home brewing

[matt72033]

anyone tried?

cider in particular

[Taksin]

anyone tried?

cider in particular

I've been looking into it.. there's 12 apple trees near me that go unharvested every year - I haven't manged to contact the owner yet, but intend to make him an offer.. have looked into the outlay for equipment and the main question I have is how necessary wooden casks are? are plastic ones ok?

[ger_ryan22]

You can buy the ingredients in a drum in some supermarkets! My Wife's folks made their own beer and wine and they used a mix from the Supermarket and some other gadgets like barrels and siphons. Good luck! It doesn't normally taste that nice to be honest. It actually tastes like crap If I'm being honest :)

[jose1985]

I've tried homemade beer before. Never made it, but I can say that the only thing that comes close to describing its taste was the taste you get in your mouth after being sick.

however I was 15, I got fucked up and probably had a laugh as well haha.

[dublinlfc]

I've tried homemade beer before. Never made it, but I can say that the only thing that comes close to describing its taste was the taste you get in your mouth after being sick.

however I was 15, I got fucked up and probably had a laugh as well haha.

probably your own sick/vomit then;)

[jose1985]

probably your own sick/vomit then;)

Surprisingly the only time I've thrown up when I've been drinking was 3years back. Don't do hangovers either, I've got routines to stop this stuff happening to me haha.

[fan4dmb]

A friend of mine brews his own beer. He's got a full setup in his garage. Most of it is pretty good.

He made one which was a type of Russian Imperial Stout where he used coffee and chocolate and such... 1/4 of a pint and you were already feeling it. It was strong strong stuff.

But it had a weird taste, the initial flavor was like guinness but thicker, but then there was the hint of chocolate, followed by the flavor of coffee. I was quite impressed but it was a hard beer to drink.

[Lorenzo]

anyone tried?

cider in particular

I remember years ago I was sharing a house with an alcholic chef. I was a bartender at the time and we built a bar out the back. We got a brainwave to try some home brewing once. We got a couple of books on cider/wine brewing but you have to be extremley careful as the wrong brew could have devestating effects. To be honest, I didnt trust his judgement and he didnt trust mine..:o

We did however manage to get a receipe for lemoncello from an italian mates granny and successfully brewed it. Its absolutley superb and piss easy to make:D

[Kid of the Kop]

We did however manage to get a receipe for lemoncello from an italian mates granny and successfully brewed it. Its absolutley superb and piss easy to make:D


Well?

[JONO]

I remember years ago I was sharing a house with an alcholic chef. I was a bartender at the time and we built a bar out the back. We got a brainwave to try some home brewing once. We got a couple of books on cider/wine brewing but you have to be extremley careful as the wrong brew could have devestating effects. To be honest, I didnt trust his judgement and he didnt trust mine..:o

We did however manage to get a receipe for lemoncello from an italian mates granny and successfully brewed it. Its absolutley superb and piss easy to make:D

Could you PM me the recipe if possible please Mate

Mrs Jono loves the stuff

[redsam]

[/B]

Could you PM me the recipe if possible please Mate

Mrs Jono loves the stuff

Aye we were partial to a slice or 2 back in the days..

[Devski]

Made some home brew beer from a kit I got as a present when I was a student. Think you can get the kits from Boots or supermarkets.

I lived in a house with 3 other lads & we were up for it as a potential money-saving venture if it worked.

It came out looking cloudy like Weissbier (hoegarden) - it was meant to be "lager"....it tasted ok at first i.e. not revolting, but if you bought it in a pub I doubt you'd wait long before taking it back.

No idea how strong it was as we never drunk enough of it to feel the effects & stuck to cans from the offie. I think we even tried drinking it when already pissed so we wouldn't mind the taste, but even that didn't work.

A friend came round & drunk most of it, but looking back I think he would've drunk anything.

Maybe we didn't follow the instructions properly!

[Matt R]

http://www.the-home-brew-shop.co.uk./index.html

Have a look at these people. Haven't done any myself yet, but it's way different from when your dad used to blow up the shed in th 70's. You can effectively pick the beer you want to make and they'll send you the gubbins.

Once I've got the room for it I'm having a go.

Ask Taylor as well, as I remember he was doing some a while ago. Not sure how it went though.

[hyva sami]

anyone tried?

cider in particular

Haven't you got an Indian oven to be getting on with? ;)

[Lorenzo]

[/B]

Could you PM me the recipe if possible please Mate

Mrs Jono loves the stuff

Will do, I'll be down the "brewery" this week. It's stuck on the wall so i'll pop a copy over in the next couple of days. I'll send a copy your direction too Kiddo if you like.

Aye we were partial to a slice or 2 back in the days..

