Discussion
in an effort to reduce the taxes we pay to this load of wasteful cretins we call a govt i have started makeing wine for me and the wife, have done a few kits and some from scratch and we have had some really good wines 
i can usually get close to the quality that you would pay 7-8 quid for in the shops for between 1-2 quid a bottle, the quality of some of the kits and the ease to make them is well worth the few hours in time it takes, i have made around 80 gallons in the last 2-3 years and it has deprived them of loads of tax
these kenridge kits are just the best, not cheap but great wines and usually drinkable within four weeks of starting http://www.brewgenie.co.uk/index.php?p0=products#
you can even buy distillation kit but i have not got that far yet
anyone else brewing?
i can usually get close to the quality that you would pay 7-8 quid for in the shops for between 1-2 quid a bottle, the quality of some of the kits and the ease to make them is well worth the few hours in time it takes, i have made around 80 gallons in the last 2-3 years and it has deprived them of loads of tax
these kenridge kits are just the best, not cheap but great wines and usually drinkable within four weeks of starting http://www.brewgenie.co.uk/index.php?p0=products#
you can even buy distillation kit but i have not got that far yet
anyone else brewing?
Yep. Not me but my father. He has been a home brewer for years and swears by it. I have tasted a few wines of his and they all definately work albeit with a couple which gave me the s
ts 
ts - He has more Demijohns than I am sure is necessary
- The stuff gets you drunk - it works!
- He has a lot of chemicals in red card-board containers (who they are from I have no idea, Boots possibly?)
- His spare bedroom where the wine is made smells bad
been making wine for 20 years, use kit wine once and never again, it is passable at best
prefer mead (honey), metheglin (honey with herbs) and melomel (honey with rosehips)
recently bought about 50 to 60 lbs for less than £1 / lb, looks very nice
strawberry wine is due to be made this weekend and maybe apricot, need to bottle 8 gallons of orange & raspberry first
prefer mead (honey), metheglin (honey with herbs) and melomel (honey with rosehips)
recently bought about 50 to 60 lbs for less than £1 / lb, looks very nice
strawberry wine is due to be made this weekend and maybe apricot, need to bottle 8 gallons of orange & raspberry first
A friend of mine brews his own beer from ingredients. You can buy some very high quality stuff over the net now (sorry if that sounds like pharmaceuticals) and after a few goes you can get some very professional results. He even bought himself a beer engine (the hand pump) which really does make a difference.
The one I experienced (and what an interesting weekend that was - I think - I don't remember a lot) was concocted to taste like Timothy Taylor Landlord beer, for which I came up with a pump clip.
The Armageddon Brewery lived up to its name
The one I experienced (and what an interesting weekend that was - I think - I don't remember a lot) was concocted to taste like Timothy Taylor Landlord beer, for which I came up with a pump clip.
The Armageddon Brewery lived up to its name
You have probably worked this out for yourself but...
Rubbish in = rubbish out
It really is surprising how many people say something like "I tried home brew once using a five pound kit made of fruit pulp and E numbers and it tasted rubbish" or "I made wine out of mouldy fruit and bread yeast and it was yucky".
What on Earth do these muppets expect?
Wine like that was only acceptable when the real stuff was a twice a year treat and the wine section in the shop was three feet long (I remember that, my supermarket now has two vast isles devoted to booze, when I was little it really was just a three foot shelf! )
Get yourself a DECENT kit, they start at circa 40 pounds for 30 bottles and go up to circa 75 pounds for 30 bottles, anything cheaper than 40 quid is likely to be a bit naff. My last 40 quid kit made a wine that easily beats the stuff my wife recently won in a village fete raffle.
Hedgerow wines can be very hit and miss. I've some super ones but also some horrible ones.
STERILISE your equipment. Give it a good scrub, wash it out, sterilise, inspect it and if neccessary repeat. To extra thoroughly clean use pea gravel, sand and bleach, swill around and then use water until the smaell goes then sterilise and wash (I rarely have to do this, it's only when you have a stubborn stain or smell that you think needs "the works" ). Give your equipment a good rinse after use.
Other home brewers get all sorts of infections in their brews, I rarely do.
Rubbish in = rubbish out
It really is surprising how many people say something like "I tried home brew once using a five pound kit made of fruit pulp and E numbers and it tasted rubbish" or "I made wine out of mouldy fruit and bread yeast and it was yucky".
What on Earth do these muppets expect?
Wine like that was only acceptable when the real stuff was a twice a year treat and the wine section in the shop was three feet long (I remember that, my supermarket now has two vast isles devoted to booze, when I was little it really was just a three foot shelf! )
Get yourself a DECENT kit, they start at circa 40 pounds for 30 bottles and go up to circa 75 pounds for 30 bottles, anything cheaper than 40 quid is likely to be a bit naff. My last 40 quid kit made a wine that easily beats the stuff my wife recently won in a village fete raffle.
Hedgerow wines can be very hit and miss. I've some super ones but also some horrible ones.
