[rowan57]

Hi All,

First post, came across this recipe for Beetroot Wine earlier and thought it might be handy as I have a glut of beetroot and I THINK nearly all the gear to make it. Having never made wine before i'm after some advice.

This is the link, can't copy and paste from the site: http://www.swapnascuisine.com/2012/04/beetroot-wine-recipe.html

My shopping list:
Big Pan
Demijohn?

I have a Fermenting Bin and lots and lots of 5L water bottles. Can I make use of this kit instead of buying a demijohn? What would I need to do?

Any thoughts for a wine novice? Super detailed instructions appreciated!

Thank you
Rowan

[Paul Plots]

Best of luck in your search for advice.

It's a very long time since I've seen beetroot wine but my father made lots of it years ago that and tea wine which I preferred. He always used demijohns.

[Alastair-I]

You can use the frementing bin and the 5l water bottles, as long as they are clean and you sterilise them.  You can drill a hole in the cap of the water bottle to take an airlock (make sure it's a tight push-fit).

The recipe you've linked to looks a bit basic, and the instructions looks like they'd lead to either an unfinished wine (14 days fermentation, bottle for immediate use?) or an exploding fermentation vessel (no airlock, closed lid).

Andy Hamilton (in Booze for Free) says of beetroot wine, "Mention beetroot wine to experienced home wine-makers and you will often get the same reaction: a scrunched-up face and the words 'It's a bit earthy.'".  He then goes on to give a recipe for beetroot and gooseberry wine.

This recipe for beetroot wine looks better to me, and has better instructions.

[GrannieAnnie]

I've got 3 5l water bottles, and although the diameter of the airlock is 9mm, I drilled an 8mm hole in the cap and the airlock fits nice and tight.

You can also drill a bigger hole to fit a bung in as well as airlock, but when I tried that, it didn't seem to fit as well as the airlock on its own in the small hole.

Be interesting to see how the beetroot turns out.  Mind you, OH would go spare if I said I was going to use his precious beetroot for wine!   

[aelf]

Beetroot wine has a fantastic colour, best fermented in a brown demi jon or one that is covered to keep the light off it, otherwise you loose some of the colour.

And it can be a bit earthy as mentioned 

[Paul Plots]

Beetroot wine has a fantastic colour, best fermented in a brown demi jon or one that is covered to keep the light off it, otherwise you loose some of the colour.

And it can be a bit earthy as mentioned 

I think the reason why it can be "a bit earthy" is that people often use the largest and oldest beets that haven't been gobbled for the plate. So... to reduce the chance of earthiness use only those beets you'd be happy to cook and serve with a salad... the sweet ones. 
Good luck.

[floydion]

Hi, i work in a restaurant and ive been collecting the left over beetroot juice for months now, i can say it makes a very nice wine and a little juice goes a long way, the chefs boil the beetroot with star anise and this adds a intresting edge to my wine, it is very earthy when dry though so i sweeten mine before drinking.

[Newportalien]

Best beetroot for wine making purposes is young shriveled ones.
These tend to be less " earthy" and contain more natural sugars.
Leave in bulk and store either dark djs or as we do wrap in brown paper or even bin bags.
We've got 2 gallons in conditioning room from 2 years ago.
Very stable ,colour stable and taste.....wonderfull.

[Paul Plots]

Best beetroot for wine making purposes is young shriveled ones.
These tend to be less " earthy" and contain more natural sugars.
Leave in bulk and store either dark djs or as we do wrap in brown paper or even bin bags.
We've got 2 gallons in conditioning room from 2 years ago.
Very stable ,colour stable and taste.....wonderfull.

I'll have to clamber back into the loft as I'm sure my father had several jars stored up there.... good or not it can't stay there for ever.

[sarajane]

Many many years ago I made 2 gallons of beetroot wine.

After over 12 months it tasted awful and I had just finished pouring one down the sink when Auntie called in and asked what I was doing.  Long story cut short she took the other demi john home and 12 months later it was the most beautiful drink you could imagine. 

She very kindly .. . . . gave me a bottle.  Not sure what happened to the other 5. 

[thedadtony]

Just racked my beetroot for the second time, I added red grape juice before fermentation, it tastes really good with a hint of liquorice, strong though 17.6%, another three galls.to do