Homebrew.......anyone do it?

TheCheekyMonkey

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been doing it for about 14 month now, remember years ago doing it, turned really bad, a combination of not knowing what i was doing and impatience.

about 14 months ago a good friend told me he`d been doing it for years (good friend eh) brought me a few bottles up , had them , what could i say , absolutely spanking and fizzy, so thats what got me into it , have to admit i`m no expert, but all the stuff i do turns out spanking, i never drunk wine before i brewed my own , and i must admit some experiments turn out a bit sour (a bit of lemonade added and they become nice spritzers) but all in all love it, on with my next batch after running out now, got an elderberry on the go and a couple of fruit juice wines done now, all ready, just need bottling.

i admit i like the odd wine kit , black cherry is lovely (youngs) but mostly just do supermarket fruit juices.

this turns out the best.

tescos red grape fruit juice cartons

5 litres.

pour 2 litres in a demijohn straight from the carton.

add a litre or two to a big pan, bring to a simmer for a few mins (not a boil just a simmer this will boil off any preservatives), this bits not massively important so dont worry, just give it a simmer for 5 mins or so.

then add 300 grams of sugar. dont put any more in, put less in if you like it a bit drier , this is my personal taste i like a sweet wine but i`m no expert you have to remember theres a lot of sugar in there already. if you want to do a white wine then use there (tesco) white grape juice but add no sugar at all, theres 160 grams of sugar in each litre which is a massive amount and needs no sugar at all. Then let the sugar dissolve for a few mins

pour it into demi john with the rest of the cool fruit juice, then leave to cool for an hour or two, dont matter how long, just needs to be room temp, if you have a thermometer when it gets below 30 celcius (34 to be exact, anything above will kill your yeast) your ready to add yeast.


adding yeast

simply add a teaspoon of youngs standard yeast , you can buy this from wilkinsons for about £1.39 for a tub of it, which will make 100`s of litres of wine / alcohol , also i would advise some youngs yeast nutrient , add the same amount of nutrient as yeast.

the amount of yeast is not that important, the more yeast the faster it will ferment (to a point) you could add 2 teaspoons if you like, it will ferment a little quicker, but its up to you.

anyway once its addedd, make sure your hands are clean and give the demijohn a proper shake, get loads of air mixed in with it, i normally shake it for a few minutes.

so in total we have 4 litres of juice / yeast etc in a 5 litre demijohn, dont fill it right up, certain combinations can froth up within a few days (my ribena wine was a right fooker), anyways stick an airlock on it and put it in a dark place(at least out of direct sunlight) your ideal temp is between 18 and 22 degrees celcius and just leave it for at least 4 weeks to however long you want , the longer you leave it the better (not too long these need to be drunk young.) You can give it a stir every week or so with a sterilized implement, but up to you , after the initial froth up you can top it up to the demijohn shoulder (THE FIVE LITRE MARK) only do this after a week or so.

my normal time frame would be ferment for a couple of weeks (it will stop bubbling eventually) then rack it off to a new demijohn (transfer the semi cleared wine to a clean demijohn taking it off the sediment) but my new lazy method is just leave it in the demijohn for at least 2 months then just syphon it off carefully to bottles ( i do filter it as well but this is just me, when i say batchs i usually have 15 to 20 litres on the go at once, once ive finished one batch, i start another and just bang it under the stairs and forget about it, so i filter it in one job lot).


results in a very cheap wine, if you leave it to clear naturally and are carefull syphoning you`ll get a perfectly clear drinkable and relatively sweet wine but i like it, and so does everyone else as this is the one that gets drunk first at the barbie and i normally end up with the shiit they brung up with them that never gets drunk. (cans of careling, stella etc etc the fookers)

turns out about 14%

love it, just finished my cranberry and blueberry, fantastic tasted like 8% vimto , i will never do cranberry alone again, very sour , but white grape (no added sugar) and red grape (about 60 grams per litre) are spot on.


anyone else?

if anyones interested probably the best forum for info on it, really helpful people on there.

http://www.thehomebrewforum.co.uk/
 
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I've been Making what was supposed to of been Rose wine. Turns out it has a good kick to it but after a few sips it kinda tastes alright.

I'm planning on making some Strawberry beer from the ever growing Strawberry plants that have taken over. :)
Unfortunately due to some Law, I'm not allowed to make spirits. Its a good job we like roast Spuds at home. Otherwise I would of made some Vodka or even absenths.

