Topic: Homebrew, Wine and Brandy making thread

[the technological J]

any body here know about homemade brandy? my buddy makes some stuff that is just like wine but with way more fruit

[wardenerd]

A guy here in fayetteville has 3500 bottles of scuppernong wine and a 350 gallon tank ready to bottle.  Buy the bottles and tank nad the wine inside is free.

[grumpy]

At one of the bike shops where I used to work we did boarding school cider:
 
Get a gallon glass jug of unfiltered, unpasteurized, pure apple cider, drain off about 2in from the bottle, throw in a few raisins and a handful of active brewers' yeast. Put a balloon over the mouth of the bottle, put it in the basement & wait (release the fermentation gasses from the balloon every so often).

In a few weeks you have knock-you-on-yer-butt cider.

[the technological J]

so i made some wine from a kit and ive gotten something like arbor mist... i think im gonna try for something similiar to a white belgian... any suggestions for some beer kits?





 zombie thread

[Gordon]

so i made some wine from a kit and ive gotten something like arbor mist... i think im gonna try for something similiar to a white belgian... any suggestions for some beer kits?





 zombie thread

I wouldn't go with a kit.  There are some kits that will make a pretty good ale, but generally they're heavier, darker varieties that can more easily hide the shortcomings of some of the ingredients, namely the yeast.  A good Belgian white is delicate and, IMO, needs fresh yeast.  Plus, Belgian whites generally use coriander and dried Curacao orange peel, and you're better off getting those yourself either from a good homebrew supply store or a specialty grocery store where you know the quality is good and product turnover is high. 

I'm not usually that picky when putting together the ingredients for a brew session, but I have tried skimping when making Belgian whites before and ended up pouring an entire 5 gallon batch down the bathtub drain.  It's not a forgiving style, but very much worth the effort if you do it right. 

The good thing about brewing any ale with wheat malt is that the quality of the end product you can get with liquid extract is as good as, if not better, than you could get if you made an all-grain batch. 

If you have a decent homebrew supply store you go to, they should have a recipe they can put together for you at the store that includes the wheat malt extract, specialty grains, hops, spices and liquid yeast. 

[the technological J]

now that i think about it... i remember someone telling me there are somemore difficult recipes and some easier ones myabe i should try a wheat brew

[singedebile]

mostly beer

a great book (ignore the name a bit) is "sacred and herbal healing beers" ..looks at all the other spices that were used in brewing before the silly germans passed purity law outlawing the use of anything else

[Duanob]

I brewed pretty steady for about 4 years. then I realized what am I doing with a basemnt full of mediocre to crappy beer when I can run down to my local micro brewery (There are 3 of them in my neighborhood) or beer store and buy some of the worlds best. I have a complete beginner's set for sale if anybody is interested in the Seattle area.

[DavePhipps]

At one of the bike shops where I used to work we did boarding school cider:
 
Get a gallon glass jug of unfiltered, unpasteurized, pure apple cider, drain off about 2in from the bottle, throw in a few raisins and a handful of active brewers' yeast. Put a balloon over the mouth of the bottle, put it in the basement & wait (release the fermentation gasses from the balloon every so often).

In a few weeks you have knock-you-on-yer-butt cider.

I forgo the raisins and use 2cups of brown sugar along with champagne yeast. The yeast has a higher tolerance to alcohol so can give a higher proof end product.

[BobbyR]

I used to make Wine back in the 1980's. People liked the Reds and Whites, but they drank down the hard cider is huge amounts. I had a Cider Mill not far away and he gave me a break if brought my own containers. I had 3, 5 Gallon Glass Spring water bottles cooking at one time. Not bad stuff but you have to drink it fairly green, apple does not age like grape wines.

The freezing method actually works very well to get the good stuff out of the water. You can then add that alcohol into a batch of wine to fortify it.

You do get a higher alcohol content with wine yeasts which have been specially cultured.

