Hi everyone. I am thinking about doing a couple summer batches with summer fruits: peaches (with ginger) and blackberries. There are few issues, though.
The first one is temperature, my garage will stay above 25°C for the whole summer, probably peaking near 30°C at the hottest days. I have an alternative location where temperature is stable around 22°C, but it is far from home so not so comfortable. I could probably gain 2°C or 3°C more by covering the vessel with a wet towel. Right now I have some spare D-47 and EC-1118 packets, the former is clearly useless, would the latter fit the temperature range?
The second issue is vessels: I don't have that many available. I was thinking making a single primary batch in a 23 l demijohn, then rack in two 12 l demijohns (which shall become available later) for secondary, one for peaches and one for blackberries. I would have to use all ingredients in secondary, is it feasible? Also, is ginger powder an option or should I get some whole roots?
Last is honey. I can get wildflowers and black locust*, other varietals would be too expensive or/and bad quality. Unless someone strongly recommends black locust I would go with wildflowers.
Any recommendation for recipes? There is a blackberry one in The Bee's Lees, did anyone try it?
* In Italy it is called "acacia honey", but the plant is actually pseudoacacia. Haven't seen it used in any recipe; it is a very light honey, I am afraid its aroma would be overwhelmed by the fruits.
The first one is temperature, my garage will stay above 25°C for the whole summer, probably peaking near 30°C at the hottest days. I have an alternative location where temperature is stable around 22°C, but it is far from home so not so comfortable. I could probably gain 2°C or 3°C more by covering the vessel with a wet towel. Right now I have some spare D-47 and EC-1118 packets, the former is clearly useless, would the latter fit the temperature range?
The second issue is vessels: I don't have that many available. I was thinking making a single primary batch in a 23 l demijohn, then rack in two 12 l demijohns (which shall become available later) for secondary, one for peaches and one for blackberries. I would have to use all ingredients in secondary, is it feasible? Also, is ginger powder an option or should I get some whole roots?
Last is honey. I can get wildflowers and black locust*, other varietals would be too expensive or/and bad quality. Unless someone strongly recommends black locust I would go with wildflowers.
Any recommendation for recipes? There is a blackberry one in The Bee's Lees, did anyone try it?
* In Italy it is called "acacia honey", but the plant is actually pseudoacacia. Haven't seen it used in any recipe; it is a very light honey, I am afraid its aroma would be overwhelmed by the fruits.
