5 GALLON WINE RECIPES RECIPES

Steps:

• Place enough feed to cover the bottom of your fermenter bucket; a good 4-5 inches should suffice.
• Add your sugar and fill the fermenter halfway with boiling water. Mix the sugar until it is dissolved.
• Fill the rest with warm water until you get to 6.5 gal of mash. There should be at least about 3″ space left in the fermenter.
• Add the yeast after it has cooled down to about 75 or 80 degrees Fahrenheit.
• Cover the fermenter using the lid and wait for 5-6 days.
• Run it at 150-160 proof.
• Filter the mash before distillation. This removes sediments to get a clear spirit.
• Distill the concoction, and you’re good to go!

Steps:

• Pour the wine into a clean, wide-mouthed half-gallon glass jar. Put the lid on and shake it well to aerate the wine. Remove lid, and add drinking water until the jar is about three-quarters full, along with the live raw vinegar or mother. Cover the jar with cheesecloth and keep the cloth in place with a rubber band.
• Leave the jar undisturbed in a dark place at room temperature for 3 to 4 weeks, checking regularly to see that a vinegar mother (a translucent, gelatinous disk) is growing on the surface, and no mold is forming. (If you see green, black or white mold, scrape it off; if it grows back, throw out the mixture and start over.) You should begin to smell vinegar after a few weeks, and can taste it every week or so to monitor the fermentation.
• After about 2 months, when the alcohol has acidified, or when a taste of the vinegar makes your mouth pucker, it's ready to strain and bottle. (You can save the mother to begin a new batch.) The vinegar can be used as is, or aged in the bottle for up to a year to mellow its flavor.