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Hello from Cambs
Hi to all. Started homebrew about 3 months ago. Am using wine kits as they seem an easy starter to gain some basic knowledge. Have finished the following kits.
Beaverdale - 6 bottle Pinot Grigio - very good
Beaverdale - 30 bottle Pinot Grigio - okay but had problems with the finings. Cloudy, without bits but drinkable.
Beaverdale - 6 bottle Chablis Blush - excellent (for the wife)
Carafe 21 - 30 bottle medium sweet. Cheap and cheerful. Degassing at the moment. Smells 'ok' so will post the outcome.
I did invest in a tray heater which keeps a constant 25 degrees C.
Basics I have learnt so far.
1. Invest in a decent lever corker. Those cheap hand corkers wear you out after 30 corks and leave the edges of the cork showing over the rim.
2. Get hold of a plastic milk crate. They are ideal for holding the bottles. especially for corking.
3. Go for a no-rinse sanatizer - see the forum on videne
4. Invest in a FV with a tap. It helps speed up racking.
Anyways, good luck to you all...
Responses
Posted 1 year ago by Member
And to you jharper... seems like you're well on the way to being obsessed!
Wait 'til you try AG!
Nice to meet you!
(with grateful thanks to the Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers and slightly adapted)
Posted 1 year ago by Member
aha, nice one Tony. I have my eyes on a stout but need to get some experience first. Have to say though I was pretty impressed with the first effort. The equipment was pricey-ish but it will defo pay for itself in the long run, probably in the first year.
Also looking at trying my hand at country wines later this year. We are lucky to live near a forest of brambles/sloes etc...
Posted 1 year ago by Admin
Hi J and welcome to the forum!
Country wines are great but they need quite a bit of time to mature. All grain brewing is definately the way forward as far as beer making as concerned. Its worth every penny!
Fermenting:
Conditioning:Pale with Styrians
Drinking:Cascade Pale Ale, Summer Lightning
Posted 1 year ago by Moderator
Welcome to the forum and ta for the info!
I have never made wines, but the country route looks like a cert to me. When you said the beverdale was great would it compare to shop bought wines, and if so what kinda price range?
Conditionin' - LEB Pale
Conditionin' - Thwaits Nutty Black
Plannin' - A user upper!
Posted 1 year ago by Member
Thanks greg, Hi nath812.
The beaverdale 6 bottle kits are around £11, the 30 bottle kits around £38. Have not found them any cheaper than this. The kits contain all you need, including oak chips and all you need to add is water. I go for a 6 bottle kit first to test the water (excuse the pun).
The Cablis Blush - wife says a lot smoother than shop bought and very drinkable. The Pinot Grigio when cleared was pretty good - I would say an equivalent from the shop you would pay £4 or £5 a bottle so a saving of about three quarters the normal price. Of course there are many other grape varieties to try and they are all the same price (beaverdale).
These kits took on average 2 weeks to bottle. The Carafe 21 kit from Wilkos was only £17 (30 bottles) but you do need to add 3.5kg of granulated sugar. This kit has so far taken 3 weeks. I have added the finings this morning so will post the results in a few days.
Posted 1 year ago by Admin
I've not tried the Beaverdale kits but Cal Con wine are kits are really good. The Sav Blanc is excellent, easily as nice as any £6/7 Sav Blanc I've bought in the shop. Took 4 weeks start to drinking.
Fermenting:
Conditioning:Pale with Styrians
Drinking:Cascade Pale Ale, Summer Lightning
Posted 1 year ago by Member
May try one of these next. They price the same as Beaverdale so guessing the same quality - but then that is always a personal pref. Thanks for the tip.
Posted 1 year ago by Admin
As far as I'm aware they are very similar. Same amount of Grape juice and same time to make. Just different supplier.
Fermenting:
Conditioning:Pale with Styrians
Drinking:Cascade Pale Ale, Summer Lightning
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