Discussion
I thought that I should post an update after the help that I got last week.
I built my own press using a pair of office desk ends. These are like "H"s, but with a second crossbar. They are steel, so very strong.
My apples are Bramleys and they are not very bitter at all. The juice from them is very similar to the apple juice that you get in the supermarket.
On Saturday I scrounged some eating apples from a farmer. I have no idea what kind of apples, but they are absolutely delicous, and their juice is wonderful.
One thing that I have learned is that trying to mash the apples using a bit of 4 x 2 is bloody hard work. I've been back to the brew shop and bought one of those buckets with a blade.
I'll report back in a few months when I've tasted the results.
I built my own press using a pair of office desk ends. These are like "H"s, but with a second crossbar. They are steel, so very strong.
My apples are Bramleys and they are not very bitter at all. The juice from them is very similar to the apple juice that you get in the supermarket.
On Saturday I scrounged some eating apples from a farmer. I have no idea what kind of apples, but they are absolutely delicous, and their juice is wonderful.
One thing that I have learned is that trying to mash the apples using a bit of 4 x 2 is bloody hard work. I've been back to the brew shop and bought one of those buckets with a blade.
I'll report back in a few months when I've tasted the results.
I'm planning to start my first home brew next week. I've bought the kit and done a lot of reading through this thread and the home brew forums so I know most of the rookie mistakes to avoid. I'm simply waiting to find a suitable aquarium heater and thermometer before I begin the process. I'm going for the hot water in a bucket method rather than brew fridge as it's much cheaper and easier to start with.
Has anyone brewed anything special for Christmas?
Has anyone brewed anything special for Christmas?
Jayyylo said:
I'm planning to start my first home brew next week. I've bought the kit and done a lot of reading through this thread and the home brew forums so I know most of the rookie mistakes to avoid. I'm simply waiting to find a suitable aquarium heater and thermometer before I begin the process. I'm going for the hot water in a bucket method rather than brew fridge as it's much cheaper and easier to start with.
Has anyone brewed anything special for Christmas?
Be careful with the aquarium heater, they need to be submerged to a certain depth and I found my 20l bucket wasn't deep enough....Has anyone brewed anything special for Christmas?
My first attempt at home brewing involved using some of ny bramley apples and home grown grapes. I also scrounged some eating apples from a farmer. I didn't add any yeast and allowed the natural yeasts to do their work.
I only made 2 gallons. At the end of the ferment, I tasted it. It was sweet and very fruity, but lacked body. Alarm bells should have rung with the sweetness!
Roll on two weeks, and I went to open my first bottle. I approached the task with caution. I very gently prised the cap just a tiny bit and was greeted with a fountain of foam. The cap was still firmly on the bottle.
It hissed for over an hour, but didn't spill any more. The hissing had stirred up all the yeast, so I decided to leave it alone until it settled back down.
I had another attempt on Saturday. Once again I gently tackled the cap, The stuff is still explosive. I cannot take the cap off because the bottle will empty itself.
Next year, I will try again, but I will wait about two weeks after the fermenting appears to stop before bottling.
One bottle went into the fridge without a cap at the bottling stage. As of last weekend, it was bloody delicious. It had developed body, and wasn't as sweet as it had been.
I now need a plan to get the bottles open!
I only made 2 gallons. At the end of the ferment, I tasted it. It was sweet and very fruity, but lacked body. Alarm bells should have rung with the sweetness!
Roll on two weeks, and I went to open my first bottle. I approached the task with caution. I very gently prised the cap just a tiny bit and was greeted with a fountain of foam. The cap was still firmly on the bottle.
It hissed for over an hour, but didn't spill any more. The hissing had stirred up all the yeast, so I decided to leave it alone until it settled back down.
I had another attempt on Saturday. Once again I gently tackled the cap, The stuff is still explosive. I cannot take the cap off because the bottle will empty itself.
Next year, I will try again, but I will wait about two weeks after the fermenting appears to stop before bottling.
One bottle went into the fridge without a cap at the bottling stage. As of last weekend, it was bloody delicious. It had developed body, and wasn't as sweet as it had been.
I now need a plan to get the bottles open!
SwanJack said:
My 9% Dark Belgian, tried it for the first time tonight after 4 months in the bottle 
, worth the wait!!
9% dark Belgium, bottles for 4 months. That sounds perfect. The patience required must have been traumatic., worth the wait!!
Edited by SwanJack on Sunday 20th December 00:42
Edited by SwanJack on Sunday 20th December 00:48
My first brew is a young's American oak ed rum ale which should be good for winter drinking.
