Beaverdale Rioja short Fermented

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springtime

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I had already made a gallon kit of this about a year ago but to be honest the resultant wine was watery and insipid.
Unfortunately before I had a chance to taste it I received a 5 gallon Rioja kit as a present and that remained in my cupboard until the end of May this year.
After a bit of research on the internet I found that a number of people improved their wines by short brewing i.e. 5 gallon to 4 gallon.
So I short brewed the kit from 5 gallons to 3.5 gallons just to see what would happen.
The resulting wine is not comparable with my initial effort.
It is rich, full bodied and comparable with a decent commercial bottle so I am assuming that once it has matured for a few months is going to be even better.
Very please with the final outcome.
I must admit that before I was put off using further red wine kits. Maybe next time I do a gallon kit I'll top up with grape juice instead of water.

Thoughts
 
I did mine last year but to 5 gallon, and tried a bottle this week, I was hopping it would have lost some of its fruitiness as it seems to taste a bit like fruit juice still. I will try n brew short next time . I have a friend that is sampling a bottle , they are a Rioja drinker and will report back once I have their opinion :pray:
 
I did mine last year but to 5 gallon, and tried a bottle this week, I was hopping it would have lost some of its fruitiness as it seems to taste a bit like fruit juice still. I will try n brew short next time . I have a friend that is sampling a bottle , they are a Rioja drinker and will report back once I have their opinion 🙏
Well?
 
I really liked this kit when I did it. It was one of the few mid range reds that actually had some of the characteristics of the variety it said it was but still could have stood a little more oak.
 
I really liked this kit when I did it. It was one of the few mid range reds that actually had some of the characteristics of the variety it said it was but still could have stood a little more oak.
My Beaverdale Rioja kit arrives tomorrow, would you recommend using oak chips? I have a spare packet lying around...
 
My Beaverdale Rioja kit arrives tomorrow, would you recommend using oak chips? I have a spare packet lying around...
Rioja would not be my go to if buying a bottle of red but the thing I do like is it's oakiness, so it could just be my personal taste but I will be adding oak chips when I make this one again.

I always try to make a kit first time round as it says in the instructions and then may add things to "improve" it next time. Why not try splitting the batch after four or five days fermenting and add chips to one half so you can compare the results.
 
Rioja would not be my go to if buying a bottle of red but the thing I do like is it's oakiness, so it could just be my personal taste but I will be adding oak chips when I make this one again.

I always try to make a kit first time round as it says in the instructions and then may add things to "improve" it next time. Why not try splitting the batch after four or five days fermenting and add chips to one half so you can compare the results.
Good shout. I also would prefer to stick to the instructions but have read reviews it lacks oak. I also read this kit takes about a year to mature. Will be testing that on at least one bottle for sure.
If I may ask what is your go-to kit?
 
I tend to make juice or fruit wine more than kits these days but I've always thought Beaverdale reds are good value. They make a nice wine to drink but there's little difference in taste between the varieties. The Kenridge are a few pounds more but have more concentrate and I think you can tell. I've not made either since they have reduced the concentrate recently (it's supposed to be more concentrated) so don't know if they have changed.
 
I plan to stick with B’dale for now. Been thinking about a supermarket juice wine too. Endless combinations I suppose
 

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