One of the guys retired from Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms and he started making Wine. His father in law put together a dandy but compact still, so we made a batch of hard cider and stilled it. Pretty good stuff.  

[Brown Bomber]

Santa Brought me some this year 

[the technological J]

I used to make Wine back in the 1980's. People liked the Reds and Whites, but they drank down the hard cider is huge amounts. I had a Cider Mill not far away and he gave me a break if brought my own containers. I had 3, 5 Gallon Glass Spring water bottles cooking at one time. Not bad stuff but you have to drink it fairly green, apple does not age like grape wines.

The freezing method actually works very well to get the good stuff out of the water. You can then add that alcohol into a batch of wine to fortify it.

You do get a higher alcohol content with wine yeasts which have been specially cultured.

One of the guys retired from Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms and he started making Wine. His father in law put together a dandy but compact still, so we made a batch of hard cider and stilled it. Pretty good stuff. 

could you explain more about the cooking..... what is the purpose? to speed up the fermentation process? or for distilling it? what did u mean add alcohol to fortify it.. i know what fortify means but i thought it came from partial distilling

[BobbyR]

I used to make Wine back in the 1980's. People liked the Reds and Whites, but they drank down the hard cider is huge amounts. I had a Cider Mill not far away and he gave me a break if brought my own containers. I had 3, 5 Gallon Glass Spring water bottles cooking at one time. Not bad stuff but you have to drink it fairly green, apple does not age like grape wines.

The freezing method actually works very well to get the good stuff out of the water. You can then add that alcohol into a batch of wine to fortify it.

You do get a higher alcohol content with wine yeasts which have been specially cultured.

One of the guys retired from Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms and he started making Wine. His father in law put together a dandy but compact still, so we made a batch of hard cider and stilled it. Pretty good stuff. 

could you explain more about the cooking..... what is the purpose? to speed up the fermentation process? or for distilling it? what did u mean add alcohol to fortify it.. i know what fortify means but i thought it came from partial distilling

Cooking they way I sued it was fermentation, the temp goes up a bit and does the gas output which is how you monitor how the fermentation is going.

You can fortify wine by adding straight alcohol to it. You can partially distill it. If you have a crappy batch of wine you have two choices, turn it to vinegar or distill it.

[the technological J]

just thought id say i found pretty cool forum with alot if alcohol making resources.... focused around wine though
http://www.winepress.us/forums/



not a zombie thread  just hiding in the hills waiting till the man wasnt looking

[BobbyR]

I used to make Wine back in the 1980's. People liked the Reds and Whites, but they drank down the hard cider is huge amounts. I had a Cider Mill not far away and he gave me a break if brought my own containers. I had 3, 5 Gallon Glass Spring water bottles cooking at one time. Not bad stuff but you have to drink it fairly green, apple does not age like grape wines.

The freezing method actually works very well to get the good stuff out of the water. You can then add that alcohol into a batch of wine to fortify it.

You do get a higher alcohol content with wine yeasts which have been specially cultured.

One of the guys retired from Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms and he started making Wine. His father in law put together a dandy but compact still, so we made a batch of hard cider and stilled it. Pretty good stuff. 

could you explain more about the cooking..... what is the purpose? to speed up the fermentation process? or for distilling it? what did u mean add alcohol to fortify it.. i know what fortify means but i thought it came from partial distilling

I realize I never answered your question. Fermentation works well at 70F and i am not sure the upper limit. When you cook you are distilling the alcohol out of the water. Alcohol boils off at a lower temp than water.
When you heat the "wine" you capture the alcohol vapor in a copper coil which you cool. The Alcohol condenses in the coil and turns back into a liquid. With a good still you can get 180 proof which is 90% alcohol. You can feel the burn or mix it back into something. 

[johnny]

I'm an avid homebrewer - both extract and all grain. I've made close to 50 five gallon batches in the past 3 - 4 years. Strangely, I don't drink much myself any longer so my friends and family enjoy the fruits of my labor.