I am thinking about making my first batch of wine. I have a bunch of blueberries frozen that I can thaw out and use. I just got a two gallon fermenting bucket. I was figuring I would find a recipe I liked and fill that bucket. I will probably try to put the thawed blueberries into a paint strainer so that I can remove them more easily later when I rack the wine to a gallon glass jug.
And my hydrometer just came. I've never used one before but the instructions seem fairly straightforward. At least they seem straightforward when I am dealing with just liquid.
But if there is whole fruit in the bucket I won't be able to get a pure liquid, right? Yeah, I can mash the blueberries some but I would think the liquid portion I snag for a reading still won't take the whole fruit into account. I may not be explaining this well. But I am concerned I won't get an accurate reading. I figure once I've siphoned off the liquid portion into the secondary it won't be as big an issue. But if the initial reading is inaccurate won't that throw everything off?
Also, when using whole fruit can I still use campden tablets to knock out wild bugs? These are raw blueberries and I'm not willing to heat pasteurize them or cook them. But I don't know if campden only works on pure liquids.
I apologize for such basic questions. I did search through the forums first and couldn't find answers to these questions.
It's tempting to just try juicing the blueberries with cheesecloth but I was told to use the whole berries for more blueberry flavor. But I have never dealt with anything except apple juice up until now. And I would like to learn how to use whole fruit or fruit purees and this seems like as good a way to start as any.
And my hydrometer just came. I've never used one before but the instructions seem fairly straightforward. At least they seem straightforward when I am dealing with just liquid.
But if there is whole fruit in the bucket I won't be able to get a pure liquid, right? Yeah, I can mash the blueberries some but I would think the liquid portion I snag for a reading still won't take the whole fruit into account. I may not be explaining this well. But I am concerned I won't get an accurate reading. I figure once I've siphoned off the liquid portion into the secondary it won't be as big an issue. But if the initial reading is inaccurate won't that throw everything off?
Also, when using whole fruit can I still use campden tablets to knock out wild bugs? These are raw blueberries and I'm not willing to heat pasteurize them or cook them. But I don't know if campden only works on pure liquids.
I apologize for such basic questions. I did search through the forums first and couldn't find answers to these questions.
It's tempting to just try juicing the blueberries with cheesecloth but I was told to use the whole berries for more blueberry flavor. But I have never dealt with anything except apple juice up until now. And I would like to learn how to use whole fruit or fruit purees and this seems like as good a way to start as any.