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| This is a real thing that exists. |
The Spike Your Juice kit was a Christmas Stocking Stuffer that I only recently got around to trying out, and frankly, I'm surprised it took me this long. I mean, look at this box! Doesn't that just scream quality? It even proclaims itself to be "A European Favorite". Well, how could I resist? Let's see what's inside!
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| Literally the whole kit and caboodle. |
You get an instruction card, six packets of brewer's yeast, an airlock and carbuoy bung, and six adhesive labels. This box cost about $14, but you could find better bargains at some online retailers. You might have noticed my use of the phrase "could". Well, we ordered ours direct from the manufacturer's website www.spikeyourjuice.com, which had an online storefront with all the polish of one from 1998. We didn't even get an email confirmation of our purchase, the package just showed up randomly one day long after we'd forgotten it was ordered. If you try that link now, you get a standard Go Daddy placeholder page. I'm pretty sure this company no longer exists. Our loss, I suppose. You can still get this kit at some online retailers, but supplies are definitely limited.
The idea with this getup is that you buy a 64 ounce bottle of fruit juice, preferably 100% juice with no sugar added, dump in a packet of yeast, stick the bung and airlock on top, fill with a bit of water, and then the magic happens. Well, it seems simple enough...
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| It mostly is. |
Well, I managed to get it set up. A couple of missteps resulted in a bit of juice going up into the airlock during the placing of the bung, but it ultimately did not affect the results. This is the stuff after a couple of days, right before the first tasting. Next up is a few days more...
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| It bubbled considerably more than I was expecting. I'm not sure WHY my expectations were so low. |
I let it ferment for about ten full days before I called it done. There were two official tastings, one after the two days suggested by the instructions, and one after the ten days. The first tasting was not particularly enlightening really. It mostly tasted like grape juice but it had a bit of an alcohol undertone. It wasn't very strong and mostly it tasted like the juice was just a little off. Not bad, but not plain juice. The reason I stopped at ten days is mostly because it stopped fizzing, so I guessed the sugar was finally used up.
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| After ten days. Why yes, that is a jam jar. We're freakin' classy around here. |
The flavor of this beverage could be classified as "dry". It is distinctly wine-ish in character, with a nose of "Welch's Grape Juice" and not so sturdy legs. It was not, however, terrible. At best, I would call it "table wine drinkable". Frankly, this surprised me given that my plan of attack was "dump in yeast, hope". I actually liked it after a fashion, though it is not really all that good. There is something about drinking booze that you made that eases over any complaints about quality. It is definitely in the "$5 for a gallon" wine category, but it is drinkable and I was willing to share it with non-family.
One the FACE Rating System, the Spike Your Juice kit gets 1 smiley face. Sure, it's a jazzed up package of stuff you can get for half the price individually, but it was fun in a "kids craft project' kind of way and actually got me interested in home brewing, even if it is just in a dabbler's kind of way. Plus, the Amazon reviews of this product reveal that there is a small community of "home juice brewers" who, while not as technical as true home brewers, are dedicated to their very minor craft. Give it a whirl, if you can, if only to say that you made your own wine.
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