The Alwyn Brewery: Wine No. 1: Secondary Fermentation

After 5 days in the bucket, it was time to take the damson wine to the next stage. The fruit had formed a gooey crust on top of the liquid, there was a distinct alcoholic smell, and bubbles could be seen (and heard) rising through the gloop. I’d been taking a peek at the contents every day, but in theory the mixture should have been protected from any airborne nasties by a blanket of CO2 being produced by the fermentation.

The first step was to strain the liquid into a demijohn. I tried pouring it through my brewer’s funnel, which has a built-in filter, but this was much too fine and the liquid could only pass through drop by drop.

So I quickly sterilized another funnel (I later discovered that the filter on the brewer’s funnel is removable), placed my coarse straining bag in the funnel, and strained the liquid through that. Each time the bag filled up, I squeezed out the last drops of liquid and discarded the leftover cake of solids. I discovered that damson juice squeezed through a straining bag can reach quite a velocity, and was glad that I was wearing an apron.

The second step was to add 900g of granulated sugar to feed the secondary fermentation. Chris’s recipe suggests initially just adding enough cold water to dissolve the sugar, “which is considerably less than you think”. So I thought I’d dissolve the sugar in a pint glass, in two batches, and add each in turn to the demijohn.

I quickly discovered that the volume of 450g of sugar is nearly a pint, so my plan wasn’t going to work. Instead I just funnelled the sugar into the demijohn and then topped it up with cold water.

The final step was to fit the airlock (after some quick internet research confirmed that you’re meant to leave the cap *on*) and replace the brew in the North corner of the kitchen, where it will remain for about 6 weeks.

The liquid is very murky, as the photo shows, and it will be interesting to see how well it clears. I came back a couple of hours later and there were already bubbles forcing their way through the airlock. All systems go.

During the process I was able to have a little taste (a spot of finger licking, and trying a pinch of the leftover must) and it tasted like very rough cider. Hopefully that’s normal at this stage, and not indicative that it’s already turning to vinegar.