i want to drink some of your homemade alcohol 
please 
please 
Home Brew Questions
- Thread starter Voley
- Start date
Voley
🐀
i want to drink some of your homemade alcohol
Bit of a sod to stick in the post, I reckon. Sorry.
I can't see much through it though
Yeah, it's still a wee bit cloudy but patience can fuck off as far as I'm concerned!
Tastes just fine and at 7% has a good old kick to it, too. The Wherry's too cloudy to even be considered right now. It's gonna stay bottled for as long as is necessary.Indeed. Empty bottles, nay empty fermenters are plain wrong imo. I've gone for another Woodforde's Kit. Admirals Revenge. Looks good. Should get that on the go tomorrow. And there's a Fixby Gold in the post, too. Addictive, this, isn't it?
badseed
Mighty but thin.
I just kegged and gassed my Lime, Coriander & Honey Lager. Beautiful.
I just cooked up a (hopefully) nice pilsner
3kg Light Liquid Malt
500g Light Dry Malt Extract
75g Saaz bolied with all malt for 1 hour
15 g Saaz chucked into the wort at flame out and left for 15 mins.
Pitched Saflager at 12 degrees
After a a week I will rack and chuck in 10 g of Saaz dry.
Another week at 12 degrees and then dropped to 1 for a week.
Then kegged and refrigerated until I drink it.
Then on to my next one, why leave a fermenter empty?
I just cooked up a (hopefully) nice pilsner
3kg Light Liquid Malt
500g Light Dry Malt Extract
75g Saaz bolied with all malt for 1 hour
15 g Saaz chucked into the wort at flame out and left for 15 mins.
Pitched Saflager at 12 degrees
After a a week I will rack and chuck in 10 g of Saaz dry.
Another week at 12 degrees and then dropped to 1 for a week.
Then kegged and refrigerated until I drink it.
Then on to my next one, why leave a fermenter empty?
Voley
🐀
Sounds good, badseed. Empty fermenters are an abomination that should be stamped out. I'd quite like to do a lager with Summer upon us but I'd need an old fridge, I think.
I've just had my first weekend where I didn't buy any beer in years; just drank my own.
The Headcracker goes down a treat but lives up to its name the next morning.
I've just had my first weekend where I didn't buy any beer in years; just drank my own.
The Headcracker goes down a treat but lives up to its name the next morning.
badseed
Mighty but thin.
NVP said:
Funny that, I never get a hangover from my beer. I am allergic to the preservatives used in Beer and Wine and if I drink generic lagers I get flu symtoms the next day. White wine is worse than Red. I can drink a lot of red with not much problem. Sulfites innit.
Anyway, what was I saying? Oh yeah, Beer good.
lighterthief
Well-Known Member
My last two batches before Christmas was Munton's Mild: http://www.muntons.com/homebeer/countries/uk/prem_mild_ale.htm - a cheap kit but turned out really well, some dark spraymalt really helps it along too.
Well, I don't know what went wrong, but I've just had my first FAIL batch of beer! I was going to do a batch of Wherry for the French thing, and I couldn't seem to get it to drop bright. In desperation, I used my solitary packet of beer finings, and that didn't do it, either. It's full of yeast in suspension, and just doesn't seem to want to settle. It tastes fine, albeit a little yeasty, but I've never had such a recalcitrant brew.
I think I'd better get on, quickly, and do another batch, or I'll start fearing my mojo's left me!
(Admittedly, there have been a few delays throughout the brewing process caused by minor trivialities like strokes and stuff, but even so...PAH!)
I think I'd better get on, quickly, and do another batch, or I'll start fearing my mojo's left me!
(Admittedly, there have been a few delays throughout the brewing process caused by minor trivialities like strokes and stuff, but even so...PAH!)
Yes, it's in a pressure barrel. I am thinking that this is exactly what I'll do! MEanwhile, I'd better get another batch on...
Voley
🐀
I've started getting requests now. My sister has asked that I try and make an alcoholic ginger beer for her birthday (mid July). What does everyone think would be the best kit for this? I was thinking of maybe an IPA and add a good bit of ginger to that during the first ferment. Or maybe something lighter, a golden ale, perhaps? She prefers the lighter, less bitter ales.
Stig - a couple of days have made all the difference with the Headcracker - nice and clear now and absolutely delicious. So much so that half of it's gone already. Very pleasant to quietly sup on a Spring evening out in the garden.
Stig - a couple of days have made all the difference with the Headcracker - nice and clear now and absolutely delicious. So much so that half of it's gone already. Very pleasant to quietly sup on a Spring evening out in the garden.
