Wilkinson's Selling Wine and Beermaking Equipment

superscotsman

I was sad that companies like Boots or Wilkinson's aren't stocking equipment for making your own wine and beer. After all, if you buy a bottle of wine or a six-pack of beer, much of the price that you pay is tax.
The good news is that Wilkinson's are stocking this equipment again, and that includes concentrates for making wine and beer, although those of us who have been making wine for years know about the dodges of making wine out of grape juice or jam.
So, if you've got a Wilkinson near you, you can get as wasted as you like and still show the Chancellor of the Exchequer a clean pair of fingers.

snowwhite1_2

Great news. I want to have a go at making my own - never done it before. Any advice on whats best to try for first attempt.

stumpjumper

Our Wilkinsons thankfully never stopped selling homebrew stuff, in fact I was in there today buying steriliser. I've found some Morrisons stores stock a limited range too.

superscotsman

snowwhite1 wrote:

Great news. I want to have a go at making my own - never done it before. Any advice on whats best to try for first attempt.

Start off by using the kits. They make a perfectly drinkable wine or beer, although they are not chateau mouton rothschild or tiger lager. After that, you can try to experiment with various things. I have said on a posting elsewhere that mead, which is just honey, water and yeast, practically makes itself, and is a wonderful drink. After a while you will probably use the grape juice that is supposed to be for drinking to make wine. In my opinion it makes better wine than the grape juice concentrate on sale at the home brew shops.

For sterilising, you are recommended to use a mixture of sodium metabisulphite and citric acid. The fumes from that are an irritant for some people - including myself - and I am doubled up on the floor coughing up what remains of my lungs. However, the tablets used for sterilising babies bottles (Maw's Simpla tablets, for example) are much safer, and a lot of people use boiling water to sterilise, which is just as good, so long as you don't scald yourself in the process.

The basic equipment for wine making is a demijohn, a fermentation lock and a tube for syphoning. You will also need bottles, and corks. You can get various simple devices for corking winebottles, putting the caps on beer bottles etc.

With some fruits, especially citrus fruits, you may need a pectin removing enzyme (pectolase). Otherwise you can make wine out of just about any fruit or vegetable you can think of.

You can also fortify wine with spirits to make sherry or port. The usual stuff used is that Polish (note the capital P) spirit - the very powerful vodka.

At this time of year you will need a warm place for the fermentation. (The airing cupboard again). With the yoghurt and the wine and the beer, there is usually no room left for the laundry!

The breweries would like you to think that wine and beer making is a difficult process. It isn't.

calleyw

Unless things have changed not all Wilkinsons will stock wine and beermaking equipment.

I have two each 7 miles from where I live. One stocks it and the other does not. And the one that does not I doubt will until after christmas if at all. As there is no room in the store.

And the one I use to live near did then stopped and that was years ago.

So do ring up and check if making a special journey.

My husband bought beer making items a few months ago and is now drinking his way through the second kit he bought from Wilkinsons.

He seems to like it and it means the cost is low. The more you make the more the cost of the equpiment is off set against the cost of the kit.

1st kit was £8.99 and that was to make a stout and the second one was £6.99 as they had no stout in and that a bitter. But of course you will need barrels and buckets etc so you are looking at about £30 ish out lay for equipment.

Enjoy what ever you make.


Yours


Calley

bindiboo

our branch has never stopped selling homebrew.

If your local branch doesn't stock it, order it at the helpdesk, cos they can get it in for as a customer order.

calleyw

bindiboo wrote:

our branch has never stopped selling homebrew.

If your local branch doesn't stock it, order it at the helpdesk, cos they can get it in for as a customer order.

You must have better helpdesk then ours. As the one that stocked was out of stock of the barrel. We asked them to phone us when they came in. That was 3 months ago and I still waiting for the call. And as I said husband is on the second lot of home brew.

But if you are not sure what you want or what they stock you might find it a little difficult to order. As most of the staff are not that well informed.

Yours

Calley

Sarahsaver

OUrs has never stopped. If you are a novice try the kits to make schnapps - about 6 bottles for the price of one shop bought one!
Theres also a specialist homebrew shop in Coalville in leicestershire

superscotsman

Sarahsaver wrote:

OUrs has never stopped. If you are a novice try the kits to make schnapps - about 6 bottles for the price of one shop bought one!
Theres also a specialist homebrew shop in Coalville in leicestershire

What kind of snaps is this, Sarahsaver? I thought that snaps was Holland gin, and it was illegal to make it, because you had to distill it.

There used to be specialist homebrew shops in just about every town, but they have nearly all closed down. I did run into one in Wolverton when I was in Milton Keynes last year. They are useful for picking up things like pectolase or corkers and crowncappers, and especially hops for making beer.

stumpjumper

If you can find a specialist shop try brewing some of the premium single grape variety wines (I'm brewing a barolo for xmas). They work out at £1 - £1.50 per bottle but taste like £10 bottles of commercial wine! I also find that homebrew wine doesn't give me as much of a hangover as shop bought stuff.

I use the home brew shop in Stockport for the good stuff. There's also a few ebay shops that do premium kits with low delivery costs.

Sarahsaver

superscotsman wrote:

What kind of snaps is this, Sarahsaver? I thought that snaps was Holland gin, and it was illegal to make it, because you had to distill it.

There used to be specialist homebrew shops in just about every town, but they have nearly all closed down. I did run into one in Wolverton when I was in Milton Keynes last year. They are useful for picking up things like pectolase or corkers and crowncappers, and especially hops for making beer.

Peach schnapps like archers, and other flavours. No distillation required and about 20% alcohol when finished AFAIK, plus a better taste than commercial stuff.