input needed on my Beet-Gooseberry Wine

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

OK JAB members,
I'd like some Honest comments from any of you who have tried my Goozbeit.

Andy Hamilton, the co-creator of http://www.selfsufficientish.com
(a UK based website about Gardening, old fashion ways, environmentalism, and
where I have become a regular contributor to that Dicussion forum.)

Andy wants to use my recipe in his new book that
joins vegetable gardening and wild food with homebrewing.
He wants some other info and/or anecdotes.

So, what you think of My Goozbeit ?
maybe add something about me and
why I'd probably be one of the few to come up with this combination.


Goozbeit
5 gallon bucket of Beets cleaned and sliced thin (like scalped potatoes)
3lb lite DME (Dry Malt Extract)
6lb Sugar
12lb Gooseberrys
1/8 tsp vegemite (nutrient for yeast)
2 packages dry wine yeast

Cover beets in brewpot with water.
Heat up to 160 deg.F. and hold til cooked tender (about 40 min).
Strain out liquid and throw away Beets (you can eat them, they are tasty)
Add DME slowly, once DME is disolved,
Add Sugar, once Sugar is disolved,
Heat back up to 160 deg. F.
Add Gooseberrys to the Beet Must, heat back to 160 deg.F and hold for 20 min.
At this point the Gooseberrys need to be crushed or processed.
I remove the gooseberrys from the Must and run them through a food mill.
Put Goosberry puree back into the Must, then add vegemite.
Heat back to 160 deg. F.
Cool the Must over night or in an Ice bath. I use a wort chiller
The Must should be about 70 to 76 deg, F
Strain and aerate. Yield should be about 5.0 gallons,
Take a Gravity measurement, it should be about 1.095
Now you can put yeast in Must
Active Fermentation should last 3 days to about 7 days.
I leave it alone for 2 weeks.
Take a Gravity measurement, it should be about 1.015
It is ready to drink at this point, but it will benefit from aging.
I syphon (leaving sediment behind) to another carboy to age for 3 or 4 months.
Afterwhich, I usually bottle it, but it could be aged longer.

[Malt Licker]

You look funny. Is that honest enough? (j/k)

You'll have to bring some again to the next meeting. I remember enjoying it, but I don't remember enough to be able to comment further.

[Dave M.]

Yeah, I'd have to have another sample to give it a good evaluation. If you need us to write something about you for the book, well I think we can come up with something! After a few Goozbeits, of course.

BTW - very cool that he wants to include your recipe in his book!

[Drtanglebones]

Can you bring some to next week's meeting, or do you need info sooner? I need to try it again with actual judging/constructive feedback in mind.

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

OK OK, I'll bring a vertical of three or four years.
the early one's won't have any Gooseberry,
but you can taste how they age.

I'll be responding to andy sooner with my info,
and I'll just explain, I may have some other
feedback from my Homebrew Club.
I was angling to get him to put our website
in his book.

btw, when I mentioned his book was about "homebrew"
that was a quote, BUT to this group of Brits
Homebrew is more about Country style wine than craft beer.
I just thought you'd want to know.

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

it will be a 5 year Beet wine vertical.
Input needed by some of you tasters,
I am bumping this thread to the top today.
Kramer

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

OK, I am calling a 24 hour warning for input on my Beet wines
Eric sent me an email which was mostly about me, thank you
anyone with info about the Wines we tried last meeting ?

also see my Facebook page for a post with photos
you'll have to go back to Saturday on my wall or just look in the photo album.
each photo has my thoughts of each wine,
if you need a reminder
Kramer

[Dave M.]

Thanks Kramer for the reminder. I'll do my best to send you something tomorrow.

[Drtanglebones]

I thought the oldest one had some grape character, but still some of the earthiness from the beet, mellow compared to the others. The older of the goozebeet had some good citrus flavor that toned down some of the beetiness. An interesting tasting. Color on the older ones was changing to a glowing orange-red, while the fresher ones were blood-red and all had excellent clarity.

[Dave M.]

Kramer - I'm going off of memory here and I didn't take notes, so bear with me.

I thought the version that was more "orangey" in color was my favorite. I thought it had the most balanced flavors, the beet not too heavy handed or "soil-like". I thought the newest vintage has some promise with the balance between the beets and gooseberries being about right. Given a couple years to mature, I think that will be pretty good. There were two that had lime juice in it, one was a little heavy handed and almost tasted medicinal, the other (oldest one?) I thought was better in tune with the other flavors going on.

I think you're on to something with the beets and gooseberries combined - a couple years will tell the tale!

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

I finally got around to sending everything to
Andy Hamilton, the co-creator of http://www.selfsufficientish.com
thanks for the help
Kramer

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

I got a reply !!!

Message subject: Re: 2009 Goozbeit (Beet wine with Gooseberries)
From: Andy Hamilton
Sent: Wed Mar 03, 2010 10:13 am
To: Minnesota
thanks man! All usefull stuff, I will make sure that your brew club is mentioned in the directory. Either under brewing circles or in useful websites. It might even get mentioned in the text with goozbeit wine, but that is normally down to the final editor.
Thanks again fella, this is really helpful.
_________________
First we sow the seeds, nature grows the seeds then we eat the seeds. Neil Pye
we have a book out, use this link to get it or you might be interested in our...
Wild food and homebrew courses and...... just started twittering

My letter to Andy:
Andy,
Sorry for the delay. I asked my homebrew club to make a few comments about my Beetwine since it is quite a unique brew. Most of our club members brew Beer only. Many have tried a cider or two, A few are doing some Meades, and if any others make Wine, it is a usually a commercial Grape variety.

I got almost no response from them, I even held a 5 year vertical tasting for them. About all I got was that the earthiness that is overwhelming in a young Beet wine fades with age and is much more drinkable. We also compared how the addition of Gooseberrries made in drinkable much sooner, as well as adding more complexity. But the President of our Club <jackofallbrews.org> did write up a very nice blurb about me. I've included that, use it if you want. At the end of this email, I've edited the recipe to be a little more understandable to a non-brewer and clarified some instructions so they me better understood.

one quick anecdote, the second year I made and bottled this, I unintentionally changed the spelling. I got teased by my fellow homebrewers, As it was dicussed on our club's web forum, it became an instant tradition to change the spelling everytime it was discussed. So now, I've taken on that tradition (tongue in cheek) and now change the spelling on every batch I bottle. 2008 was Guzbeit, 2009 is Goozbeit, 2010 will be Goosbeit.

Again, you have my permission to use the recipe and anything else I've included in this private Message. Eric, the president of our Homebrew club would really like to see our website mentioned in your book, if that's possible. <jackofallbrews.org>
I look forward to reading you book.
"Minnesota"

Jon Baldwin
206 9th. St. E.
Glencoe, MN 55336
USA

From: Eric Wentling (jackofallbrews@yahoo.com)
Sent: Fri 2/05/10 3:24 PM
To: Jon Baldwin (jonabaldwin@hotmail.com)

Hey Jon, I'll take a shot at writing up a blurb on you!

Jon Baldwin is a true Rennaissance Man, a dilettante who lives humbly, yet completely. He lives in a small town in rural Minnesota, away from the bustle of the big city and free to practice his crafts. His entire property is his garden, bursting with various fruit trees, berry brambles, tubers, and of course a 25 foot tall metal hop trellis shaped like a fishing rod in mid-strike. He composts his waste, cuts his own firewood, and shoots his own game.
Jon began experimenting with brewing beers, as well as making meads and wine after discovering some used equipment at a garage sale in 2006. He quickly realized that just about anything can be fermented, given the right circumstances. Soon he was making honeywines with blackberries and beets. Wines from tomatillos; beers with sour cherries; tomato wines; vinegars; hard cider; applejack. Nothing was sacred. Having trained himself in the crafts, he had no one to tell him "You can't brew that!" Jon joined the Jack Of All Brews homebrew club to further his craft and has been a source of inspiration and awe to his fellow brewers ever since.


Goozbeit

5 gallon bucket of Beets cleaned and sliced thin (like scalped potatoes)
3lb lite DME (Dry Malt Extract)
6lb Sugar
12lb Gooseberrys
1/8 tsp vegemite (nutrient for yeast)
2 packages dry wine yeast

Cover beets in brewpot with water.
Heat up to 160 deg.F. and hold til cooked tender (about 40 min).
Strain out liquid and throw away Beets (you can eat them, they are tasty)
Add DME slowly, once DME is disolved,
Add Sugar, once Sugar is disolved,
Heat back up to 160 deg. F.

Add Gooseberrys to the Beet Must, heat back to 160 deg.F and hold for 20 min.
At this point the Gooseberrys need to be crushed or processed.
I remove the gooseberrys from the Must and run them through a food mill.
Put Goosberry puree back into the Must, then add vegemite.
Heat back to 160 deg. F.
Cool the Must over night or in an Ice bath. I use a wort chiller
The Must should be about 70 to 76 deg, F
Strain and aerate. Yield should be about 5.0 gallons,
Take a Gravity measurement, it should be about 1.095
Now you can put yeast in Must
Active Fermentation should last 3 days to about 7 days.
I leave it alone for 2 weeks.
Take a Gravity measurement, it should be about 1.015
It is ready to drink at this point, but it will benefit from aging.
I syphon (leaving sediment behind) to another carboy/demijon to age for 3 or 4 months.
Afterwhich, I usually bottle it, but it could be aged longer.

[Dave M.]

Awesome stuff there. I'm very impressed with you Jon for getting published. Also, Eric - very well written profile of Jon.

[Drtanglebones]

Do they send you a copy of the book??

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

Doc,
he said in the first PM to me, he would send me a signed copy of the book.
Kramer