Amylase

Having made wine for at least the last 12 years, I was surprised when I needed to purchase a new ingredient. My latest wine, a barley wine, called for the use of Amylase. I didn't know what it did exactly and had to look it up.

Amylase is used in the making of bread, cattle feed and laundry detergent. It's primary function is to break down starches into short chain sugars. There are different kinds of Amylase and they come from a variety of sources. One such variety, Alpha Amylase found in human saliva, called Ptyalin, is comprised of 511 amino acids and is secreted by the salivary glands during eating.

Another type of amylase, Beta Amylase is found in plants, mold, yeasts and bacteria. Beta Amylase is a primary component of Diastase which convert the starches of grains into sugars. Home brewers rely on this type of conversion in the mashing process to aid in sugar extraction.

Ancient cultures have used saliva to create fermented beverages for hundreds of years. In the Peruvian rain forest, locals make Mosato by chewing the root of the Yuca, fermenting the masticated juice into a refreshing alcoholic drink. Another drink called Chicha, is made by chewing corn.

So the use of Amylase in brewing goes back to ancient times. The discovery that saliva converts starches to sugars is a ingenious low-tech solution to making home made beverages from grains. Those same principles are used today in everyday products. Sure we could use saliva, but now we have other, more palatable ways of achieving the same results.

Bigs Barley Wine Recipe

Bigs Barley Wine Recipe

Makes one gallon,

1 lb. Whole or Cracked Barley

1 lb. Golden Raisins

2-1/2 lb. Sugar

Zest and juice of 2 Lemons, OR 4 tsp. acid blend

Zest and juice of 2-3 Oranges (optional)

1/2 tsp. Tannin

1 Campden tablet, Crushed

Amylase, to help convert starches to sugar (prevent starch haze)

Montrachet Yeast

Toast the barley (optional) on a cookie sheet in a 375-400 degree oven for about ten minutes. Stir the grain every few minutes. Cool. Put the barley in a large stainless steel pot, cover with water and soak overnight. Do the same with the raisins.

The next day, place the barley and raisins in a food processor, pulse till well chopped.  Put the barley and raisins in a grain bag and place into the primary fermenter. Then add the sugar and pour over hot (not necessarily boiling) water.

Add the juice of the lemons or citric acid. Also add the juice of the oranges (if using them). When cool, add the tannin, yeast nutrient, Amylase and crushed Campden tablet. Cover and leave for 24 hours, then add the yeast. Cover closely and leave for 8 days, stirring daily, then strain into a fermentation vessel with airlock. Siphon off into bottles when clear adding 1-crushed Campden tablet beforehand. Ready to drink in about six months.

Bigs Barley Wine

Whisky is all the rage right now and I thought it only appropriate to feature a grain in my next wine. More specifically, Barley. If I could only age the wine in used Whiskey Barrels we would really have something, that is if you like whiskey. I've never made Barley wine, so I thought it only fitting to make a straight recipe and see what it's like before adding unnecessary flavorings.

It's a fairly straight forward wine to make. No fussing with fruit. Just soak the grains, chop them with raisins and add to a grain bag. Put the lot into a fermentation bucket and add the rest of the ingredients. The only special ingredient you need is Amylase, which helps prevent a starch haze and helps break down the sugars in the grains. If you are interested in the recipe I'll post it here soon.

If you are interested in the recipe, you'll find it here.

Dandelion Wine Recipe

Many people would be embarrassed to say they have a great crop of spring dandelions. I was thrilled. Having missed out on the harvest last year, I was anxious to get to picking. I waited til afternoon so the flowers were in full bloom and picked quite a bit more than needed with more to spare. My front and back yard had more flowers than anticipated. I thought I would have to go about the neighborhood to pick my quota, but the backyard was plenty sufficient.

The dandelions are picked and ready to brew.

Dandelion Wine Recipe

Makes 2 Gallons

April 24, 2016

8-quarts dandelions

2-lemons

3-cups fresh squeezed orange juice

12-ounces Black Raisins

4-pounds sugar

1-can frozen apple juice concentrate

2-gallons water

2-teaspoons yeast nutrient

1/4 teaspoon tannin

2-campden tablets

1-packet yeast

I placed the flowers in a large stock pot and picked through them making sure all the stems and bugs were removed. I set another pot on the stove with three quarts of water to boil. When the water was boiling, I poured it over my flowers and let it simmer briefly, covered and let them steep with the burner off. Next, I added two more quarts of water to the stock pot and four pounds of sugar and let it come to a simmer for about ten minutes. Let cool. When cool add the flower water and sugar water to primary fermentation bucket. Add 12 ounces of black raisins that have been soaked and chopped to a fermentation bag in the primary as well. Also add the juice of two lemons, one can frozen Apple juice concentrate and 16 ounces fresh squeezed Orange Juice. Add grape tannin, yeast nutrient and two campden tablets. 24 hours later take a specific gravity reading and add the yeast.

