Wednesday, September 19, 2012

spike your juice... NOW



my boyfriend, corey, is already into diy homebrew, but i was super interested in the possibilty of making wine.  
my next door neighbor filled my head with amazing stories of making wine when he was younger—picking and chopping fresh fruits and dandelions, storing huge vats of fermenting deliciousness in his basement, and of course, drinking the shit out of a beverage you had the satisfaction of making yourself. 
oh boy oh boy, i want.
we considered going out and buying a whole second set-up to use for just making wine, but we realized that storing it in the basement was not a viable option right now, and we already had buckets of homebrew taking up kitchen space.
then i saw…
spikeyourjuice
[♪ insert choir music here ♪]
whatthefux?!  its that easy? i couldn’t believe it, and i didn’t want to waste my money on glorified pruno…

the site claimed that its kits can turn any 64 ounce-sized 100% fruit juice (containing at least 20g or more of natural sugars) into a sparkling, alcoholic delight similar to federweißer. they stated that the finished product is between 4% and 14% ABV.  
okay, okay… i had to at least try it once, pruno or not.

  
i ordered the “mega pack” for $17.95.  it contains twelve packets for spiking, twelve labels, two airlocks, and two rubbed stoppers. (i didn’t want to use our beer airlocks and stoppers for the wine). it is a pretty good deal.
the directions are ridiculously simple… 
  • buy a 64 ounce bottle of juice.
    (UNrefrigerated, 100% juice with 20g sugars or more)
  • throw away the cap.
  • pour in the spike packet.
    (don’t stir it!) 
 
  • attach rubber stopper.
  • fill airlock to fill line and cap it.
  • attach airlock to the stopper.
 
  • fill out one of the enclosed labels.
    (make sure you mark both the flavor and the date!) 
  • store at room temperature.
 
  • wait at least 48 hours.
    (bubble. bubble bubble… this is the hardest part!)  
  • enjoy!
  • enjoy some more ;]
www.spikeyourjuice.com goes on to say that as it ferments longer, the sugar content falls (the beverage becomes dry and tart), but the alcohol content rises— up to 14% ABV! 

now, the actual taste… 
 we cracked our first bottle (100% blueberry) at exactly the 48 hour mark. wow. yummmm. it was light and fizzy, and definitely had a bit of a kick.  even my experienced wine-making neighbor thought it was tasty! needless to say, we finished off the whole bottle, and immediately started making another.

I DEFINITELY RECOMMEND THIS PRODUCT!
its delish, makes a lot for a relatively small price, and its fun!

overall score:
 5/5

13 comments:

  1. No shit... I have a buddy who makes wine and he goes through a ton to get the job done. Im not a wine guy, but it did taste good. He also made beer with another friend of mine and it was not bad. Im off the point of the blog, I know...

    But, this I have to try... I have no patience when it comes to making crafty beverages (unless im at our bar, in which case I never disappoint)...But rest assured my dollar ass I am gonna try this!!!

    Cheers!

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  2. Wow! I would have never even thought to do this. Not a huge juice fan, but maybe my mind will change if it's "spiked".

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  3. So, can you only order this stuff online? Or did I misread somethin?

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    Replies
    1. ive only seen it online at spikeyourjuice.com, amazon, and thinkgeek. i have no idea if any retail stores carry it!

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  4. That sounds great! I'd try it with plum juice I think... Maybe it would taste like plum wine? YUM!

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  5. Oh I am gonna have to try this stuff! I've never made my own brew, so this sounds like a fun little experiment. Hmmm wonder what white grape would taste like?

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    Replies
    1. white grape is soooo good... just make sure that it has at least 20g of sugar or more... some of the white grapes had less when i looked.

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  6. This is great! My BF has a huge home brewing system so it wouldn't be feasible for us to do a huge set up for wine either but he would love this! I've seen other homemade set ups with buckets/hoses... and they used juice, too. But, this looks so much easier and definitely faster.

    Unfortunately for me, I'm on too many high powered medications so I've had to give up my drinks... stinks big time!

    But, this would be so totally fantastic for him.. Maybe I'll let Santa put it in his stocking!

    Thanks so much for sharing! So glad I found your blog! What fun!

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  7. Wow that was odd. I just wrote an very long comment but
    after I clicked submit my comment didn't appear. Grrrr... well I'm not writing all that over
    again. Anyways, just wanted to say fantastic blog!
    Feel free to visit my weblog ... donate a car to charity

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  8. This stuff sounds insane! I must try some! And it seems so stupidly easy!

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  9. This is one of those products that makes me go "WHERE WERE YOU WHEN I WAS HIDING BOXES OF WINE IN MY DORM ROOM?" Seriously though, this looks like too much fun and I am going to have to try it.

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