No wonder it's giving you a headache!
On the ginger beer front - I'd never known GB as being ale-based.
Here's a recipe from t'internet. You'll need to scale it appropriately.
http://www.hungrybrowser.com/phaedrus/m063001.htm
Skinners do one down here - Ginger Tosser - that they put honey in, too. It's very nice, quite refreshing.
Didn't you say you put ginger in your Mince Pie Ale? I'd like to do something along those lines. Not with Headcracker though - it needs to be a light Summery drink.
Yes, ginger and a whole load of spices. I see where you're coming from, yes.
TBH, I think if you're getting to that stage, you're probably ready to start thinking about doing some extract brews of your own. You'll need something to boil it in (I'm converting one of those tea urns) and a wort chiller (budget £70 or so).
Alternatively, use a lager kit, which will give you a paler, lighter brew, but substitute ale yeast and go for adding all your gingerness and goodies. You'll need a LOT more ginger than I used - mine (about 50g for 15 litres) gave an "edge-of-perception" hint to it, rather than any serious gingeriness.
Voley
🐀
Yeah I was wondering whether this might be better to try with lager. I n which case I'll need to find somewhere cooler to let it ferment - my flat's the perfect temperature for ale but I could really do with a free fridge if I want to do lager.
Getting the amount of ginger right will be very important, I'd imagine as it's quite a strong taste. I put a 40g mix of cloves, cinnamon, nutmeg etc into the cider and you can really taste it - it's blended quite well.
Extract brews would be the logical progression, you're right - I'm a little wary of running before I can walk, though. Also, I've spent more than enough on kit already and the 'brewery' corner of my flat is rapidly expanding to take over the kitchen. And my life.
Getting the amount of ginger right will be very important, I'd imagine as it's quite a strong taste. I put a 40g mix of cloves, cinnamon, nutmeg etc into the cider and you can really taste it - it's blended quite well.
Extract brews would be the logical progression, you're right - I'm a little wary of running before I can walk, though. Also, I've spent more than enough on kit already and the 'brewery' corner of my flat is rapidly expanding to take over the kitchen. And my life.
Actually, I was thinking more of using a lager wort but brewing it as an ale at normal ale temperatures. What used to be called "california common" or "steam" beer.Yeah I was wondering whether this might be better to try with lager. I n which case I'll need to find somewhere cooler to let it ferment - my flat's the perfect temperature for ale but I could really do with a free fridge if I want to do lager.
Another option might be to use a ginger concentrate? There's an outfit called Corrykinloch in Oldham who are claimed to sell it, but I don't see it on their website.
Yes, there's no way I could consider moving onto the next phase of having dedicated brewing kit if I didn't have a substantial shed at the end of the garden into which I could install it! I need to do some structural stuff to the shed first, though, as some bastard rodent has already had a good nibble at a couple of packs of spraymalt I had up there. Bah.
Stig
Condimentalist
I'm quite lucky in one respect. All the people on Jim's beer kit forums seem to have a family member called She Who Must Be Obeyed. Well, in out house, that's me.
My brewing kit has taken over the spare room, the kitchen, the bedroom cupboards and a bit of the garden. This makes me happy.
Stig
Condimentalist
Could you just add ginger beer to the beer?
Could you just add ginger beer to the beer?[/QUOTE]
"Yo, dude, I herd you likes ginger beerz so I put ginger beer in your ginger beer..."
OK, sorry...
*gets coat*
I'm quite lucky in one respect. All the people on Jim's beer kit forums seem to have a family member called She Who Must Be Obeyed. Well, in out house, that's me.
*ahem*
Can I has house back, plz?
Voley
🐀
Now there's an idea I hadn't considered. Thanks. I think that might be the way forward. Any particular pitfalls to watch out for brewing it at a higher temperature? Doesn't the yeast start doing weird things and adding unwanted flavours?
Stig
Condimentalist
2 KILOS of ginger?
So you used as much ginger as base malt?
I'd have guessed at 4kg malt and 500g ginger for 40 pints.
Voley
🐀
How To Make Cider From Apple Juice
For DotCommunist:
I think 20 litres of Lidl apple juice comes to twelve quid. apart from that you need some yeast, a bin to ferment it in and some plastic bottles.
Here's a big cut n paste from agnesdavies who gave me the heads up. It makes a very dry cider that's not to everyone's taste, it's gotta be said, but I've made mine a bit sweeter and more palatable to ordinary human beings by diluting it by a third with apple juice after killing off the yeast. His instructions are for one gallon but I made five, figuring I might as well do it properly if I was going to bother at all, like.