Have made a Muntons Premier gold a few weeks ago in time for Christmas. Tried it last night, tastes like a cross between table and a wet fart so think I might have to use it to clean the drains out 
Picked up a Courage Directors ale kit from Holland and Barrett yesterday. I had no idea they stocked homebrew stuff but there's bloody loads of it in there! Not overly cheap but is buy one get one half price at the moment so got 2 kits and a few other bits for £40. Win!
Picked up a Courage Directors ale kit from Holland and Barrett yesterday. I had no idea they stocked homebrew stuff but there's bloody loads of it in there! Not overly cheap but is buy one get one half price at the moment so got 2 kits and a few other bits for £40. Win!
don4l said:
My first attempt at home brewing involved using some of ny bramley apples and home grown grapes. I also scrounged some eating apples from a farmer. I didn't add any yeast and allowed the natural yeasts to do their work.
I only made 2 gallons. At the end of the ferment, I tasted it. It was sweet and very fruity, but lacked body. Alarm bells should have rung with the sweetness!
Roll on two weeks, and I went to open my first bottle. I approached the task with caution. I very gently prised the cap just a tiny bit and was greeted with a fountain of foam. The cap was still firmly on the bottle.
It hissed for over an hour, but didn't spill any more. The hissing had stirred up all the yeast, so I decided to leave it alone until it settled back down.
I had another attempt on Saturday. Once again I gently tackled the cap, The stuff is still explosive. I cannot take the cap off because the bottle will empty itself.
Next year, I will try again, but I will wait about two weeks after the fermenting appears to stop before bottling.
One bottle went into the fridge without a cap at the bottling stage. As of last weekend, it was bloody delicious. It had developed body, and wasn't as sweet as it had been.
I now need a plan to get the bottles open!
It sounds like you've done more wrong than right, but there are plenty of online guides you can look up to get it right next time.I only made 2 gallons. At the end of the ferment, I tasted it. It was sweet and very fruity, but lacked body. Alarm bells should have rung with the sweetness!
Roll on two weeks, and I went to open my first bottle. I approached the task with caution. I very gently prised the cap just a tiny bit and was greeted with a fountain of foam. The cap was still firmly on the bottle.
It hissed for over an hour, but didn't spill any more. The hissing had stirred up all the yeast, so I decided to leave it alone until it settled back down.
I had another attempt on Saturday. Once again I gently tackled the cap, The stuff is still explosive. I cannot take the cap off because the bottle will empty itself.
Next year, I will try again, but I will wait about two weeks after the fermenting appears to stop before bottling.
One bottle went into the fridge without a cap at the bottling stage. As of last weekend, it was bloody delicious. It had developed body, and wasn't as sweet as it had been.
I now need a plan to get the bottles open!
To get it out of the bottle then slacken the top slightly whilst the bottle is in a jug or pan, it fizzes over into the jug/pan....
Done brew #34 at the weekend. Crystal grain, topaz hops and malt extract. We've reduced the time that the hops are boiling, it was taking too long to do a brew (in an evening), and we've not suffered any ill effects. We've also introduced brew sugar (about 10 brews ago), it's cheaper, and again, doesn't take any flavour away. We're using 2.5Kg or malt and 1.5Kg of brew sugar, think it saves £6/brew.
Looking at getting a bigger pan, so we can do 2x 27litre vessels from one brew, rather than 1. It'll half the time it takes to make the same quantity of beer, or yield twice as much, how ever you want to look at it.
Looking at getting a bigger pan, so we can do 2x 27litre vessels from one brew, rather than 1. It'll half the time it takes to make the same quantity of beer, or yield twice as much, how ever you want to look at it.
Only doing beer kits at the moment but would like to move towards extract and eventually full mash brewing as time allows.
Made a Milestone - Dasher the Flasher for Christmas: http://www.muntonshomebrew.com/category/milestone-...
Had a few pints of it so far and it's quite nice.
Planning to turn an old fridge I've got into a brew fridge next year. Also gained an extra pressure barrel at the weekend as my Mum was wanting to get rid of some of my Dad's (RIP) old kit.
Also toying with the idea of making wine from kits next year and have been collecting bottles.
Made a Milestone - Dasher the Flasher for Christmas: http://www.muntonshomebrew.com/category/milestone-...
Had a few pints of it so far and it's quite nice.
Planning to turn an old fridge I've got into a brew fridge next year. Also gained an extra pressure barrel at the weekend as my Mum was wanting to get rid of some of my Dad's (RIP) old kit.
Also toying with the idea of making wine from kits next year and have been collecting bottles.
227bhp said:
It sounds like you've done more wrong than right, but there are plenty of online guides you can look up to get it right next time.
