Search results

I've been given 800 grams of frozen sloes that someone picked last autumn and didn't get round to making sloe gin. Not enogh to make a gallon of sloe wine on their own, but with a similar amont of "other" fruit, might be good. I'm thinking it would probably want to be something on the red...

I've just put a Ritchie's Simply Export Stout on to ferment. I've used 500g of dextrose and 500g of Munton's extra dark spraymalt in place of the 1kg of brewing sugar recommended. I've also added half a tin of black treacle. O.G. is 1.044. It's my first stout, so I'm looking forward to seeing...

Well, I've found a way to make my hellishly acidic cider drinkable! Cider, dark brown sugar (lots) cinnamon sticks bay leaves cloves, other spices or flavourings of choice and a good glug of rum or brandy. Chuck it all in a saucepan and heat gently until nearly at the boil but not quite, then...

I'm having difficulty sourcing frozen blackcurrants locally. Only seem to be able to find mixed summer fruits. Fresh ones are way out of season. Then I stumbled across dried Blackcurrants and began to wonder if they would be a good basis for wine. Generally, they are fiercely expensive but I've...

I've just started a Coopers Australian Pale Ale, using 500grams of Light spraymalt and 500 grams of dextrose, for a SG of 1.038. Anyone here who has done this kit? What did you think of it?

I've just been given about a 5 gallon bucket full of small, hard pears. I don't know the variety but they have a sort of army-green colour, are hard and crunchy, like apples and are quite bland but not unpleasant in flavour. I'm thinking pear wine or maybe perry/pear cider, but not sure which...

With the festive season looming, and having no reds in stock, I'm about to kick off a cheapo Rioja style red wine kit. It is the Chateau Vadeau one from Amazon. I'm finding it hard to believe that a tiny 1.3kg container of grape concentrate could make 21 litres (30 bottles) of red wine with...

I'm just about to start a cheapo 21 litre red wine kit, mainly to have something, other than beer, drinkable by Christmas. I'm still in the process of collecting empties for my wine bottle collection, so I'd be hard-pressed to have enough, even if I brew short, which I'm planning to do, to...

I got started on my cider this evening. Due to this being a bit of a pants year for apples, I had mostly cookers (chiefly bramleys) a few James grieve eaters and a few kilos of small crab apples. I had borrowed a friend's 12 litre Vigo press and scratter to try and maximise the juice yield. It...

I put a Coopers Mexican Cerveza kit on to brew last night. Instead of the brew enhancer, I used 500 grams of light spray malt and 500 grams of table sugar. I didn't take an OG because I figured that I'd added about the same amount as the recommended fermentables. It should turn out all right...

I had a call yesterday from someone who knew I had been looking for beer and wine making equipment, so today I went round there and got my hands on a whole load of stuff, for the princely sum of fifty quid. 8 demijohns, 2 brewing buckets, 3 large 4" cap fermenters, funnels hydrometers, syphon...

Hi All, I have access to several kilos of small, sweet pears, variety "Petit Poire". There are far too many to eat, so I'd like to make some pear wine with them. Anyone have a favourite recipe? Any pitfalls or tips to working with ripe pears? I've found this recipe Simple & Delicious Pear Wine...

I ordered a Woodfordes Wherry kit from Amazon 3 days ago and it still hasn't been dispatched. All the other stuff I ordered has been but the beer kit is showing a message Item not dispatched yet. We will email you with a delivery date when it is dispatched". Odd, because the kits are showing...

I picked 3 1/4 lbs of redcurrants and whitecurrants from our bushes this evening, about 70% red and 30% white. Stripped them off their twiggy things and poured a gallon of boiling water over them in a fermenting bucket. The recipe says leave the bucket in a cool place for a week and don't worry...

I'm just getting back into brewing and, thanks to a tip from my old mate @Alderneybrew , I've got my hands on some nice 660ml glass Cobra beer bottles from our local Indian restaurant. Getting them clean and free of beer dregs is not an issue; bottle brush and a bleachy solution in the sink with...

....but it signals my return to the brewing hobby after many years absence. A gallon of turbo cider is on and already bubbling away like a good un after 15 minutes. Morrison's 100% juice from concentrate 1/3 pint of ultra strong tea Youngs cider yeast yeast nutrient.

Hello everyone, from Alderney in the Channel Islands. I'm about to start making wine, beers and cider after an absence from the hobby of well over thirty years. Obviously, a few things have changed over that time, though the basics remain the same. From what I've read, the biggest changes have...