New Pineapple Wine and Beet Wine Update

Tweaked a recipe I found on YouTube, and came up with this recipe.  Trying to achieve good wines with a minimum of additives while using more sophisticated techniques than hootch-makers.

Three Cats Fine Wines Pineapple Wine

2 pineapples
1 gallon water
7 cups sugar
1 pkg Lalvin RC 212 yeast

Total investment:  $8

Peeled and cut up the pineapples, put in pot with water and sugar. Brought to a boil. Transferred to primary bucket ‘cuz the kettle was too full for fermenting, and let cool. Added activated yeast, stirred, and covered. Recipe says to stir every two days for 21 days, strain and enjoy. Not sure but I may tweak those directions a bit. With this high of a starting specific gravity, I should be able to rack into secondary when it reaches 1.000, and end up with an alcohol content of about 15%.  I'm not certain at this point if this strain of yeast is alcohol-tolerant to that level, but if not that's OK, the wine will be a little sweeter is all.  Intent is to try for a Pina Colada wine, using Coconut Extract at the end.  We'll see.

8/12/13 – 1.116 SG
8/14/13 – 1.061 SG

Here's the formula for determining alcohol content using a hydrometer:  Subtract the last hydrometer reading from the first hydrometer reading, then divide by 7.36.  This will give your percentage.

The beet wine is now coming along nicely in secondary.  Here's what it looks like:

I need more wine bottles for sure, now! Gotta see if I can find some more carboys, too. I've got a gallon jug from a Carlo Rossi Sangria I found the other day, for the pineapple's secondary fermentation process, but if I'm going to make more than a gallon at a time, I'm pretty much stuck now until I get more equipment. But wine bottles I need.