Funnily enough, I have actually frozen it and served it as a sorbet:p

[irishoz]

I used to makee beer when i lived in Oz. But after you bottle it your meant to store them in tempetures of no more then 30C for 3 to 4 weeks. It being summer the temp out side was 40 most days so to keep them cool I filled the bath with water. Missus was not to happy, and even less impressed when they started exploding one day while she was calling home.
Second lot was ok just had to tone down the amount of sugar but in.

[matt72033]

http://www.the-home-brew-shop.co.uk./index.html

Have a look at these people. Haven't done any myself yet, but it's way different from when your dad used to blow up the shed in th 70's. You can effectively pick the beer you want to make and they'll send you the gubbins.

Once I've got the room for it I'm having a go.

Ask Taylor as well, as I remember he was doing some a while ago. Not sure how it went though.

i'm quite keen on the idea of making the cider properly tbh, think i might buy a 2 gallon keg thing and do it in that!

gonna make myself a cider press, out of on old car jack i've got in the shed, to juice the apples with! dunno how many apples i'll need for a 2 gallon drum :D

what could possibly go wrong?

[matt72033]

Haven't you got an Indian oven to be getting on with? ;)

just think how great the cider will taste with the curry ;)

anyway, one can never have too many projects on the go

[matt72033]

I've been looking into it.. there's 12 apple trees near me that go unharvested every year - I haven't manged to contact the owner yet, but intend to make him an offer.. have looked into the outlay for equipment and the main question I have is how necessary wooden casks are? are plastic ones ok?

i'm sure plastic would be ok.....

being the expert on cider making that i am :D

[JONO]

Will do, I'll be down the "brewery" this week. It's stuck on the wall so i'll pop a copy over in the next couple of days. I'll send a copy your direction too Kiddo if you like.

Shed or Garage !!!!

Thanks for that -Not really keen on it myself
When we were in Italy last year after eating out we were always given a drink off it ,Mrs Jono loves the stuff though


Funnily enough, I have actually frozen it and served it as a sorbet:p

.

[fiordearg]

would love to brew me own beer.

[Lorenzo]

.

Shed, with its own bus stop outside! Very funny story:)

[JONO]

Shed, with its own bus stop outside! Very funny story:)

Thanks for that mate


Won't let me PM you for some reason

[Lorenzo]

Thanks for that mate


Won't let me PM you for some reason

No worries, enjoy:) Don't forget you can freeze it for a sorbet which is pretty tasty.

Got the pm's. The same happened me last week trying to send a pm and dub ended up getting it about 6 times! Must be a glitch on the site.

[Dids]

The easiest, quickest and nicest homebrew wine.

empty three 1 litre cartons of apple juice into a 1 gall demijohn.

Add inverted suger ( simmer 2lb of sugar in 1pint of water for 20 mins)

Add yeast.


Works everytime, Takes 4 weeks to clear.,

Delicious and very strong.

Theres a link here to my mates cider farm - he started it 2 years ago


www.welshcider.co.uk/index.php?option=com...id...

[matt72033]

i've got 2 demijohns of wine on the go now, one ribema wine and one strawberry wine

[Ducatiboy749]

i've got 2 demijohns of wine on the go now, one ribema wine and one strawberry wine

That'll go lovely with those naans and a bit of tandoori chick mate.;)

[Dids]

i've got 2 demijohns of wine on the go now, one ribema wine and one strawberry wine

Ribena wine is one of my favs, another one that always works well, unlike real fruit wines which never turn out right for me. Don't think I've ever done one that has finished.

By the way if any one is making cider, I'm not sure but I think your best of getting cider apples. Then the only think you need to add is water.

[Lorenzo]

Cheers dids. I'll stick that recipe on the brewery wall and give it a shot:)

[matt72033]

got a nice batch of raisin and rice wine on the go today!

[lapland]

anyone tried?

cider in particular

Can't believe i aint seen this thread until now.
Used to attempt the cider brewing ( all form a kit) back in the student days when i was living with 3 mates.
5 attempts if i remember correctly.
Mainly fucked up each time by getting stuck into it well before it was ready for consumption. This would normally happen on a Thurs night after arriving home from a club , loved up , but realising there was fuck all gargle in the gaff.
Obvious answer was the "cider."
Always ,managed to convince ourselves it was fuckin delecious.
Different story after the 5 th time of this premature opening.
We knew it did not taste quite right but carried on anyway.
Before morning one of us was ended up in A&E getting a stomach pump, the other 3 of us were a little green for 48 hours.

Still enjoy a tipple of cider
but always always the mass produced chemical stuff.

[matt72033]

Can't believe i aint seen this thread until now.
Used to attempt the cider brewing ( all form a kit) back in the student days when i was living with 3 mates.
5 attempts if i remember correctly.
Mainly fucked up each time by getting stuck into it well before it was ready for consumption. This would normally happen on a Thurs night after arriving home from a club , loved up , but realising there was fuck all gargle in the gaff.
Obvious answer was the "cider."
Always ,managed to convince ourselves it was fuckin delecious.
Different story after the 5 th time of this premature opening.
We knew it did not taste quite right but carried on anyway.
Before morning one of us was ended up in A&E getting a stomach pump, the other 3 of us were a little green for 48 hours.