Rack after 4-5 days to a glass carboy fitted with a airlock. Rack again after a month. Bottle when clear.

Nanking Cherry Wine Recipe

Nanking Cherry Wine Recipe

The frozen cherries patiently waiting in the main fermenter

Brewing date: August 24th, 2015, 12:41 pm

Makes 2-gallons

RECIPE

7.5 lbs ripe Nanking cherries ( both white and red cherries)

4 lbs granulated sugar

2 11-oz cans Old Orchard frozen grape (Concord) concentrate

Enough water for two gallons must

1 crushed Campden tablet

1/4 tsp grape tannin

1 tsp pectic enzyme

1 tsp acid blend

1 tsp yeast nutrient

LALVIN EC-118 wine yeast

Add half the water and sugar to a large stock pot and bring to a boil. Simmer the water and sugar for ten minutes. To a large fermentation bucket, add the frozen cherries. Pour the boiling water over the cherries and mash with a potato masher to release the color. Add the cans of frozen grape concentrate and top up with cool water to make 2-gallons of must. When completely cool, add the tannin, yeast nutrient, acid blend and 2-crushed campden tablets and mix well. Wait 24 hours and add the pectic enzyme. Add the yeast 12 hours after the pectic enzyme. 

NOTES:

I added the pectic enzyme at approximately 10 am on Tuesday morning. Will need to add yeast wednesday morning a the same time. 

August 26th, 9a.m. Pitched yeast

Starting Gravity: 1.098, Approx. 13% Alcohol

September 1, 8 p.m. First racking

September 13, 2nd racking. Topped with spare must from fridge.

November 18, 2015: wine is clarifying.

December 16, 2015: Racked wine and added American Oak chips. The flavor is very tart, with a rich amber color. This should sit about a month at least on the oak chips. 

March 20, 2016: My 3-gallon carboy has been sitting in the basement for three solid months with the oak chips added. I usually rack off the oak chips earlier, but sometimes it's good to see how the flavor changes over time. Today I finally stabilized the wine and bottled it. I added Potassium Sorbate, 1 ounce glycerine and 1 ounce of sugar syrup to the racked wine, mixed well and bottled. 

Sugared Plum Wine Recipe 2015

Plum wine #2 2015

Just having made plum wine a few days ago I didn't expect to be thinking about making this wine again so soon. I found plums on sale at Aldi and couldn't pass them up. They were selling Sugared Plums which I had never seen before. So I snatched them up along with a can of frozen apple juice.

Sugared Plum Wine 2015

Brewing day: June 20, 2015, 10 a.m.

4 lbs. Sugared Plums

1 can frozen apple juice

2 lbs. Sugar

Acid

Tannin

Yeast nutrient

Pectic enzyme

Wine yeast

Notes: 

Pitched yeast on Sunday morning June 21 at 10 am.

Specific gravity: 1.122, a bit high but not a full gallon of liquid so a bit off. I will top up to a gallon when racking.

June 29, 1st racking

July 19, 2nd racking, Gravity 0.993, beautiful ruby color.

No noticeable fermentation.

August 29, wine is clearing nicely and is a much richer color than plum wine number one.

September 13, removed wine from cold storage. Carboy has been in the garage fridge for two weeks to clarify and stabilize.

November 27, 2015: Bottled wine. Added stabilizer and three ounces of sugar syrup

Sugared Plum Wine: First Impressions

April 6, 2016

It seemed like every time I went shopping last spring, the plums were ripe and could be had for a bargain. I purchased these at a local Aldi, where I almost never buy fruit for winemaking. They were so fresh, that I decided to give them a try. Finding good quality fruit is the hardest and most important thing when making wine. I've made enough plum wine to know. 

This Sugared Plum wine was brewed in June and bottled it in November.

Plum Wine is one of my favorite wines to make at home. When done right it can be a special treat. The key is to use enough fruit to add body and flavor only adding enough sugar to get the brix level to about 22 or 23. That gives me just the right amount of alcohol to volume so the wine doesn't taste thin or too hot.

First Tasting

The color is a nice ruby red. The wine is fruity and sweet, but not overly so with a tart, well rounded smooth finish. Sometimes Plum wine can taste thin like Cool Aid. However, this Sugared Plum Wine has a nice balance and a richness that makes it special. The alcohol level is probably around 12% even though the specific gravity was a bit high on brewing day. I did have to water the brew down a bit while racking off the sediment which accounts for the lower Alcohol percentage. 

I'll be looking for Sugared Plums to come out again this spring with the hope of making another successful batch.

Link to the Sugared Plum Recipe can be found here.