good reds?

[stu9000]

Hi
been brewing nearly 6 months and its been interesting.
Tried the tinned plum expecting it to be rubbish and its great.
Tried a wow a while back but must have got something wrong cos it was yeugh. i think it was the white grape with pear i used insted of apple.
Will do another and actually stick to the recipe

My whites and my beer are pretty good.

But, im not happy with my reds.
Beaverdale are supposed to use good grapes but im getting less than perfect results.
Bit of fruity taste when im looking for a nice full bodied dry. Mybe cold weather stopping the ferment too early?
A local brew shop is suggesting a 30 bottle kenridge but at nerly £50 i want to get it right on a smaller scale first.

i really like the idea of country wines but waiting a year to find out if im doing it right does not help the learning curve.

Im gonna try a 30 bottle bel vino to see if larger volumes help.
then i might try another beaverdale but brew it a bit short.

any other suggestions for good reds?
ta
s

 

[graysalchemy]

Manchester United of course :lol: :lol:

or if you are a connoisseur and are fed up with Glazier then FC United. :rofl: :rofl:

Sorry for being flippant I haven't brewed a red wine kit for years as they seem a bit lacking in body. However I believe your really do pay for what you get so spend a bit of money on a decent kit one which is all grape and preferably of a decent grape variety. Having said that some of the single grape variety kits are expensive and do need a long time maturing, so I tend to go to asda and buy my red on the three for a tenner deals.


:

 

[ricardo]

I have brewed lots of the Beaverdale kits.
The only red that was a bit disappointing was the Barolo.
But that might have been my fault for drinking it too soon.
I think most kits benefit from at least 3 months maturing.......they probably get even better with more age....I can't seem to keep them that long tho.
You could try brewing them a bit short, maybe 20 litres instead of 23 litres.
Any shorrter & you will just mess up the balance of the kit I think.
:

 

[chef2323]

Ricardo,
Looks like you are a Beaverdale fan looking at what you got at various stages in your cellar :

I am going to try the Beaverdale red next and go for the 30 bottle kit (I think you recommended it).

All I looking for is a good wine to drink in the garden in the summer .

On the note of 3 for £10, I think you will now see that creep towards 3 for £12 and to be honest I am pretty sure most of them arnt worth the so called £6-£8 normal price.

 

[shadow47]

I've had the same problem with the reds I've made.

I think the problem is that reds need to age a few months at least before they taste any good, whereas whites and rosé wines don't benefit as much from ageing.

 

[abeyptfc]

ive never brewed them but i had an email saying brew uk (sponsors above) are doing the 'cellar 7' kits at £26.99 for a short time, ive read a few reviews and they seem to get good comments.
i brewed a california connoisseur cabernet sauv, its been in the bottles for a month and a half i think, i didnt try it before bottling but it did smell good.
i also recently brewed the hambleton bard bel vino white wine, its just a packet of fruit u add to the water, i thought it would be keich but it too was smelling lovely before bottling, my mum tried some and liked it before bottling so it looks as though it will turn out decent, i think the red wine kit might be quite interesting aswell.
just put on a solomon grundy strawberry kit tnite aswell, only 6 bottles, it was cheap so just wanting to gocompare!

 

[stu9000]

I could go to the Supa and buy my reds. Thats what I do now.
But I just like the idea of making it, even if im only breaking even to start with.

And yes, im hoping that my bottles will mature over time.

But im not there yet.

Ive got a Bel Vino dried fruit thingy on the go. Its smelling out my garage beautifully.
Maybe Ill try brewing a 1 gallon beaverdale a bit short to see if it gives it more body, and then try it on a large scale.
Maybe ill stop being cheapskate and go for the KenRidge too.

Cheers all
S

 

[theboytony]

if you are wanting to do reds ry adding a tin of red grape concentrate as well, did this in a youngs kit and it was great

 

[stu9000]

i might just do that. was thinking of adding raisens.
the thing is with beaverdale, they go on about the quality of their grapes, seems mad to pour in a litre of lidl cheap red grape juice. but ill try it.

 

[Moley]

seems mad to pour in a litre of lidl cheap red grape juice. but ill try it.

That's not what he meant! :nono:

Grape Juice Concentrate from your homebrew shop or online supplier is not the same thing as supermarket grape juices from concentrate. I don't use GJC, I'm a tight-arsed git and it's so feckin' expensive, I would be more likely to mince a bag of raisins.

Take a look at Richard's Red but don't ask me any questions as I haven't yet tried it.

And Lidl's vitafit grape juices are pure pressed, not from concentrate.

 

[stu9000]

thanks moley - so youre saying that gjc is "better" but the vitafit "isnt bad stuff"?

As for Richards Red. Great tip. Exactly what i want to try, and ive got it in the cupboard!

Ive got a litre of sainsburys red, and some of the vitafit.
will use juice of a lemon instead of the citric acid,
a cup of tea instead of tannin
and raisens instead of youngs wine enricher

Ive been talking about using tom puree as a nutrient on another post, but its had no effect except to make the mix cloudier.
do we really need nutrient?
you suggested marmite - will that effect taste?

cheers
s

 

[Moley]

The vitafit is pure pressed, same as Sainsbury's and many of the others.

GJC or ‘wine enricher’ is a totally different product, for winemaking only.

What or how much nutrient you need depends on the wine and the yeasties you're using, the GP yeast compounds already contain some nutrients. I have never used tomato puree and would need some convincing to try it. Vitamin B1 is an optional extra, I use B1 tablets but Marmite can be used. However, we're only talking about the tip of a teaspoonful to the gallon, so it shouldn't affect the taste.

 

[spudbasher]

http://www.wilkinsonplus.com/Home-Brewi ... YYKg%3D%3D

cheap enough.

 

[stu9000]

Yup - the tomatoe puree is NOT a goer. Has done nothing for my WOW.

Vitamin B1 - Richard's Red recipe mentions this - Im guessing that this is present in Marmite and that this is something the lil Yeasties love.
Ill give that a go, but more for curiosity than anything else. Not sure I feel the need for nutrient.