Homebrew RecipesRecipes for all kinds of home brewing – lager, wine, stout – the works

There are numerous Welch’s frozen juice products. This recipe calls for either the Welch’s “Juice Maker’s” 100% Frozen Grape Concentrate or the Welch’s 100% Frozen Grape Concentrate from Concord Grapes. You could also use Welch’s 100% Frozen White Grape Concentrate from Niagara Grapes.

A word of warning is in order. Welch’s is a very fine company and delivers, in my opinion, a very good product. But 100% grape concentrate means you concentrate the grapes you get. Thus, the natural sugar content of one batch of juice may differ from that of another batch just as grapes vary from year to year and vineyard to vineyard. Reconstitute the juice and measure the specific gravity of your juice with a hydrometer. Then use the table at http://winemaking.jackkeller.net/hydrom.asp to determine if the amount of sugar called for in this recipe is too much, too little, or just right for your juice. You should, in fact, do this with every recipe, as the natural sugar in all fresh fruit varies to some extent.

• 2 cans (11.5 oz) Welch’s 100% frozen grape concentrate
• 1-1/4 lbs granulated sugar
• 2 tsp acid blend
• 1 tsp pectic enzyme
• 1 tsp yeast nutrient
• water to make 1 gallon
• wine yeast

Bring 1 quart water to boil and dissolve the sugar in the water. Remove from heat and add frozen concentrate. Add additional water to make one gallon and pour into secondary. Add remaining ingredients except yeast. Cover with napkin fastened with rubber band and set aside 12 hours. Add activated wine yeast and recover with napkin. When active fermentation slows down (about 5 days), fit airlock. When clear, rack, top up and refit airlock. After additional 30 days, stabilize, sweeten if desired and rack into bottles.