wad of red pulp and raspberry seeds on the white ceiling. What a flippin' mess.

        Take care of that stuff Ron!! gonna be a good experiment.
        So how much did the painter charge you or did you repaint yourself
        sigpic
        Weber 22.5 kettle
        Smokin in the Smokies
        Here's to swimmin with bowlegged women.
        Jerry

        Comment


        • #5
          Sounds interesting...can't wait to hear how this turns out. Keep us posted!
          sigpic
          "Once I thought I was wrong, but I was mistaken."
          Tom, smoker of meats and fine cigars
          UDS, Viking grill

          Comment


          • #6
            Thanks, guys - don't ask me why, but I'm really looking forward to seeing how this one goes.
            Fundamentals matter.



            Helfen, Wehren, Heilen
            Die Wahrheit wird euch frei machen

            Foods of the World Forums - From Afghanistan to Zimbabwe, it's all good

            BaitShopBoyz.com - Shoot the bull with the boyZ

            Comment


            • #7
              Well, I love beets, and I love wine. Seems like the perfect combination 2 me! I never even thought of beet wine...


              Drinks well with others



              ~ P4 ~

              Comment


              • #8
                You never know 'til you try!

                ADD moment -

                I live in Chinook, Montana. Sugarbeets as an industry and - surprisingly - as a culture have been a "thing" here for a very long time. We had a thriving sugarbeet production here up until the late 1970s or so; we still have a "Sugarbeet Festival" every year, and our high school mascot is...the SugarBeeters.

                Sugarbeet wine is on my list of things to try, but that will most likely have to wait until next year. These beets are just regular beets, grown wonderfully at a local Hutterite colony.

                Anyway - fermentation seemed a bit stalled with this, so when I got home from work last night, I added 1/2 dose of yeast nutrient. When I stirred the must this morning, I noticed a little more evidence of fermentation than in the past couple of days, so I think things are going well.

                I'll probably transfer this to secondary tomorrow; then, the wait begins....
                Fundamentals matter.



                Helfen, Wehren, Heilen
                Die Wahrheit wird euch frei machen

                Foods of the World Forums - From Afghanistan to Zimbabwe, it's all good

                BaitShopBoyz.com - Shoot the bull with the boyZ

                Comment


                • #9
                  I transferred my beet wine to my secondary fermenter last night, 31 October. The wine looked wonderful and smelled nice and "beety," in a good way. As far as I can tell, everything is going just fine.

                  I'll try to forget about it for a couple of weeks while it finishes fermenting and clears a bit. After that, we'll take a look and see what we have.
                  Fundamentals matter.



                  Helfen, Wehren, Heilen
                  Die Wahrheit wird euch frei machen

                  Foods of the World Forums - From Afghanistan to Zimbabwe, it's all good

                  BaitShopBoyz.com - Shoot the bull with the boyZ

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    You're in Montana, I'm in DelaWhere... so I guess me stopping by your place one night for a sip is unlikely. Good luck with this project!


                    Drinks well with others



                    ~ P4 ~

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      Follow-up - 17 January 2017:

                      Between being busy and procrastinating, I was not able to rack this wine over until 17 January. I added 1 crushed campden tablet and topped the gallon off with some extra wine that I had from racking over into secondary. There was a surprisingly-low amount of lees, but fermentation had definitely taken place, and I am definitely ending up with wine, here.

                      There was enough left over for a small sample, so of course I tried it. This wine is very interesting and surprisingly good. The colour is simply beautiful, a jewel-like hue somewhere between magenta and burgundy, similar to yet slightly lighter than the “bucket” photo above. It is hard to describe, so I will get a photo next time. There is a definite flavour of beets, but not in a bad way - it is very slightly earthy and finishes with a nice “beet-ness.” Its over-all character has a slight alcohol harshness, as it is still a young wine, but if it does any maturing at all, I think I am going to have something really special here.

                      I’ll rack it one more time in a month or two, then bottle it a month or two later. By mid-summer or autumn, we’ll see what we end up with.

                      That is all for now - more as it happens, etc. &c....

                      Ron
                      Fundamentals matter.



                      Helfen, Wehren, Heilen
                      Die Wahrheit wird euch frei machen

                      Foods of the World Forums - From Afghanistan to Zimbabwe, it's all good

                      BaitShopBoyz.com - Shoot the bull with the boyZ

                      Comment

                      Working...
                      X