Bottled Blackberry Wine

On March 13th, Der Brauer came over to my house. While he was here, we decided to try the three wines we started on Martin Luther King, Jr. weekend. The pear wine was still on the sweet & green side and the Cyser obviously needed to let some adjuncts fall through. But then we tried the Blackberry Wine. Der Brauer stared longingly into my eyes for a moment before saying, "This is really f&^%ing good."

Loving the color.

He was right. It had good flavor. So we decided on the spot to "kill it"-- to end the fermentation process as quickly as possible, to freeze it in time-- so I recommended we toss in some Potassium Sorbate. I measured the appropriate amount, crushed it between two spoons like a crackhead, and capped it. 

The next day I took some gravity readings. Then I wrapped the vessel in a towel and took it to the lower level of the house, a place where the temperature is consistently a few degrees cooler. Nearly two months passed.

Tonight I decided to taste/bottle the Blackberry and taste the Cyser and Pear Wine. I haven't yet warmed up to (or had the volume to justify the effort of) bottling using a corker. So until that day comes, I will continue to use liquor bottles. 

As I get older, liquor bottles are harder to come by... if you've got any extra bottles around, I could use them.

 The wines all taste good. The Cyser is less dense than before and starting to mature. This could take some time considering the sheer volume of adjuncts within the recipe. The Pear Wine is the semi-sweet to sweet range, so it's the next I'm bottling.

(See key below.)

A Key for reading the notes:

- The top line contains the original reading, which was taken on January 18, before the fermentation process started.

- The second reading (listed as "today") was on January 28. You can see the density of the wine becoming less and less as sugar is slowly converted to alcohol.

- The third line is a reading from March 14th, the day after Der Brauer was over and tasted with me. This includes an ABV estimation using an online calculator.

- Finally, the readings from tonight: The Blackberry Wine did not change mathematically, which means my Potassium Sorbate and venue change did their part.

The color lightened up. A vibrant purple-red. 

The taste is about the same, but it's more crisp and clean. 

As of tonight, the Blackberry Wine is officially named "Engagement Blackberry - 2015". The Pear Wine and Cyser will be named later.

Thanks for checking in! Drink your wine from a stein.    -Antonio