If you’ve been following this blog for a while, you may recall the Prison Wine I made two or three years ago. If you haven’t been following this blog that long, well….. I made Prison Wine two or three years ago.
Prison Wine is extremely easy to make. Here’s the recipe, if you are interested. I made my first batch with apples, but you can use any fruit. If you’re using berries, just squish them up a bit before you measure in the six cups.
Not only can Prison Wine be fairly potent, it can also be VERY sweet. I experimented using less sugar and ended up with a couple of batches of vinegar. I was able to successfully cut the amount of sugar down to about 5 cups, but there was frankly little difference in the sweetness.
This year I decided to try making some Prison Wine out of the raspberries we picked in June, and I decided to do something a little different. I used our beer making buckets, instead of a gallon glass jar. This allowed me to add more water – plus the bucket has an airlock, so I didn’t have to worry about the wine bubbling out when it got to fermenting or about it getting too much oxygen. I ended up using 10 cups of smashed raspberries, 6 cups of sugar, and 2 gallons of water. It fermented for about 6 weeks. And this past weekend, we bottled it.
I like this batch MUCH better than the previous ones. It’s not near as sweet. And it kind of tastes like a Merlot – well, at least like I imagine a Merlot would taste if it was made in prison using only smuggled fruit, stolen sugar, and some kind of water.
But just look how pretty this stuff is:
And the really cool thing is that one of our neighbors traded me a bottle of that wine for a dozen fertile eggs from his chickens! So I’m going to stick those eggs under yet ANOTHER broody hen and see what hatches.
Oh, for those of you keeping score, I currently have three more broodies – two Phoenix’s and one Hamburg. The Phoenix’s are due to hatch theirs out next week. The Hamburg went broody this week, and it is she that is going to get the neighbor’s eggs tonight.
That makes a total of nine broodies this year. Two of them have gone broody three times this year.
Thank goodness for Prison Wine. I think I need it right about now.
Bee Free,
Penny
My parents used to make Elderberry wine. I never got to taste it, but it sure smelled good.
I made a wicked blackberry wine a few years back from the blackberries I pick round the lanes, it took almost 2 years to ferment LOL we took the wine still in the demijohns and not bottled to a barn dance at our community centre… 2 years to ferment and 2 hours to drink 3 gallons of the stuff and 4 days to recover LOL jebus it was potent
Yours look wonderful
I think Janet is ill or dying…… Ive tried to look up what could be wrong with her and it could be a number of things
She is twisting her neck and sometimes sort of chases her tail like a puppy……. our Tom thinks its cos she is now blind in one eye and is twisting her head around so she can see all around….. not so sure though meself…….. I found something called ‘Newcastles disease or illness that says something about twisted neck thingie, but she aint never been to Newcastle LOL…… she is eating and drinking just fine though…… but Im so scared for her incase it is something nasty and not just where is she blind in one eye…….
cheers drink ya wine LOL and send me some of them fertile eggs
x
CeeCee – Elderberry Wine sounds wonderful! Too bad you were too young to taste it. Wish I could send you a sample of this raspberry wine!
Marmy – Not Janet! I am so sorry. I have no experience at all with that type of behavior, but I do remember reading a lot about limber neck, or twisted neck. I wonder if that could be what she has? Here’s a link to some info and treatment, if that’s what she has http://tinyurl.com/kpxa7f Please let me know what happens with her. That makes me so sad
I can only imagine what a hit your blackberry wine was! Home made wine packs quite a punch. What it may lack it flavor, it makes up for in potency! I bet your wine tasted good after two years though. I think mine tastes pretty darn good after only 6 weeks – certainly better than the other batches I made.
I’m sending prayers and good wishes your way for Janet. And I sure do wish I could get you some fertile eggs in one piece. Heaven knows with all these roos, I’ve got a few fertile eggs to share!
Raspberry wine….sounds wonderful. I was just out looking at my scuppernong grapes and they are almost ready….hope I can get enough to make a batch this year. If not I have some blueberries I’ll have a go at.
More chicks???Hopefully they won’t be roos. I have nothing but roos in the first hatch and I think I see at least 3 or 4 in the last hatch that leaves me with just one or two hens if I’m lucky. Nine to ten roos!
TTFN!
Love ya!
Julie
I dont know a thing about wine, but I can say that it looks really pretty in those bottles…all lined up like that. But thats all I can say about that.
Julie – I know what you mean! I ended up with 7 out of 9 being roos in the hatch before last. Then just 1 out of 4 on the next one. If everything under hens hatches in the next few weeks, I’ll have 18 more chicks and I’m hoping to get some pullets out of all that. But I have to tell you, these mutt roos are so darn cute! I wish I could keep all of them. But there is NO WAY. Bernie is on board with a “processing” day. It won’t be fun, but I actually am looking forward to having our home grown chicken meat in the freezer – just not doing what needs to be done to get them there!
Frugalmom – I almost arranged those bottles in a scattered mess to take that picture, just to drive you insane
Wow, you are awesome to make your own wine. I am not usually a wine drinker but that sure does look good.
More babies, that sounds like so much fun. I can’t wait until my girls eggs hatch, should be in week or 2 at least I hope so. If it doesn’t work out this time I am going to go get some day olds and put them under her and hope she will take over. She has been trying for 6 weeks for eggs and this time she is going to make it, I do hope I get another RIR roo to take Jake’s place (except not being a total meanie)
Best of Luck and enjoy the wine. Oh how are you Mealworms doing? i want to start raising my own for my son’s gecko and of course my wonderful chickens. they will certainly love them and love me more for them. I plan on getting 5000 to start.
Lisa
Lisa – My mealworms are doing pretty well. I can’t remember how many I started with, but it was a BUNCH. They are so easy to care for. I think your son would get a kick out of it – and I KNOW the gecko and chickens would!