Home Brew!

[John506]

Does anyone brew their own alcohol? Be it wine, beer, vodka, whiskey, rum etc...

What do you brew, what experiences have you had and have you any particularly good recipes?

I brew wine myself, just put a grape juice brew on, and a strawberry ribena and red grape juice brew on too, few months from now can't wait to drink it!!

 

[Brigadier]

I do my own grape juice wine, John - cheap as chips, palatable, and does a job
Also knocked up some apple wine from the cookers on me tree last summer - lovely drop, that - still got a few bottles knocking around. Still not got around to making blackberry wine from the stuff I picked last year, but they're still in the freezer so no rush.
Mate supposedly has a good and simple cider brew going on - when he gives me the recipe, I'll let you know

 

[seco services]

i don't but my dad use to beer/wine for about 30 yrs taken over all of a spare bedroom and half of the garage.
you knew when you had a few pints.
done some good wines elderflower, dandelion, potato, slow berry etc.

 

[John506]

I'm yet to make some from fresh fruit.

Does the apple wine taste like cider? I'm a big red wine fan, not so much white win fan, and thumbs down to cider!

 

[Heat4input]

I'm yet to make some from fresh fruit.

Does the apple wine taste like cider? I'm a big red wine fan, not so much white win fan, and thumbs down to cider!

Try making damson wine,a bit like a very rich merlot

 

[John506]

Maybe not damson plums, but there is a plum tree growing in my sister's garden and I plan to harvest it when it's ready and making a wine from that

 

[joinerjohn]

I used to brew my own beer some years back. One winter time, we had a severe fall of snow overnight that cut the electricity to the village for over a week. The night before, my home brew had been bubbling away merrily in the airing cupboard. A few days later all fermentation had stopped and I thought I'd lose the 12 gallons in the container. However I left it there and when the electricity was finally restored and the central heating got turned back on, the fermentation process started again. A few weeks later it was ready for bottling and a month after that it turned out to be one of the best ever ales I'd brewed. Most enjoyable.


Might even get a brewing kit again now and make some. Your post has set me off.

 

[John506]

Haha, don't buy a kit, get some fresh fruit, even fruit juice in the cartons in the supermarket works, a much tastier wine than the 7 day kits!

 

[joinerjohn]

I did say BEER.

 

[Lilt]

I once shared a bottle of damson vodka with the chap who brewed it. It was excellent at the time, the sweetness of the damsons with the slight bitterness of the vodka.

The next morning was a different matter though

 

[Mickymoody]

Isn't it illegal to brew spirits?/distil..? We did this in school, a wine making class (?), and I tried it later at home, but there was a fungus type material at the top of the liquid...thought it best not to drink....I wonder where the the school making wine went.....straight into the staffroom? mewonders?

 

[big-all]

i used to do my own brewing using the 40 pint beer kits i would add 4 kilos off sugar giving a 1130 starting gravity so the finished product was 1/3 the strength off whisky

i used to drink it with half lemonade as 13% alcohol was way to much for a social drink

 

[EFCLee1]

What is the cost per pint when you have bought the beer kit, assuming you can use it again next time and just buy the ingredients so that time will be even cheaper

 

[Blasphemous]

Isn't it illegal to brew spirits?/distil..?

Unless you have a licence and pay the duty yeah. But if you're doing it for your own consumption it has no impact on anyone else so where's the harm? Oh don't tell me, The Tax man is missing out? Well the Tax Man had his bit when the brewer bought the ingredients.

 

[holmslaw]

I used to make wine years ago and was an avid fan of a home brew radio programme. One of their top tips for making wine was to always add a bottle of cheap rose' wine to the mix.