It's a piece of piss to make and is really fucking good value.
You will need...
Equipment
* 4.5l demijohn
* bung and airlock to suit above
* tube for syphoning with
* bottles (see below)
Ingredients
* 4.5l apple juice
* yeast
* sugar (optional)
Clean (remove crap, detritus from last brew, dead insects) the demijohn, bung and airlock, then sterilise them.
A Brief Rundown on Sterilisation Procedure.
Cleaning and sterilisation are different. Cleaning is getting rid of the crap you can see; sterilisation is getting rid of the bugs you can't. Crap is a good place for moulds to live, and these can mess up your brew. Same with the sterilisation: there's always a risk of wild yeasts or other bacteria getting in and spoiling everything. If nothing else, it might just stop your brew from keeping so long.
If you use a combined cleaner-steriliser like VWP, you're doing both at the same time, but VWP is chlorine-based, so you will have to rinse everything out afterwards to avoid the taint it might give. There are other ways, but that's probably the simplest. Generally, it's an idea to avoid washing up liquid, as this leaves a residue on whatever it touches that will play havoc with head, etc.,so you really MUST rinse carefully afterwards. Washing up liquid, if you must use it, will only clean, not sterilise. So, if you do that, and you don't want to get into buying brewing chemicals just yet, use well-diluted bleach to sterilise afterwards, then rinse with fresh water to remove the chloriney taint.
You can, also, shove everything in the dishwasher to sterilise it, as dishwashers get up to 90-odd C. In my experience, though, they make lousy bottle washers, so stick to hand washing for that. And don't use rinse aid - it has the same effect on head as washing up liquid does...only worse.
All this applies to the bottles, when you get to that bit, too...
Brewing
OK, now to brewing the cider.
Having cleaned your demijohn, bung and airlock, put the bung and airlock down on something clean (a bit of kitchen towel does nicely here.
Take about 2/3 of your apple juice - if you're buying in 1.5l cartons, use 2 of them, otherwise just take 3 one-litre cartons, and decant them into the demijohn. The reason we do it this way is that initial fermentation can get quite lively, and with a full demijohn, froth ends up filling up the airlock.
Now add a good teaspoonful of yeast. Ideally, you're going to use a brewer's yeast, probably by preference an ale one, as they tend to drop to the bottom when finished and aren't so easily stirred up, but I often use cheap wine yeast from Wilkinson's, with perfectly good effects. At a pinch, baker's yeast will work, but it may not function too well at the higher strengths, and can sometimes leave a bit too much of a "yeasty" taste.
Now put the bung and airlock on, and swirl the demijohn around a bit just to make sure the yeast is well distributed.
The airlock needs some liquid in to work properly (its job is to let the carbon dioxide out without allowing anything back in - DO NOT ON ANY ACCOUNT SEAL THE DEMIJOHN - they WILL explode). I use a little tap water with a bit of Campden tablet (steriliser), but some people use vodka - it just wants to be something that's sterile and won't let mould grow, but won't harm the brew too much if some ends up in it.
Now, leave it to ferment. What you should notice is that the juice will go all cloudy as the yeast gets going - the cloudiness is a combination of yeast in suspension and millions of tiny CO2 bubbles. You can tell it's working because a) you'll be able to see the bubbles rising to the surface, and b) the airlock will go "blup" twice every second or so. As the fermentation progresses, it'll slow down a bit.
Now, strength. Made just with apple juice, like this, you should end up with a brew of around 3.5-4.5%. That's fine for most people, but if you want it a bit stronger, you need to add some sugar, and doing this at the end of the initial fermentation is probably a good time. I would add between 100-200g of ordinary granulated sugar. Depending on how lively your brew is, you may want to do this in two batches. I suggest using a funnel or making a cone out of paper to get the sugar into the demijohn, ideally without leaving it all encrusted around the neck. If you're adding 200g (which will give you cider of around 7.5-8.5%), you may want to do it in two batches, allowing the fermentation to settle down a bit in between times.
If you're not adding sugar, or after you've added it and the fermentation has settled a bit, you will need to add the last of the apple juice. Do this carefully, as the cider will fizz up quite a lot just as a result of the CO2 in solution. Recork, and allow the fermentation to complete.
You'll know when fermentation is done (which should take 1-3 weeks, depending on temperature, how much sugar you've added, yeast strain, etc) when the rate of bubbling in the airlock slows down to nothing, and the cider slowly begins to clear as the yeast stops fermenting, the bubbles of CO2 disappear, and the yeast drops to the bottom.
