Brewing

Contributor: Ser Pounce-a-lot Ser Pounce-a-lot
Anyone here into home brewing? I just recently got into it, and I'm currently making a 3 gallon batch of white wine. I also want to try making some mead and beer in the near future, though to make beer I would need to purchase a large pot to put on the stove for boiling the wort, so I'll probably try mead first.

It's simultaneously fascinating and to some degree disgusting watching the yeast do their job as the fermentation progresses. There is currently a foamy scum that has formed on top of my primary fermenter, at first I was concerned (I'm new to this), but that is supposed to happen - brewing yeast form a floating layer on top as they multiply. Don't get me started on the smell .

Looking forward to trying it once it finishes.
09/26/2011
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Contributor: Jul!a Jul!a
I made myself some banana wine about a year or so ago. It ended up fermenting a little bit too long, so it's super strong, but still pretty good I think.
09/26/2011
Contributor: Redboxbaby Redboxbaby
My husband brews. He has created a few award winners. Personally, we have never made wine; however, I adore the smell of beer brewing. The malty, yummy goodness is divine! My husband always does this outside (can't imagine having that mess in my kitchen) on a big propane burner with a 10 gallon stockpot, then transfers to glass carboys for the fermentation process (which lasts months), then into kegs for the beer fridge! Yum! Makes me want him to brew again.
09/26/2011
Contributor: Ser Pounce-a-lot Ser Pounce-a-lot
I eventually want to move up to 5 gallon batches, but figured a 3 gallon batch would be easier to start out with. Wine fermenting has an interesting odor, not malty like beer would be. I would say it smells mainly of yeast, with a bit of a grape in there too. Glass carboys are the way to go, I'm using a plastic bucket as my primary, but will be doing secondary in glass.
09/26/2011
Contributor: Redboxbaby Redboxbaby
Quote:
Originally posted by Ser Pounce-a-lot
I eventually want to move up to 5 gallon batches, but figured a 3 gallon batch would be easier to start out with. Wine fermenting has an interesting odor, not malty like beer would be. I would say it smells mainly of yeast, with a bit of a grape in ... more
I sent you a PM.
09/26/2011
Contributor: married with children married with children
no, but I would like to get into making my own beer. Just because i like drinking beer so much, and good beer at the store is too expensive to drink alot of every week. Plus it would be fun.
09/29/2011
Contributor: Ser Pounce-a-lot Ser Pounce-a-lot
I'm having some issues and it looks like I'm going to discard the wine and start over. I think the problem was that I didn't have a big enough primary fermenter to start with, I really should have gotten one of the 6.5 gallon ones. I had my fermenter blow out (foam backed up into the airlock) twice.

Going to buy some better equipment and start over with a 5 gallon batch and see how that goes. Will do that sometime soon.

