I decided to make high-octane peach wine from them. I figure that since they were frozen they might yield more juice and flavor. The trick with high-octane is that you need to feed the yeast regularly so they keep producing the alcohol.
I took the frozen peaches and put them in the 3 gallon stock pot. I warmed them a little to thaw them and then let them sit overnight. I also added some pectin at this point to try to get more juice out of them. The next day I mashed them up and got the juice out of them. This was kind of tough because I think being frozen caused them to get slimy instead of juicy. Still I actually got more juice than I wanted so I may end up with less alcohol content than I had intended since there is not much space in the jug.
I checked the plain juice and it was at a little over 5% sugar which is a good start. I used my other peach batch as a starting point of sorts.
Ingredients:
- Peaches
- 2 bags of Morning Thunder tea (to add tannin)
- 2 tsp pectin in jug (after the overnight)
- 2 tsp acid blend. A little dangerous because I don't know the initial acid starting point but the raw peach tasted pretty tame and I'm trying to boost the flavor
- Yeast
- Yeast nutrient
- Total sugar added: 18 cups
The picture below shows the initial jug. I'll keep the pulp in it for longer than usual to try to increase the flavor. The plan is to check the sugar daily and as it approaches 0% I'll add some sugar syrup until it stops fermenting or the jug is full, whichever happens first.
11/24/2017 - The batch is fermenting like crazy just like the last batch. Maybe there's something about peaches. I checked it on Saturday morning and it was almost at zero so I added 4 cups of melted sugar. I read that this is called chaptalizing. I checked on Sunday and again it was almost 0 so I added another 4 cups and a tablespoon of yeast nutrient. Each 4 cups brought me back to about 5%. So at this point it should be 10-15% alcohol. I also read that you do not have to melt the sugar. Good to know as I am running out of space. I took a taste and it tastes good. I'll play with the acid blend once it starts to finish using the taste method.
11/27/2017 - This morning it was still fermenting like crazy. I didn't want it to starve through the day so I added a cup of sugar raw, not melted.
11/27/2017 - This evening I started thinking about how much more the wined could take and I was running out of jug space so I got a 5 gallon jug out of the garage and swapped them. It smelled wonderful. I added 4 more cups of sugar and had a taste. It tastes good but the flavor seemed a little weak. I found another 2 quarts of frozen peaches and melted them in the microwave. Mashed them up and put them in.
11/28/2017 - After work the fermenting has slowed but is still present. I added 2 cups of sugar and 3 tsp of yeast nutrient. Prior to adding the sugar I checked the gravity and it was at about 6% so the sugar was a just in case. I may try getting a stronger yeast to give it one more kick... or maybe not. I haven't decided.
11/30/2017 - Last night when I got home I could see that the mix was still flurrying. I think this happens because when the sugar content is high the pulp floats to the top. As the sugar goes down it all sinks and the CO2 lifts it up. Anyway, it was still churning this morning. I checked the gravity and it was about 4%. I don't want to shock it so I added 1 cup of sugar and will watch it daily. I took a taste and the alcohol is higher. The added peach and sugar are making it pretty tasty too.
12/1/2017 - Last night it was still bubbling pretty well. This morning it was a little quieter. I checked the gravity at about 3% and added one cup of sugar. I think it's getting close to the end of what the yeast can handle. It tastes very good. I'm glad I added the extra peach. With this cup of sugar I have 18 cups of sugar in there. Since 4 brought it to 5% 18 should bring it to almost 22%. I doubt there is that much alcohol in there but it gives an idea of how much sugar the yeast can handle. I think I'll take it off of the fruit this weekend.
12/13/2017 - I took it off of the fruit and put the airlock on. It's been bubbling about every 15 seconds ever since. It tasted very good. I think the extra peach was a good idea. I'll play around with the acid blend after the fermentation stops.
1/24/2018 - Still bubbling about once every 2 minutes. Must be close to done. the color has really deepened.
2/28/2018 - Bottled the wine. Super strong and not super tasty. Added a bunch of acid blend to improve the taste a little. It reminds me of when I made the maple wine that seemed so harsh. It has a slight bourbon taste. Makes me wonder if it will mellow and become tasty later. Might be good in a sangria in the summer.