Once that has happened, it's time to bottle. I'm going to assume that you want to have carbonated cider...
Bottling
You can bottle your cider into anything that will take the pressure. 2l PET bottles that Coke, etc., come in are good, although I think the one litre soft drink bottles are a more useful size. You can, of course, always go down the luxury road and re-use beer bottles. Do remember, though, that you'll need crown caps and a tool for putting them on.
Clean and sterilise all your bottles (don't forget the caps), and your siphon.
Now, the reason your cider has stopped fermenting is because the yeast has turned all the sugar into alcohol. We want it to have a bit more sugar so that it can make some carbon dioxide to make your cider bubbly, and the best way to add that in these quantities is just to pop a little into each bottle. A couple of medium teaspoons per litre is plenty, so make a little paper cone and put an appropriate quantity into each bottle.
Then, using your syphon (and taking care not to stir up the settled yeast in the bottom too much, though we want a little yeast to get into the bottles, so as to carbonate them), decant the cider into your bottles. Cap them, and give them a good shake to get the sugar dissolved.
Useful hint: even if you DO bottle to glass beer bottles, it's dead handy to use one plastic one, even if it's just one of those little half-litre Coke bottles. That way, you can tell by the hardness of the bottle just how well carbonation is going.
Put your bottles somewhere warm but out of the way of direct sunlight, and leave them for a week or two, which will be plenty of time for them to have got carbonated.
That's it! Your "turbo cider" is ready.
For DotCommunist:
I think 20 litres of Lidl apple juice comes to twelve quid.
apart from that you need some yeast, a bin to ferment it in and some plastic bottles.Here's a big cut n paste from agnesdavies who gave me the heads up. It makes a very dry cider that's not to everyone's taste, it's gotta be said, but I've made mine a bit sweeter and more palatable to ordinary human beings by diluting it by a third with apple juice after killing off the yeast. His instructions are for one gallon but I made five, figuring I might as well do it properly if I was going to bother at all, like.
It's a piece of piss to make and is really fucking good value.
You will need...
Equipment
* 4.5l demijohn
* bung and airlock to suit above
* tube for syphoning with
* bottles (see below)
Ingredients
* 4.5l apple juice
* yeast
* sugar (optional)
Clean (remove crap, detritus from last brew, dead insects) the demijohn, bung and airlock, then sterilise them.
A Brief Rundown on Sterilisation Procedure.
Cleaning and sterilisation are different. Cleaning is getting rid of the crap you can see; sterilisation is getting rid of the bugs you can't. Crap is a good place for moulds to live, and these can mess up your brew. Same with the sterilisation: there's always a risk of wild yeasts or other bacteria getting in and spoiling everything. If nothing else, it might just stop your brew from keeping so long.
If you use a combined cleaner-steriliser like VWP, you're doing both at the same time, but VWP is chlorine-based, so you will have to rinse everything out afterwards to avoid the taint it might give. There are other ways, but that's probably the simplest. Generally, it's an idea to avoid washing up liquid, as this leaves a residue on whatever it touches that will play havoc with head, etc.,so you really MUST rinse carefully afterwards. Washing up liquid, if you must use it, will only clean, not sterilise. So, if you do that, and you don't want to get into buying brewing chemicals just yet, use well-diluted bleach to sterilise afterwards, then rinse with fresh water to remove the chloriney taint.
You can, also, shove everything in the dishwasher to sterilise it, as dishwashers get up to 90-odd C. In my experience, though, they make lousy bottle washers, so stick to hand washing for that. And don't use rinse aid - it has the same effect on head as washing up liquid does...only worse.
All this applies to the bottles, when you get to that bit, too...
Brewing
OK, now to brewing the cider.
Having cleaned your demijohn, bung and airlock, put the bung and airlock down on something clean (a bit of kitchen towel does nicely here.
Take about 2/3 of your apple juice - if you're buying in 1.5l cartons, use 2 of them, otherwise just take 3 one-litre cartons, and decant them into the demijohn. The reason we do it this way is that initial fermentation can get quite lively, and with a full demijohn, froth ends up filling up the airlock.
Now add a good teaspoonful of yeast. Ideally, you're going to use a brewer's yeast, probably by preference an ale one, as they tend to drop to the bottom when finished and aren't so easily stirred up, but I often use cheap wine yeast from Wilkinson's, with perfectly good effects. At a pinch, baker's yeast will work, but it may not function too well at the higher strengths, and can sometimes leave a bit too much of a "yeasty" taste.
