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dpack
Joined: 02 Jul 2005
Posts: 34453
Location: yes
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 Posted: Sat Aug 04, 18 10:22 am Post subject: |
 
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| Mistress Rose wrote: |
| Reading this thread reminds me that I have the blackberries I picked last night to put in the freezer. I also managed to transfer the wine to demijohns yesterday. Is there an easy and clean way to do that? I end up using a ladle to transfer the juice while trying to avoid the pulp going in by lining the funnel with cheesecloth. |
i use a cylinder made out of a square of stainless steel fly screen and pop the syphon tube inside it.
not quite mess free but pretty tidy.
in the past i have used a pulp bag to hold the ferment until time for a squeeze, quite messy |
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Mistress Rose
Joined: 21 Jul 2011
Posts: 10128
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| Posted: Sun Aug 05, 18 7:15 am Post subject: |
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Thanks Dpack, I might try that. I find the syphon tube gets blocked with bubbles though, so will still have to use a ladle or something, but keeping the pulp out of the area of extraction is the most important thing. |
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sgt.colon
Joined: 27 Jul 2009
Posts: 6242
Location: Just south of north.
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| Posted: Mon Aug 06, 18 8:23 am Post subject: |
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The last time I made some blackberry wine, it was either Nick or Sean said to put my fruit into a pillow case and then put it in to the water in the brewing bucket. It made it a lot easier to syphon off when I was transferring to the demijohns. |
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Mistress Rose
Joined: 21 Jul 2011
Posts: 10128
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| Posted: Tue Aug 07, 18 6:45 am Post subject: |
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That is an alternative. It would have to be a very old pillowcase though, as the stain would never come out.  |
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dpack
Joined: 02 Jul 2005
Posts: 34453
Location: yes
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| Posted: Tue Aug 07, 18 9:19 am Post subject: |
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a pillow case will work but the squeeze stage is hard work (and can pop the cloth if it is an old un  ) a proper pulp bag of fine nylon mesh is easier and less than a tenner, they last pretty well making it a sundries cost of pennies per gallon. |
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Mistress Rose
Joined: 21 Jul 2011
Posts: 10128
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| Posted: Wed Aug 08, 18 7:01 am Post subject: |
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I have always left the fruit to sit on the top of the wine as I though that was the best way to get the yeast to it. I often make a couple of gallons at a time as I only tend to make wine when I really have a lot of fruit so it would have to be a pretty good size pulp bag. The one I have for jam making wouldn't be anything like large enough. |
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Behemoth
Joined: 01 Dec 2004
Posts: 19023
Location: Leeds
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| Posted: Thu Aug 09, 18 4:36 pm Post subject: |
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Good berries this year. Slightly earlier than usual. |
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dpack
Joined: 02 Jul 2005
Posts: 34453
Location: yes
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| Posted: Fri Aug 10, 18 9:16 pm Post subject: |
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4 kg top quality frozen and bagged, 10 lt of mashed fruit fermenting.
a good year and a perfect day for getting scratched, the wildlife was very accommodating and nowt bit me that i have noticed
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Mistress Rose
Joined: 21 Jul 2011
Posts: 10128
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| Posted: Sat Aug 11, 18 5:56 am Post subject: |
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I picked some more blackberries last night. There was a young blackbird on the ground near the bush which scuttled off under cover when I arrived. Not sure how much I have picked, but all in the freezer for now. |
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dpack
Joined: 02 Jul 2005
Posts: 34453
Location: yes
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| Posted: Sat Aug 11, 18 5:31 pm Post subject: |
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it is a good year for em so long as they had their feet in something at least a little damp. the ones round here in dry spots look more bushfire than fireside port.
i still have a lot ripening fast and some that will depend on the next 3 weeks or so.
it will make an early end to the season which has been very compact this year.
that can be a good thing as an early trim n prune gives chance for next years flowering stems to pop out a few leaves and spurs ti get ready for spring.
they have been around since the miocene so thriving on very rough fruitpicking by mega fauna be that a ground sloth or me with sharp secateurs seems sensible as do their stratagems for getting ones stems trashed by frost or fire etc.
bad weed ace friend 
there is a hypothesis that that are deliberate opportunist carnivores in that anything seeking shelter or blundering in can find itself tangled beyond hope if it is too weak to struggle free. having entangled myself with vigour or gravity a few times and having seen quite a few fallen sheep in bramble it does not seem too far fetched. |
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gregotyn
Joined: 24 Jun 2010
Posts: 1755
Location: Llanfyllin area
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| Posted: Sat Sep 29, 18 9:41 am Post subject: |
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Only the one frost that I know about and the black berries went almost over night about week back. I did pick a few in a nearby woodland yesterday but only a mouthful! |
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Mistress Rose
Joined: 21 Jul 2011
Posts: 10128
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| Posted: Sun Sep 30, 18 8:28 am Post subject: |
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I haven't looked at mine lately, but suspect the ones on the north side of the garden are pretty well over and the ones on the south side still going. The ones in the woods seem to be well and truly over. |
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dpack
Joined: 02 Jul 2005
Posts: 34453
Location: yes
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| Posted: Sun Sep 30, 18 12:51 pm Post subject: |
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mine are at the last gasp. the early and main crop was spectacular, the later weeks i have left for the wildlife
in about a week or so i will do trim which gives a bit of autumn growth ready for a flying start in spring.
it is very ecosystem rich at the mo but i do need to trim as soon as seems decent to keep it that way. |
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Mistress Rose
Joined: 21 Jul 2011
Posts: 10128
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| Posted: Mon Oct 01, 18 5:57 am Post subject: |
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I had a few more blackberries yesterday, but on the whole they seem to be over on the north side of the garden. I agree with you about cutting back; mine needs a really good cut this year as we want to try to train it a bit. At present it is making rather a lot of itself. Very good variety, but rather too vigorous. |
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sgt.colon
Joined: 27 Jul 2009
Posts: 6242
Location: Just south of north.
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| Posted: Mon Oct 01, 18 9:06 am Post subject: |
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A few left down at the allotment but like DPack I'm leaving them for the wildlife. I got plenty early in the season so I don't want to be greedy. |
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