I've done a couple of 'wines' including Wurzel's orange wine and a 'rosé' using shop-bought fruit juice. I've a number of demijohns and have been meaning to get back into it.
Thanks for the recommendation!
Hi Stew, I used to really be in to home brew and always had four kegs on the go at any one time, it was like a micro brewery ! The only problem with so much strong beer stout and cider on tap for me was I got a real liking for drinking it.....it ended up at around ten pints a night.....this is when I knew I had a problem with it and had to knock it on the head. I hardly drink at all now but I did find it a very enjoyable hobby while it lasted.
Shouldn't that be Biology 101
You can make respectable beer just sterilising the water. If you want to be really technical, you can, but most people don't concern themselves with it too much. Different 'flavours' of tap water, from different places, can result in marginally different tasting beer. If you're drinking it for fun/socially etc., there's probably no issue.
Stupid question, but, how do you sterilize the water?
You don't want to sterilise your yeast so make sure the water used is cool enough and there isn't any residual sterilising solution in the demijohns/bottle/bucket etc.! Below is sterilising equipment for cleaning your glass/plasticware.
Yep, you'll need some decent heating at this time of year. I prefer to use the submersible heaters (like fish tank heaters) that go inside the tank. I found the belts seem to only heat the outside of the tank.
How do they fit in the fermentation tank? I have a tank by Young, and it has a small hole and a gamut for inserting the fermentation indicator.Yep, you'll need some decent heating at this time of year. I prefer to use the submersible heaters (like fish tank heaters) that go inside the tank. I found the belts seem to only heat the outside of the tank.
Like this one
This type of heater would require a hole wide enough to pass the diameter of the glass tube and the cable is usually passed through a bung which can hold an airlock. It might require making a wider hole in your lid to accommodate it. You must have some kind of hole in the lid (preferably fitted with an airlock) to vent the CO2 when fermenting.
I've been wine making since I was fifteen, did a fair bit of home brewing (full mash) but not recently as I appear to have become wheat intolerant. Big on cider making! But that's part of my retirement plan. I have planted around 120+ apple trees, all cider and juice varieties. We have about 750 lts ageing out in the cider shed as I write this.