STERILISE your equipment. Give it a good scrub, wash it out, sterilise, inspect it and if neccessary repeat. To extra thoroughly clean use pea gravel, sand and bleach, swill around and then use water until the smaell goes then sterilise and wash (I rarely have to do this, it's only when you have a stubborn stain or smell that you think needs "the works" ). Give your equipment a good rinse after use.
Other home brewers get all sorts of infections in their brews, I rarely do.
tend to not make kit wines, if want grape wine, will go out and buy it, virtually all the mead u can buy is either too sweet or loaded with sulphites or both
sulphites give me an allergic asthmatic reaction, short on breath and patchy white and pink skin all over upper chest is not fun
sulphite is used as a wine preservative for those wines which cut short the fermentation, i let my wines ferment out fully
my batches take 6 months minimum to make.
I clean the bottles, but given up on sterilising, but will sterilise the demijohns and brew bins, the hedgerow fruits get cleaned with a dunk in big bowl of water, also persuades the insects to depart
last batch was mead with honey supplied by a guy living near buckingham, honey cost around £2 per lb, yeast, nutrients, tea bags for tannin and water
gave some friends a bottle and was like where could they buy it
sulphites give me an allergic asthmatic reaction, short on breath and patchy white and pink skin all over upper chest is not fun
sulphite is used as a wine preservative for those wines which cut short the fermentation, i let my wines ferment out fully
my batches take 6 months minimum to make.
I clean the bottles, but given up on sterilising, but will sterilise the demijohns and brew bins, the hedgerow fruits get cleaned with a dunk in big bowl of water, also persuades the insects to depart
last batch was mead with honey supplied by a guy living near buckingham, honey cost around £2 per lb, yeast, nutrients, tea bags for tannin and water
gave some friends a bottle and was like where could they buy it
& 
& then 
if it works and is Mead 1 gallon
Season Anytime, but honey is more available in the summertime
Honey 4 lbs = Sweet, 3.5 lbs = Medium Dry, 3 lbs = Dry. NB! Do not use more than 4 lb of honey per gallon !
Since the honey is providing all the flavour, pick a decent type. Do not recommend the blended honey or stuff like Gales.
local honey is pretty good as are bulk honey suppliers, got the phone number of a good dealer near buckingham if that is near u ?
Yeast Either a No. 3 Yellow Label, No. 5 White Label or Purple Label or any high alcohol
Tannin 2-3 tea bags left for 10 mins in hot water
Yeast nutrient (TronOzymol) 1 teaspoon
Malic acid 2/3 teaspoon
Tartaric acid 1/3 teaspoon
Chempro SDP To sterilise all containers, bags and demijohns. - rinse with clean water after sterilisation
Water To 1 gallon, tend to leave a couple of inches to allow for any frothing and refill in a couple of months.
The honey is dissolved in hot water, there is no need to use a lot of heat or nearly boil honey, unless it has been left in a cupboard and started to self ferment - have had this happen to a large volume of honey and so have used some to make metheglin. Was heated to about 60 C, this is enough to kill off any wild yeast or bacteria, without losing too much of the flavour. If honey is boiled, then you tend to lose most of the flavours and may as well use treacle
the malic:tartaric acid ratio is important it seems, citric acid is cheaper, but my stuff works
ritchieproducts seems a good website and gives local shop details
the shop honey still has sediment issues, the honey dealer's stuff has no issues
looking for 4 weeks in the demijohn with a good 3-4 " air space, fill it too soon and u get sticky carpet effect, when froth is less, add some water, shake and settle, if over a few more weeks, no more froth, then u can fill it up
Season Anytime, but honey is more available in the summertime
Honey 4 lbs = Sweet, 3.5 lbs = Medium Dry, 3 lbs = Dry. NB! Do not use more than 4 lb of honey per gallon !
Since the honey is providing all the flavour, pick a decent type. Do not recommend the blended honey or stuff like Gales.
local honey is pretty good as are bulk honey suppliers, got the phone number of a good dealer near buckingham if that is near u ?
Yeast Either a No. 3 Yellow Label, No. 5 White Label or Purple Label or any high alcohol
Tannin 2-3 tea bags left for 10 mins in hot water
Yeast nutrient (TronOzymol) 1 teaspoon
Malic acid 2/3 teaspoon
Tartaric acid 1/3 teaspoon
Chempro SDP To sterilise all containers, bags and demijohns. - rinse with clean water after sterilisation
Water To 1 gallon, tend to leave a couple of inches to allow for any frothing and refill in a couple of months.
The honey is dissolved in hot water, there is no need to use a lot of heat or nearly boil honey, unless it has been left in a cupboard and started to self ferment - have had this happen to a large volume of honey and so have used some to make metheglin. Was heated to about 60 C, this is enough to kill off any wild yeast or bacteria, without losing too much of the flavour. If honey is boiled, then you tend to lose most of the flavours and may as well use treacle
the malic:tartaric acid ratio is important it seems, citric acid is cheaper, but my stuff works
ritchieproducts seems a good website and gives local shop details
the shop honey still has sediment issues, the honey dealer's stuff has no issues
looking for 4 weeks in the demijohn with a good 3-4 " air space, fill it too soon and u get sticky carpet effect, when froth is less, add some water, shake and settle, if over a few more weeks, no more froth, then u can fill it up
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