Always remember to use sterile equipment. Wash everything well and sterilize with boiling water. Use stainless steel pots or enamel ones, never aluminium or iron. Long handled wooden spoons are best for stirring. Small wooden kegs for ginger beer are great if you can get them, but do make sure they didn't contain something other than beer if they are old ones. Large glass carboys are great for wine, but you will have to siphon the wine out into smaller wine bottles when it is ready.
Honeycomb Mead
Place lots of honeycomb in a fairly large pan and cover with cold water and rub about with your hands, squeezing all the nutriment out of it into the water. Strain it through muslin and test with an egg; if the egg floats the mead is strong enough, if it sinks to the bottom a little honey must be added to make it float at the top.
Use 1 dozen cloves and 1 ounce of bruised ginger root to 2 gallons of the syrup. Add and bring it to the boil, then turn down heat and let it simmer, skimming until it is clear.
After it is cool put it in a big gallon bottle, it may ferment for a day or two or it may not. Ready to drink after 3 months or more.
The best of the honeycomb can then be used again--put it into a saucepan, melt it down in boiling water and set it to cool and the bees-wax will be on tip of the water when cold.
General Notes on Wine Making
Dry Wine- 2 to 2 1/2 lb. of sugar per gallon gives a dry wine in which all the sugar has been converted to alcohol.
Sweet Wine- 3 to 3 1/2 lb. of sugar per gallon gives a sweet wine in which only part of the sugar has been converted--the remainder sweetens the wine.
Fermentation- This should be done in a reasonably steady temperature of from 60° F. to 70° F.
Clarifying- This can be done after fermentation when the wine is put into strong jars or casks. 1/4 oz. Isinglass to each gallon is dissolved in a cupful of lukewarm wine and stirred into jar. White of egg is equally efficacious.
Maturing- New wine tends to be "yeasty." Wine matures better in bulk than in bottles, so leave it in storage vessels for six months to a year before bottling. Cork vessels lightly at first and later firmly. It is during this period that flavour, bouquet, and smoothness develop. When bottled store the bottles on their sides.
Elderberry Wine
Take about 9 pounds of elderberries when stripped from stalks, wash and put into large pots. Cover well with water, bring to boil, squeezing with a wooden spoon. Strain through muslin and while warm add 3 pounds of sugar to each gallon of liquid. Heat to dissolve sugar and add 2 level teaspoons of ground cloves. Pour into a large crock and when cool add 1/2 oz. Brewers yeast for each gallon. Cover with a cloth, leave to ferment for three weeks. Siphon off into a cask or bottles, cork lightly until fermentation ceases, then tightly and leave to mature.
LillyPilly Wine
1 gallon LillyPilly berries
1 gallon boiling water
3 lb. Sugar to each gallon of liquor (or 4 lb. If the wine is to be kept for some time.)
Gather the fruit when ripe and dry. Put into a deep pot and pour on the boiling water. When cool enough to handle, mash the berries with your hands, then cover and leave to stand until the pulp has risen and formed a crust--3 to 4 days. Strain, and add the sugar. Leave to work for a week or 10 days. When it has finished fermenting, cork or bung tightly, and keep for 6 months before bottling.
The LillyPilly Wine can also be made into Bramble Wine, replace LillyPilly Berries with Bramble Berries.