Oh well, it's a learning experience
09/29/2011
Contributor: wetone123 wetone123
Quote:
Originally posted by Jul!a
I made myself some banana wine about a year or so ago. It ended up fermenting a little bit too long, so it's super strong, but still pretty good I think.
Yummy! Banana wine sounds good! Unusual as well! I think I'd love it!
09/29/2011
Contributor: Ser Pounce-a-lot Ser Pounce-a-lot
I like the idea of fruit wines, but I don't think I'd go for banana. I don't really eat them much, being allergic to them. I can have them if they've been cooked, such as in banana bread. I'm thinking about making a cherry wine or a blackberry wine sometime.
09/29/2011
Contributor: Wildchild Wildchild
Quote:
Originally posted by Ser Pounce-a-lot
Anyone here into home brewing? I just recently got into it, and I'm currently making a 3 gallon batch of white wine. I also want to try making some mead and beer in the near future, though to make beer I would need to purchase a large pot to put ... more
I make strawberry wine, I have a freind in NY that makes his own beer. It tastes a lot better than the shit he puts on tap.
09/29/2011
Contributor: Breas Breas
My father does this. I don't drink so I don't brew either. It'd probably be a fun experience though just to try it out!
09/29/2011
Contributor: Ser Pounce-a-lot Ser Pounce-a-lot
Anything you make is bound to taste better than something store bought, simply because you control exactly what goes into it
09/29/2011
Contributor: Errant Venture Errant Venture
But it does depend on your own skill level. Mine is okay. I've made mead, and sloe wine (and a few other wines), and they seemed okay. I didn't taste them, though, as I don't drink much.
09/29/2011
Contributor: Ser Pounce-a-lot Ser Pounce-a-lot
Mmm mead. I'm going to be making some of that soon too. Even easier than wine.
09/29/2011
Contributor: Jul!a Jul!a
Quote:
Originally posted by Ser Pounce-a-lot
I like the idea of fruit wines, but I don't think I'd go for banana. I don't really eat them much, being allergic to them. I can have them if they've been cooked, such as in banana bread. I'm thinking about making a cherry wine or ... more
I've had a blackberry wine that was absolutely delicious, so I don't think you can go wrong with that.
09/29/2011
Contributor: Beck Beck
Yum blackberry wine! I am not into brewing myself.
09/29/2011
Contributor: Ser Pounce-a-lot Ser Pounce-a-lot
If I did a 5 gallon batch of blackberry wine, I would use a juice / fruit concentrate for ease. Something like this link

I think 2 cans would be good for a nice full bodied 5 gallon batch, I suspect 1 can would result in something too weak (in flavor / body, not alcohol).
09/30/2011
Contributor: MrWishyWashy MrWishyWashy
I should as much as I have been drinking lately! Seems like it would be a lot cheaper.
09/30/2011
Contributor: Dear Ruby Dear Ruby
I tried making dandelion wine once... it came out ok, but nothing exciting. I'd like to know about mead though - do you have a good recipe to share?
09/30/2011
Contributor: Ser Pounce-a-lot Ser Pounce-a-lot
Quote:
Originally posted by Dear Ruby
I tried making dandelion wine once... it came out ok, but nothing exciting. I'd like to know about mead though - do you have a good recipe to share?
Well, I'm pretty new to the hobby so I don't have much of my own to share yet. I haven't even produced a batch that turned out, but you learn from mistakes and learn how to do better. When making a standard white wine, I used a canned juice concentrate designed for wine making, they actually list a recipe on the can. From memory, the recipe for a 5 gallon batch calls for:

2 46 fluid ounce cans of concentrate
11.5 cans of cold water
5 cups of white sugar
10 +-2 teaspoons of acid blend (to adjust acidity of the wine)
3 tablespoons of yeast nutrient
some amount of bentonite (a type of clay, aids the wine to clarify)
yeast

This is the exact recipe I'm going to follow when I make my next attempt soon. Typically, winemaking, like making beer or mead, is done in 2 steps. Primary fermentation is the active step, where yeast converts sugar into alcohol. This takes 20-30 days or so. After that is secondary fermentation, where most of the fermentation has stopped, and the wine is allowed to sit and clarify, prior to bottling. How long you do this depends on what kind of wine you are making.

What kind of container you do each step in is important too. For primary fermentation, you want a container that has a decent amount of volume beyond what you're making. For example, I'm going to use a 6.5 gallon bucket for a 5 gallon batch. This is because the wine is going to foam up, because of the yeast. The yeast produce co2 as they do their thing, and this co2 settles at the top and protects the wine. When doing secondary fermentation, you don't want much extra space, because that will greatly increase the chance the batch will spoil. I would use a 5 gallon glass carboy for a 5 gallon batch. All brewing vessels should be lidded or have a stopper in them, and use a brewing airlock that lets gasses out, but doesn't let anything in.
10/01/2011
Contributor: Avant-garde Avant-garde
I dont brew my own, to lazy. But, I give my hat off to those who try.
10/01/2011