To get it out of the bottle then slacken the top slightly whilst the bottle is in a jug or pan, it fizzes over into the jug/pan....
Yes, it does, doesn't it? I made more mistakes that I haven't listed.To get it out of the bottle then slacken the top slightly whilst the bottle is in a jug or pan, it fizzes over into the jug/pan....
I did read loads of stuff on the internet. However, there is a huge variety of conflicting advice. I read on one site that you had to bottle it as soon as the fermenting stopped because it would oxidise if you left it too long.
I'm now convinced that it would have been fine for up to two weeks.
Some people say that you should kill the natural yeasts before adding your own.
On the plus side, my second brew was the Woodford's Wherry. This has gone smoothly, and it should be ready for sampling in a couple of days.
don4l said:
227bhp said:
It sounds like you've done more wrong than right, but there are plenty of online guides you can look up to get it right next time.
To get it out of the bottle then slacken the top slightly whilst the bottle is in a jug or pan, it fizzes over into the jug/pan....
Yes, it does, doesn't it? I made more mistakes that I haven't listed.To get it out of the bottle then slacken the top slightly whilst the bottle is in a jug or pan, it fizzes over into the jug/pan....
I did read loads of stuff on the internet. However, there is a huge variety of conflicting advice. I read on one site that you had to bottle it as soon as the fermenting stopped because it would oxidise if you left it too long.
I'm now convinced that it would have been fine for up to two weeks.
Homebrew forum is another good source.
I've never done it without yeast (and yeast nutrient), but you need primary and secondary fermentation, one in a bucket with lid, 2 in DJ with airlock. Once it's under airlock you can leave it for weeks and months. You cannot bottle while it's still fermenting, that is your main stumbling block and why you've got apple champagne. Taking it from 1 to 2 leaves the Lees behind, prevents it from going stale and helps it to clear.
Mine must have been on the go for at least 2 months now and i'm only just bottling it as It's now flat and relatively clear. Worried about fizz? As per the vid, a little sugar when bottling will cause a minor reaction and bring some on.
Another thing I learned is that it tastes like piss until it's stood for a few months in the bottle, it definitely matures, but certainly shouldn't be actively brewing in the bottle.
I'm making some dirt cheap cider as a bit of a test at the moment and am after some ideas. Basically, I'm after getting it 8-9% but still very sweet and possibly some kind of fruit flavoured and ultimately, if all goes well, making 5 gallons to keep in the fridge until the Summer.
At the moment, I have 8l of pressed apple juice (Lidl's own, nothing but the best
) fermenting in 14g of Youngs cider yeast with either 200g or 400g sugar (at work at the mo, can't remember if it was 200g total, or in each demijohn!). Starting gravity of 1.064 and am aiming at around the 1.005 mark for final gravity which would give it about 8.5% - should be there in the next couple of days. I then plan to top up the cider 'base' with some kind of juice to add back in some nice, clean taste and sweetness before I then bottle it, let the gas build for a day or two and fridge it to halt the ferment and get some bubbles in it.
My question is - what is the best, sweetest, most flavourful (pear/mixed fruit etc) type of juice that I could add in? I was thinking about just a few tablespoons of neat squash like Robinsons or something to give it the flavour and a little sweetness, but I'm not convinced it would work? Need some ideas for 'scientific' experimenting (and getting hammered)
At the moment, I have 8l of pressed apple juice (Lidl's own, nothing but the best
) fermenting in 14g of Youngs cider yeast with either 200g or 400g sugar (at work at the mo, can't remember if it was 200g total, or in each demijohn!). Starting gravity of 1.064 and am aiming at around the 1.005 mark for final gravity which would give it about 8.5% - should be there in the next couple of days. I then plan to top up the cider 'base' with some kind of juice to add back in some nice, clean taste and sweetness before I then bottle it, let the gas build for a day or two and fridge it to halt the ferment and get some bubbles in it.My question is - what is the best, sweetest, most flavourful (pear/mixed fruit etc) type of juice that I could add in? I was thinking about just a few tablespoons of neat squash like Robinsons or something to give it the flavour and a little sweetness, but I'm not convinced it would work? Need some ideas for 'scientific' experimenting (and getting hammered)
Jonboy_t said:
My question is - what is the best, sweetest, most flavourful (pear/mixed fruit etc) type of juice that I could add in? I was thinking about just a few tablespoons of neat squash like Robinsons or something to give it the flavour and a little sweetness, but I'm not convinced it would work? Need some ideas for 'scientific' experimenting (and getting hammered)
I put pressed grapes into mine and I am pleased with the result.Gassing Station | Food, Drink & Restaurants | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff