I didn't see a thread for this. Paw Paw is a guy who's gained some fame for his homemade wine made with bread yeast and 100% juice.



His basic recipe, though he has others.

1/2 tsp active dry bread yeast (or specialized wine-making yeast)
1 1/2 cup granulated sugar
64oz 100% juice

1. Pour out 2 cups of juice and enjoy
2. Pour in sugar and yeast
3. Shake well until sugar is dissolved
4. Unscrew cap slightly to let gas escape, but not let bugs in
5. Set in a dark, warm place for 3 weeks

When the wine is aged long enough there will be no bubbles. The surface will be smooth.

I've been meaning to try this for ages, and just started a batch of 6 bottles of different kinds of juice. The juice has to be 100% juice. It can have absorbic acid, but no odd ingredients.

You can purchase bubble airlocks with silicone stoppers. Make sure the stoppers are wider than #6. The #6 stoppers don't have a wide enough circuмference to fit store-bought 64oz juice containers. I had to return the ones I bought. Probably #8 or more will work. I'll just try the batch using Paw Paw's method of unscrewing the cap slightly. Hopefully they don't explode.

I'm making 6 bottles. For 3 I used Fleischman's active dry yeast. For the other 3 I used Red Star Premier Blanc yeast, which is designed specifically for wine making. I'm using different types of juices. It's said that you can make wine using any 100% juice but that highly acidic juice, like orange juice, doesn't produce great results.

The bread yeast is said to produce wine with 16-20% alcohol, and the Red Star yeast (and other specialized wine-making yeasts) are said to produce slightly stronger wine.

I'll let you know the results of my taste test in a few weeks.

I'll let you know the results of my taste test in a few weeks.

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I already know that fermenting Welch's grape juice fermented with Fleischman's bread yeast is going to be the most sickening fermented beverage this side of pruno.

What I really want you to tell us is when you are posting under the influence of this vile substance.

We made banana wine but it was acid and not a good taste. Orange was too acid. Paw paw was OK, as was strawberry. Mango wine was very good and the best was pineapple. It was like sparkling champagne. And of course grape wine. We used real fruit, not juice off the supermarket shelf.

 
Did you make it like the recipe I posted or another way? I've heard from others that using pineapple juice produces great results. I'll have to pick up some and try it. What do you think the alcohol content was of the wine you produced? Stronger than a typical wine, less strong?

No. We never used juice - ever. We used the whole fruit minus skin. Have no idea the alcohol content, but enough to get tipsy.
We had all the proper brewing apparatus. Hubby was the brewer. I was the supervisor/tester.

Why don't you still do it? You strike me as the frugal type. Super cheap way to make your own alcohol. I'm looking forward to the taste test in a few weeks. I'm expecting to like the results. If I do I may never buy alcohol again, other than Drambuie.

Speaking of frugal, this is not wine but Cherry Liqueur which we make every year when Cherries are cheap (in season).

Into two sterilized (dishwasher works) glass quart jars, divide the following between the two cars.:
one pound fresh cherries, washed and stems removed (leave seeds in) 
one pound white sugar
one quart vodka.
Stir with non-metal utensil.
Put in a dark place.

At Christmas time, strain and put into bottles, preferrably with corks.
We often give these as gifts, or serve over vanilla ice cream.

Speaking of frugal, this is not wine but Cherry Liqueur which we make every year when Cherries are cheap (in season).

Into two sterilized (dishwasher works) glass quart jars, divide the following between the two cars.:
one pound fresh cherries, washed and stems removed (leave seeds in)
one pound white sugar
one quart vodka.
Stir with non-metal utensil.
Put in a dark place.

At Christmas time, strain and put into bottles, preferrably with corks.
We often give these as gifts, or serve over vanilla ice cream.

Sounds tasty! What do you use to strain the sediment? Or use a siphon? Do you have to refrigerate the resulting liqueur?

I tried one of the bottles a couple days ago. It was made with Welch's concord. The other bottles are still fermenting, as I still see bubble activity. I siphoned the Welch's into another bottle and then stirred it to "de-gas" it. 

It tastes very much like the jew wine Manischewitz. Sweet, but drinkable. Though I must have done something wrong, and maybe too much air got in while fermenting, because I taste very little alcohol. The wine is supposed to be 12% to 20% strength, but it tastes more like 5% or less. 

I didn't use professional s-shaped airlocks and stoppers, but just left the lid loose per Paw Paw's recommendation. I don't know if that's the reason there's so little alcohol.

So taste-wise it's nice, if you like a sweet wine. But something didn't work right, as there's not enough alcohol.

I'll see how the other juices turn out in the coming days. I used bread yeast for 4 of the bottles, but 2 of the bottles I used specialized Red Star winemaking yeast.

Ah! But is it possible to know alcohol content by taste. Check it out: there are all manner of influences than can affect your taste. You might need a different method to check a/c.


That sounds pretty sloppy. You could get various forms of contamination.


Why don't you use s-shaped airlocks and stoppers?

Taste is the wrong word, as I should typed feel. I've seen lots of other people who just kept the cap loose and they say their wine turned out between 10-20% alcohol.
I have the airlocks and stoppers. I'll make another batch with the airlocks.
Still waiting for my other bottles to stop fermenting. Interesting that the concord grape finished fermenting first. The other juices are apple, cranberry, and mixed juices. I'm hoping the bottles with the specialized winemaking yeast give me a greater alcohol percentage.