home brewing

[steve1963]

Been wine and beer making for over 4 years now,anyone else indulge in this fine hobby?

 

[asterix]

Well we did try that at uni. We got it all bottled but when we drank it the stuff proved quite incredibly potent. It may have had something to do with one of our fellow lodgers who was doing a chemistry PhD but nothing could be proved.

 

[Hover Fly]

Well, er, yeah, but it's a bit more than a hobby.

 

[Gareth]

I brew: Meads, Ginger beer, Dandelion & Burdock root beer, Liquorice root beer, many different wines from Vegetables and hedgerow fruits, and Elderflower champagne, all from captured Naturally occurring yeasts.

I've won a few prizes for my Meads at County and various Smallholder shows.

 

[yashicamat]

I dabble in beer making, using grains, hops etc. Here's a recent video I made of a typical brewday for another forum:

Brewday on YouTube

 

[XmisterIS]

When I was a student in digs, I used to make cider using a kit, but I used wine yeast and upped the sugar content. It was lethal.

 

[Bayerd]

When I was a student in digs, I used to make cider using a kit, but I used wine yeast and upped the sugar content. It was lethal.

Who did ya kill?

I mostly brew beer and cider, but also do the odd wine.

Cider's the easiest, get apple juice, add wine or cider yeast, pectolase if you like it clear, leave to ferment (takes about a week), transfer to sanitised bottles and add a small amount of sugar or honey for fizz (if you want), leave another week then drink.....

I prefer brewing beer, I usually start with a kit, steep grains, boil spray malt with water, add hops, chuck it all in a fermenter.

My stocks are running low at the moment, I'm down to my last 8 gallons or so.

If anyone fancies getting into homebrewing, this is a good site, loads of useful info (sort of like CC but without P&L ) http://www.jimsbeerkit.co.uk/forum/index.php

 

[XmisterIS]

Who did ya kill?

Usually unsuspecting visitors who were not wise to the potent effects of my homebrew cider ... it was proper flat scrumpy and it didn't taste all that strong, so you'd be lulled into thinking it was just a light cider and most new visitors necked it in big mouthfuls. It was when they found themselves rendered incapable of speech or walking that they realised it was a little more powerful that they had anticipated! I have no idea how strong it got, but I used to brew it for 3-4 weeks, so I reckon it was up to about 12%. I do remember when I made the first batch and offered it to my house mate, he had a couple of pints and then crawled to his room repeating, "Oh God, I can't walk, Oh God, I'm pissed, Oh God, ..." etc

 

[yashicamat]

If anyone fancies getting into homebrewing, this is a good site, loads of useful info (sort of like CC but without P&L ) http://www.jimsbeerk...forum/index.php

JBK is my homebrewing forum of choice too.

 

[vernon]

My 'accidents' proved to be more memorable than the planned brews:

A beetroot wine that ended up like a Lambrusco.
A banana and orange desert wine that ended up like a strong sherry.
Elderberry that ended up like a port.

I'm currently drinking the last of my home-brew. It's a twenty seven year old blackberry wine that's like a medium dry sherry.

I still have most of the kit and last year investigated getting some of the bits and pieces that I would need to start brewing again. I was surprised at how the market has contracted - Boots and Morrisons no longer deal with home brew supplies. There used to be several home-brew shops in Leeds now there's only one.

 

[yashicamat]

My 'accidents' proved to be more memorable than the planned brews:

A beetroot wine that ended up like a Lambrusco.
A banana and orange desert wine that ended up like a strong sherry.
Elderberry that ended up like a port.

I'm currently drinking the last of my home-brew. It's a twenty seven year old blackberry wine that's like a medium dry sherry.

I still have most of the kit and last year investigated getting some of the bits and pieces that I would need to start brewing again. I was surprised at how the market has contracted - Boots and Morrisons no longer deal with home brew supplies. There used to be several home-brew shops in Leeds now there's only one.

I think there is a recent growth again, though - perhaps fuelled by the recession, but also (I suspect) by an increasing awareness of the different beer styles and the desire to recreate them.

 

[brockers]

I brewed beer from kits as a teenager: strong but pretty revolting (the beer, not me). 'Sfunny, but I've been thinking of giving it another go recently, but tempted this time to brew from scratch using a beer engine . Could be beyond my skill level mind! Something I'm aware of though, is that you don't necessarily make beer stronger by whacking in tons of sugar without using a yeast which is able to convert it all.

 

[threebikesmcginty]

Hook Norton Brewery make most of my beer for me these days.

 

[XmisterIS]

I used to make my own (proper stuff as well, sparing me mash and all that, not beer kits).

But it's more expensive than buying it from the supermarket here!

An 8-pack of tennant's super and a bag of weed from the local squat is the way forward ...

Talking of pikey lager, does anyone remember Skol? Do they still make it? God, it was awful!

 

[Bayerd]

Usually unsuspecting visitors who were not wise to the potent effects of my homebrew cider ... it was proper flat scrumpy and it didn't taste all that strong, so you'd be lulled into thinking it was just a light cider and most new visitors necked it in big mouthfuls. It was when they found themselves rendered incapable of speech or walking that they realised it was a little more powerful that they had anticipated! I have no idea how strong it got, but I used to brew it for 3-4 weeks, so I reckon it was up to about 12%. I do remember when I made the first batch and offered it to my house mate, he had a couple of pints and then crawled to his room repeating, "Oh God, I can't walk, Oh God, I'm pissed, Oh God, ..." etc

I've done similar in the past, always good for a giggle as I sit there with a 5% cider and they're on 8-9% stuff thinking we're drinking the same

My 'accidents' proved to be more memorable than the planned brews:

A beetroot wine that ended up like a Lambrusco.
A banana and orange desert wine that ended up like a strong sherry.
Elderberry that ended up like a port.

I'm currently drinking the last of my home-brew. It's a twenty seven year old blackberry wine that's like a medium dry sherry.

I still have most of the kit and last year investigated getting some of the bits and pieces that I would need to start brewing again. I was surprised at how the market has contracted - Boots and Morrisons no longer deal with home brew supplies. There used to be several home-brew shops in Leeds now there's only one.

Tossco have started selling kits and gear, failing that there are some very good home brew websites to buy from these days, such as http://www.thethriftyshopper.co.uk/

I brewed beer from kits as a teenager: strong but pretty revolting (the beer, not me). 'Sfunny, but I've been thinking of giving it another go recently, but tempted this time to brew from scratch using a beer engine . Could be beyond my skill level mind! Something I'm aware of though, is that you don't necessarily make beer stronger by whacking in tons of sugar without using a yeast which is able to convert it all.

Quite correct, it'll usually end up too thin as well. I once thought that I could brew a strong wine by adding a pound of sugar to a one gallon kit. Even the wine yeast couldn't convert all of the sugar with that one. Made for a great Sangria wine though......