Hello from a Green Newbie

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1stAndrew

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Mar 25, 2022
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Hi all,

Just joined this forum and introducing myself. I am as green as they come with winemaking, I’ve been known to have the odd tipple from time to time, so my kids bought me a wine starter kit for Christmas. Just to prove how little I know the kit came with a Solomon Grundy Merlot style 30 bottle wine kit which required sugar so in went the Tate & Lyle. After that I have progressed to Wineworks Shiraz, Shiraz superior & Merlot superior. First 3 batches in a 25ltr bucket and the 4th in a 23 ltr carboy fermenter (a friend said it would be good to see how it ferments). Batch 1 Ok but didn’t really taste like wine, batch 2 got sediment in the bottles, batch 3 is clearing and batch 4 is fermenting. Only 1 batch has had the airlock with clear water in it all the time with the other 3 the fermentation has got a little violent and the red stuff gets in there, with the last batch (the one in the fermenter) the bung popped out all by itself at the end of day 1😊. Checked the temperature of the wine before fermentation and was all within tolerance circa 24 deg C. I think I am going to be spending a lot of time trawling through threads to find out what I’m doing wrong.

Anyway good to meet everyone and once I get a grip with all this I will be able to contribute more.

Cheers And
 
Welcome to the forum Andrew.

The airlock problem is a regular one we come across and the belt and braces way around it so make a blow off tube then you can simply empty the container leaving the tube in place.

How to make a blow off tube -
https://www.thehomebrewforum.co.uk/threads/how-to-make-a-blow-off-tube.48970/

If you are going to make wine regularly make or buy a degassing wand it makes the job so much quicker -
How to make a degassing wand -
https://www.thehomebrewforum.co.uk/threads/how-to-degas-wine-with-a-home-made-degassing-wand.48971/
Finally if you want to try making your own wine without having to go through the hassle of picking and using real fruit give this a look -
Supermarket juice wine -
https://www.thehomebrewforum.co.uk/...ne-how-to-guide-and-recipes.49462/post-456519
 
Or, you only fill with 80% of liquid to start with & then top it up later when initial mad fermentation has dropped off.

Also it always takes longer to ferment & clear than the kit instructions say 😄.
 
Or, you only fill with 80% of liquid to start with & then top it up later when initial mad fermentation has dropped off.

Also it always takes longer to ferment & clear than the kit instructions say 😄.
The kits be lying 🤥 😅
 
Cheers for the tips guys and sorry about the late response ( I am useless with social media ) like the idea of short filling and topping up as my wife won’t let me move my brewing anywhere as I make far too much mess. Also I’m picking up so many tips from other threads, the forum is really good.
 

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