Now put the bung and airlock on, and swirl the demijohn around a bit just to make sure the yeast is well distributed.
The airlock needs some liquid in to work properly (its job is to let the carbon dioxide out without allowing anything back in - DO NOT ON ANY ACCOUNT SEAL THE DEMIJOHN - they WILL explode). I use a little tap water with a bit of Campden tablet (steriliser), but some people use vodka - it just wants to be something that's sterile and won't let mould grow, but won't harm the brew too much if some ends up in it.
Now, leave it to ferment. What you should notice is that the juice will go all cloudy as the yeast gets going - the cloudiness is a combination of yeast in suspension and millions of tiny CO2 bubbles. You can tell it's working because a) you'll be able to see the bubbles rising to the surface, and b) the airlock will go "blup" twice every second or so. As the fermentation progresses, it'll slow down a bit.
Now, strength. Made just with apple juice, like this, you should end up with a brew of around 3.5-4.5%. That's fine for most people, but if you want it a bit stronger, you need to add some sugar, and doing this at the end of the initial fermentation is probably a good time. I would add between 100-200g of ordinary granulated sugar. Depending on how lively your brew is, you may want to do this in two batches. I suggest using a funnel or making a cone out of paper to get the sugar into the demijohn, ideally without leaving it all encrusted around the neck. If you're adding 200g (which will give you cider of around 7.5-8.5%), you may want to do it in two batches, allowing the fermentation to settle down a bit in between times.
If you're not adding sugar, or after you've added it and the fermentation has settled a bit, you will need to add the last of the apple juice. Do this carefully, as the cider will fizz up quite a lot just as a result of the CO2 in solution. Recork, and allow the fermentation to complete.
You'll know when fermentation is done (which should take 1-3 weeks, depending on temperature, how much sugar you've added, yeast strain, etc) when the rate of bubbling in the airlock slows down to nothing, and the cider slowly begins to clear as the yeast stops fermenting, the bubbles of CO2 disappear, and the yeast drops to the bottom.
Once that has happened, it's time to bottle. I'm going to assume that you want to have carbonated cider...
Bottling
You can bottle your cider into anything that will take the pressure. 2l PET bottles that Coke, etc., come in are good, although I think the one litre soft drink bottles are a more useful size. You can, of course, always go down the luxury road and re-use beer bottles. Do remember, though, that you'll need crown caps and a tool for putting them on.
Clean and sterilise all your bottles (don't forget the caps), and your siphon.
Now, the reason your cider has stopped fermenting is because the yeast has turned all the sugar into alcohol. We want it to have a bit more sugar so that it can make some carbon dioxide to make your cider bubbly, and the best way to add that in these quantities is just to pop a little into each bottle. A couple of medium teaspoons per litre is plenty, so make a little paper cone and put an appropriate quantity into each bottle.
Then, using your syphon (and taking care not to stir up the settled yeast in the bottom too much, though we want a little yeast to get into the bottles, so as to carbonate them), decant the cider into your bottles. Cap them, and give them a good shake to get the sugar dissolved.
Useful hint: even if you DO bottle to glass beer bottles, it's dead handy to use one plastic one, even if it's just one of those little half-litre Coke bottles. That way, you can tell by the hardness of the bottle just how well carbonation is going.
Put your bottles somewhere warm but out of the way of direct sunlight, and leave them for a week or two, which will be plenty of time for them to have got carbonated.
That's it! Your "turbo cider" is ready.
Stig
Condimentalist
I brewed the SS Minnow English Dark Mild Ale– All Grain Recipe yesterday for International Homebrew Day (formerly American national homebrew day but it's got a bit out of hand.)
It needed a wierdy yeast that came in a smack-packet with liquid inside, but I'm not sure it's working. It's sitting there looking like 5 gallons of gravy at the moment.
It needed a wierdy yeast that came in a smack-packet with liquid inside, but I'm not sure it's working. It's sitting there looking like 5 gallons of gravy at the moment.
Stig
Condimentalist
Oh yes, it was puffed up like a very puffed up thing.
Then I pitched it into a litre of wort and left it in the aring cupboard as instructed.
Put the whole lot in the beer a day later, and it sank like a stone and did absolutely nothing.
I've re-pitched with S04 now, so it's going for it, but this will of course drastically affect the flavour of the brew, and I am officiaslly now brewing something completely different.
Still, at least I managed to source all the right grains, so I'm doing better than some others who are doing the same. We all have slight variations, it will be more interesting to see how they all turn out, that way.