Still enjoy a tipple of cider
but always always the mass produced chemical stuff.
haha excellent

holding off on the cider for the mo, got 3 wines on the go

[matt72033]

well the strawberry wine has ceased fermenting after about 2 weeks, which wasnt a good sign, so i tasted a tad and it was rather vinegary, so i binned it

currently looking for another to get on the go

[Babel_Fish]

yes i have alot of Homebrew software on my PSP, i have Gameboy emulators, avi, mpeg adaptors, the lot! :)

[Lorenzo]

well the strawberry wine has ceased fermenting after about 2 weeks, which wasnt a good sign, so i tasted a tad and it was rather vinegary, so i binned it

currently looking for another to get on the go

These guys may be able to help you matt, they sell kits and stuff as well as ingredients. I'm looking at getting one or two of the beer brewing kits for "The Brewery". I'm not sure if they deliver to the UK but I'm sure they will.

http://www.thehomebrewcompany.ie/

[The Princess]

[QUOTE=Lorenzo;1198068]Will do, I'll be down the "brewery" this week. It's stuck on the wall so i'll pop a copy over in the next couple of days. I'll send a copy your direction too Kiddo if you like.

Erm, could you send it to me too, please? Became slightly addicted in Rome.

[matt72033]

[QUOTE=Lorenzo;1198068]Will do, I'll be down the "brewery" this week. It's stuck on the wall so i'll pop a copy over in the next couple of days. I'll send a copy your direction too Kiddo if you like.

Erm, could you send it to me too, please? Became slightly addicted in Rome.

wouldnt mind that too please

[Lorenzo]

Erm, could you send it to me too, please? Became slightly addicted in Rome.

Done



wouldnt mind that too please

and dusted

[matt72033]

as the ribena wine seems to be going pretty well i knocked up another batch of that, though this time i substituted the ribena for vimto :D

[matt72033]

Done



and dusted

thank you mate

[Lorenzo]

thank you mate

Not a problem, if you end up selling it i'm in for at least 20% right???

[matt72033]

sounds about right, your the government taxing my alcohol?

[Lorenzo]

Sounds bout right:)

[The Princess]

Done


and dusted

Brilliant! Thanks for that. Will let you know how it goes. :)

[Lorenzo]

Matt, Princess, did you ever get around to brewing that Lemoncello? I know Jono got a good brew out of it. I'd be interested to hear how you got on.

"The Brewery" has just taken delivery of a home brew beer kit so we'll be knocking up about 40 litres over the Christmas for consumption in the New Year. I'll keep you posted. The plan is to brew a different beer each time and have a themed night when its due for consumption. We're starting off with a pilsner and following it up with a mexican cerveza:D

[matt72033]

i didnt unfortunately.

just sampled my ribena wine at the 5 month stage, have to sau its really nice.

sometime in the next week or so i plan to drink a bottle and see how pissed i get.

from here i'll calculate how strong it is :)

[Bliga]

Any chance of a copy of theat lemoncello recipe? That's one fine drink after a nice Italian.

[Lorenzo]

i didnt unfortunately.

just sampled my ribena wine at the 5 month stage, have to sau its really nice.

sometime in the next week or so i plan to drink a bottle and see how pissed i get.

from here i'll calculate how strong it is :)

Well matt, how strong was it? How do you test the strength? I use a hydrometer to check if it's ready for bottling but i don't know the exact strength. I've brewed and bottled 20 litres of pils and 20 litres of larger and i've 20 litres of old ale in the ''bucket'' which will be bottled on saturday. I sampled a litre last wednesday of the pils and although there's not too much gas in it, it's fairly strong. I'd like to know the actual alcohol content if there's a way of telling:)

[matt72033]

you need to take an sg before brewing and one after brewing

theres a calculation involving the difference between the 2 sg's that determine the %

[Mozzaretti]

IT has a tandoor strength of 20%

[Lorenzo]

Bump:)

Well i've been fairly industrious! I've got 60 litres of larger/pilsner bottled and ready for consumption with another 40 litres of dark ale fermenting. I'm going out picking elder flowers on sat morning to make a fizzy wine. I need to find an alternative to brewing sugar for the wine as i'll have to order that online and wait a couple of days. I'm going to use yeast packets from tesco's. So matt, if you've any tips, please show yourself:)

[Lorenzo]

We were in full swing last weekend at the brewery. We've decided to have a beerfest in August:D

[Bandersnatch]

Chief Wiggum: (Gets out of car) I am proceeding on foot. Call in a Code 8.
Eddie: (Into radio) We need pretzels. Repeat, pretzels.