Adjusting/Enhancing Flavor
We know that it is hard to brew wine or cider that tastes perfect after 5 days. There are several different ways to alter the flavor of your juice. It can be a long but rewarding process, quick and easy, or something in between. Here are four different ways that you can alter the flavor of your juice (NOTE: Follow our starter recipe or any recipe on our website before trying these strategies).
1. Let it sit for a LONGGGGGGG time
- The most reliable way to enhance your wine/cider’s flavor is to let it sit for 1-4 weeks after brewing. You will notice an incredible difference. The longer your wine sits the better it will become.
2. Backsweeten
- Many of you may wonder “what do they mean by backsweeten?” Backsweetening is a process where you boil sugar and water at a 1:1 ratio (example: 1 cup of water and 1 cup of sugar). After it cools to room temperature, pour it into your wine or cider slowly to taste. Be sure to shake the bottle vigorously after each pour and taste it to ensure that you do not make your wine too sweet.
3. Add Lemon Juice
- Expert winemakers across the world use lemon juice as their secret ingredient. It creates a tantalizing balance in the wine that cannot be replicated by any other juice. We recommend adding lemon juice at the end of the fermentation process. WARNING: Don’t add it to a wine or cider that is too tart or sour. the lemon juice will not balance out the flavors well and could make your wine worse.
4. Add Black Tea
- Another key tool that experts have at their disposal. You can make extremely strong black tea and add it to your wine at the end of the fermentation process (NOTE: Black tea works best with red wines).
We hope that these strategies make your homebrewing experience better than ever!!! By mastering these methods, you can become an expert homebrewer in the comfort of your own home. Just remember: not only is homebrewing supposed to be easy, but it is also supposed to be super fun (especially when you are brewing with brewsy)!!!!