Owell but making home Brews is the cheapest way to drink. Plus you can grow most of the stuff you need in the garden. I'm getting good at gardening now lol. I'm just wondering if theres a way to make tomatoes into beer. Hmmmmm

Deus
 
I think i might try homebrew.

I have had enuff of being ripped off!

Grew my own tomatoes this year and they do taste better!
 
I've been Making what was supposed to of been Rose wine. Turns out it has a good kick to it but after a few sips it kinda tastes alright.

I'm planning on making some Strawberry beer from the ever growing Strawberry plants that have taken over. :)
Unfortunately due to some Law, I'm not allowed to make spirits. Its a good job we like roast Spuds at home. Otherwise I would of made some Vodka or even absenths.

Owell but making home Brews is the cheapest way to drink. Plus you can grow most of the stuff you need in the garden. I'm getting good at gardening now lol. I'm just wondering if theres a way to make tomatoes into beer. Hmmmmm

Deus

check that forum out, its already been done (tomatoes)

ive got a mexican cervesa (might be cerveza) to do soon (like a blonde ale) and you can make spirits mate , you just cannot distill it, ive done a vodka that turned out at 28 percent ABV , made from sugar + water + high alcohol yeast , they have yeasts now that can do up to 40% , i wouldnt do it again, it was actually very nice , smelled eggy but tasted just like vodka, with genetically modified yeast like that, i`d probably end up looking like one of digidudes mountain cousins ;)

wt3b.jpg


Availible from any good homebrew shop, and really easy you can make alcohol of whatever percent just as long as it isnt distilled.
By the way the guy in the photo has just drunk the last of my cranberry sour.

i`m taking the lazy aproach now, same results just a few weeks longer, i`d standby my recipe , well worth it.
 
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I think i might try homebrew.

I have had enuff of being ripped off!

Grew my own tomatoes this year and they do taste better!

nice, we grow a few bits and bobs, but ive just done a nice little area for a veg patch , needs to be sorted soon, i may be reclaiming a bit of it though, ive always wanted a small brick oven for pizzas etc etc and i wouldnt mind a smoker on top as well so maybe soon ;) got the bricks :)
 
I used to do it, but brewing 5 gallons of beer is a false economy. It turns out cheaper to buy a 24 can pack from the supermarket! Sorry.

Hey if you need a king keg barrel I have one for sale. Used once!
 
Yep been doing it for about a year. I brew all grain now, made all my own equipment,boiler,mashtun,wort chiller.

Ive even built my own keggerator which uses cornys and co2 to dispense the beer on draft :)

Drinking a badger Fursty ferret clone atm.
 
I partake, in full mash home brew.

its a whole day of a job though, mashing the malts. Sparging the malts, boiling the wort adding the flavour and aroma hops.

Its a great day in, and the house smells ace!
 
I used to do it, but brewing 5 gallons of beer is a false economy. It turns out cheaper to buy a 24 can pack from the supermarket! Sorry.

Hey if you need a king keg barrel I have one for sale. Used once!

You were doing somthing wrong then m8 my beer works out 34p per pint and thats good quality craft beer not macro rubbish.
 
I used to brew Boots special bitter in large barrels, until the supermarkets started selling cheap booze. It looks like the Government will in the future, force the price up, and so I will consider starting again.
 
how does the larger come out any good?
 
how does the larger come out any good?

Lager is harder to get right. Ales are easier because they don't need (Lagering). Lagers require a bottom fermenting yeast and controlled cool temperatures. Which is were the word lager comes from :) To lager a beer.
 
was more all the extra water used to sterilise equipment afterwards etc

Get some starsan then m8 it's a no rinse contact sanatiser, it's reusable , and you can use a litre in a fermenter swill it round then pour it back in a container. I keep a litre made up in a spray bottle and just spray stuff as i use it.
 
nice, we grow a few bits and bobs, but ive just done a nice little area for a veg patch , needs to be sorted soon, i may be reclaiming a bit of it though, ive always wanted a small brick oven for pizzas etc etc and i wouldnt mind a smoker on top as well so maybe soon ;) got the bricks :)

Man after my own heart i would love a smoker, trout, herring, salmon, pork, anything, lol.
 
Iv been lookin at the kits you get for vodka are they any good? as I was reading elsewhere that you cam go blind !
 
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