7/4/2018 - We made some sangria with it at Myrtle beach. It wasn't bad. Usable. Very strong. A great experiment. I might find other uses for it. It's not bad for sipping though. Might be good on ice.
September 2019 - Over the past year I've opened a couple of these bottles for sipping. It's strong and sharp, a little rough, less rough than whiskey. The more I drink it the more I like it. A little goes a long way, great for sipping. the peach flavor seems to come out more and more. Oddly, Mary B really likes it with orange juice. I have to experiment to see if it's the flavor, the sweetness, or the acid that improves it. I'll make another batch of this in the summer.
11/24/2017 - The batch is fermenting like crazy just like the last batch. Maybe there's something about peaches. I checked it on Saturday morning and it was almost at zero so I added 4 cups of melted sugar. I read that this is called chaptalizing. I checked on Sunday and again it was almost 0 so I added another 4 cups and a tablespoon of yeast nutrient. Each 4 cups brought me back to about 5%. So at this point it should be 10-15% alcohol. I also read that you do not have to melt the sugar. Good to know as I am running out of space. I took a taste and it tastes good. I'll play with the acid blend once it starts to finish using the taste method.
11/27/2017 - This morning it was still fermenting like crazy. I didn't want it to starve through the day so I added a cup of sugar raw, not melted.
11/27/2017 - This evening I started thinking about how much more the wined could take and I was running out of jug space so I got a 5 gallon jug out of the garage and swapped them. It smelled wonderful. I added 4 more cups of sugar and had a taste. It tastes good but the flavor seemed a little weak. I found another 2 quarts of frozen peaches and melted them in the microwave. Mashed them up and put them in.
11/28/2017 - After work the fermenting has slowed but is still present. I added 2 cups of sugar and 3 tsp of yeast nutrient. Prior to adding the sugar I checked the gravity and it was at about 6% so the sugar was a just in case. I may try getting a stronger yeast to give it one more kick... or maybe not. I haven't decided.
11/30/2017 - Last night when I got home I could see that the mix was still flurrying. I think this happens because when the sugar content is high the pulp floats to the top. As the sugar goes down it all sinks and the CO2 lifts it up. Anyway, it was still churning this morning. I checked the gravity and it was about 4%. I don't want to shock it so I added 1 cup of sugar and will watch it daily. I took a taste and the alcohol is higher. The added peach and sugar are making it pretty tasty too.
12/1/2017 - Last night it was still bubbling pretty well. This morning it was a little quieter. I checked the gravity at about 3% and added one cup of sugar. I think it's getting close to the end of what the yeast can handle. It tastes very good. I'm glad I added the extra peach. With this cup of sugar I have 18 cups of sugar in there. Since 4 brought it to 5% 18 should bring it to almost 22%. I doubt there is that much alcohol in there but it gives an idea of how much sugar the yeast can handle. I think I'll take it off of the fruit this weekend.
12/13/2017 - I took it off of the fruit and put the airlock on. It's been bubbling about every 15 seconds ever since. It tasted very good. I think the extra peach was a good idea. I'll play around with the acid blend after the fermentation stops.
1/24/2018 - Still bubbling about once every 2 minutes. Must be close to done. the color has really deepened.
2/28/2018 - Bottled the wine. Super strong and not super tasty. Added a bunch of acid blend to improve the taste a little. It reminds me of when I made the maple wine that seemed so harsh. It has a slight bourbon taste. Makes me wonder if it will mellow and become tasty later. Might be good in a sangria in the summer.
7/4/2018 - We made some sangria with it at Myrtle beach. It wasn't bad. Usable. Very strong. A great experiment. I might find other uses for it. It's not bad for sipping though. Might be good on ice.
September 2019 - Over the past year I've opened a couple of these bottles for sipping. It's strong and sharp, a little rough, less rough than whiskey. The more I drink it the more I like it. A little goes a long way, great for sipping. the peach flavor seems to come out more and more. Oddly, Mary B really likes it with orange juice. I have to experiment to see if it's the flavor, the sweetness, or the acid that improves it. I'll make another batch of this in the summer.
Initial Batch
