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2009 Goozbeit (Beet wine with Gooseberries)

5 gallon bucket of Beets cleaned and sliced thin (like scalped potatoes)
1lb 11oz lite DME
7lb 14oz table sugar
12lb Gooseberrys
1/8 tsp vegemite
Muntons ale yeast cake off Apple cider

covered beets in brewpot w/filtered Glencoe tap water.
Heat up to 160 deg. and hold til cooked tender (about 40 min).
strain out liquid and throw away Beets (you can eat them too, if you like)
Add DME slowly, once disolved add sugar, once disolved then measure G=1.
Heat back up to 160 deg.
Add wort chiller, Gooseberrys, heat back to 160 deg. and hold for 20 min.
NEW THIS YEAR, I ran the gooseberrys through a food mill, then add vegemite,
heat back to 160 deg.
Chill to 73 deg, strain and aerate
Yield was 5.0 gallons, OG=1.102

cooking the Beets.

the pre-frozen gooseberries

small fermenting explosion...don't do this on carpeted livingroom floor !

Goozbeit, awesome name ! and a great colour, although maybe not for the carpet

OK - I googled it and now I'm wondering what Durable Medical Equipment has to do with anything.

Put me out of my misery, Minnesota - what's DME?

Mike

Ahhhh - Dried Malt Extract?

YES, dried Malt extract !

I wish I would have had more DME in this batch, Last year I put in nearly 4 lbs. I only had the 1lb 11oz on hand, so that's all I used. DME gives a wine more sweetness even if fermented out dry as well as a smooth mouthfeel.

I hosted a 5 year vertical tasting of my Beet Wines at My Homebrew club's meeting last night.

first photo:
Beet wine 5 year flight, 2005 to 2010

second photo:
Guzbeit 2010, this is still bulk aging, and you could see the clouds and taste it's luscious earthiness and sharp Gooseberry (due to berries maseration in mid-pasturize)

third photo:
Goozbeit 2009, earthiness has mellowed, friut more prominant and overal much smoother, partly from age and part from the Gooseberries not maserated. This was voted Best by the few Jabber's that have an appreciation of Beet wine

continued from previous reply

Fourth photo:
Thanksgiving Beet meade 2007. This was made with Lime instead of Gooseberry. some thought it had a cleaning solution taste on the finish. I, of course, like them all, though I like this least. it's still quite earthy, I say it tastes more like dirty cleaning solution.

Fifth Photo:
Sublime Beet Meade 2006. As the color indicates, the age has removed some of the earthy beetiness, leaving plenty of lime. The lime comes through and not this cleaning solution of the 07. If you weren't informed that this was a beet wine, I think very few would guess that, by taste alone.

Sixth Photo:
"off the BEETENPATH" 2005 Dry Beet Wine. Last year when I tasted this without a vertical comparison, I thought it could very well pass for a Pinot Noir wine. At the tasting last night, I concluded this could pass for a not so good Pinot Noir wine. Among other things, Lots of raisons and some Whole Black Peppercorns were in the must. That is what is coming through now. I used a 100 year old recipe for this (my very first fermentation) and used open type fermentation with White rice as a yeast nutrient and Bread Yeast for fermentation...considering all that, this wine turned out great and has aged well. Darn, I only have one bottle left

I thought I'd bump this recipe thread, as I haven't been around for about 4 years.
I'm quite proud of it, and not to brag too much, but Andy found that it was good enough to put in his book, "Booze for free".

Anyone else enjoy a good Beet wine ?
what were your experiences with it?
Jon

Got to admit it's not one I've tried. Everything else I've read about beetroot has put me off (a bit of a feat), and our gooseberry has never given enough fruit for me to try.