New wannabe, cant wait to get started

dolly-bird

Oh Carafan, :jhow exciting, I would love a poly-tunnel, the only problem in Cornwall is the wind, it blows a hooley as we are quite close to the sea, well 1 1/4 miles, but in more sheltered spot it may work, or a bigger garden.

My garden is only 60 ft x 20 ft, tho a nice size, we have crammed so much in to it that we have no open space, I do have a small 6 x 4 glass house tho, which worked quite well last year.

We have to grow tomatoes inside down here as wind again is a problem, and they tend to get scorched or blight.

Still might have a squizz on e-bay just in case i can squeeze one in !

I do make soups all the time, great alternative to sandwiches for lunch, bread and me dont get on !

What a great idea for the press, especially if you have a plentiful supply of apples for free. Let me know how it goes, if u do get one!:T

Cornwall replies on holiday makers, so even if you cant live here, enjoy our beautiful beaches !

Dolly Bird

dolly-bird

SmlSave wrote: »

Ohhh....did someone mention cider and wine making? yum yum

Our first attempt was in a bucket and we made elderflower champs and then cranberry cider....we now have a 40ltr plastic bin for making cider in the shed, 3 demijons under the stairs and various plastic bottles filled with sloe gin and vodka!

am going to lurk on here

:beer:
Yes, it seems making booze has hit the spot with several people here.

Cranberry cider sounds divine Smlsave, how did it turn out ? Was it difficult to make? I should probably Google actually.

I have a birthday in 4 weeks, my family are going to take me to a Home Brew shop to get the basics to get me started. I cant wait ! Whoop Whoop

Our friends are the Landlord and Landlady of our local pub, we had a competition for making sloe gin, sloe vodka, sloe rum, some wierd concoction of left over sloe gin juice with added whitecurrents (came out more like a fruity wine) , one of the best was the sloe tequila with lots of extra fruity bit.
We were a little intoxicated by the end of the night.

Any helpful tips for brewing gladly appreciated.

We have a workshop we can store several demi-johns once purchased, cheaply of course

Sounds like you have little stashes lurking everywhere - Right up my street, not that im an alkie or anything.

Anywhoo i can waffle for England, as you can see !

Dolly Bird

SmlSave

Cranberry cider sounds divine Smlsave, how did it turn out ? Was it difficult to make? I should probably Google actually.

We make it with cranberry jucie bought from Aldi with a receipe we found on the net Its not very alcholic as we never leave it long enough!

Yum... sloe tequila, I'll have a go at that this year....

cha97michelle

Sounds like you are gettin right stuck in Dolly bird. I am a bit like you and finding it essential to scrimp a bit to pay it off as income is hard to get and easy to spend when i am a SAHM and we only have DHs wages. Thankfully we have always erred on the side of caution.

If you want anything specific on MSe just ask as i am sure one of us could point you in the right direction. I realised the other day i have been around here for 5 years now. One of the better things i ever found on the internet but my goodness it takes so much time reading everything that grabs my interest.

dolly-bird

SmlSave wrote: »

We make it with cranberry jucie bought from Aldi with a receipe we found on the net Its not very alcholic as we never leave it long enough!

Yum... sloe tequila, I'll have a go at that this year....

Great, I think i may just give it a go, s well as everything else I want to do this year ha ha ha:)

Tequila is easy, just add loads of large chunks of orange, lemon, lime, juice an all, and sloes, takes no time at all, drinkable in 4 weeks. Wont last long tho, as its fab. Im not a tequila fan, but this is to die for !!

DB

ThriftyFelicity

dolly-bird wrote: »

As for wine and beer making, I am hoping for the equiptment for my birthday next month, so it wont cost me anything to get started.

You don't need much equipment to start: fermentation bin, couple of 1-gallon glass demijohns, couple of bungs & airlocks, siphon tube, long-handled plastic spoon, few hop bags (optional, but makes it a lot easier because you don't have to strain the mixture from the fermentation bin). I use a hydrometer (and hydrometer tube) for making cider, but not wine. Which means the wine sometimes turn out a bit... shall we say... potent.

You can also use a chlorine-based steriliser (optional, actually, as there are other ways to sterilise, though I use the steriliser).

To make the wine: fruit, water, sugar, yeast. I also add a litre of grape juice to give the wine a bit more body. I don't add any of the other stuff you see in some recipes like tannin, yeast nutrient or Campden tablets. I kill any nasties on the fruit by freezing it first. That way you don't have to pour boiling water on the fruit, which can make the wine hard to clear.

Oooo, I sound like such an expert :rotfl:

You definitely are going to want to plant lots of raspberries (autumn are best because you can get two crops per year from them) and strawberries, because let me tell you, raspberry wine and strawberry wine are to DIE for.

ThriftyFelicity

Carafan wrote: »

My OH is keen to try making cider and for his 40th later this year I am thinking about buying him a press (we have a small orchard so apples are free!).

If you aren't going to make that much cider, you can use a good masticating juicer to juice the apples instead of a press. I made 12 gallons of cider in '09, but only about eight gallons last year, and used my Champion juicer. It can make about a gallon of juice before the juicer gets pretty warm (at which time I let it cool before doing any more, though usually I don't do more than a gallon in one day anyway.)

They're pretty pricey here, though... I paid less in dollars (five years ago) than they sell for here in pounds!

ThriftyFelicity

SmlSave wrote: »

Ohhh....did someone mention cider and wine making? yum yum

Our first attempt was in a bucket and we made elderflower champs and then cranberry cider....we now have a 40ltr plastic bin for making cider in the shed, 3 demijons under the stairs and various plastic bottles filled with sloe gin and vodka!

am going to lurk on here

oh, NUM, cranberry cider sounds scrumptious. I've made quince cider and plum cider, but not tried either yet.

I've made elderflower wine but not champs... too afraid of explosions!

dolly-bird

cha97michelle wrote: »

Sounds like you are gettin right stuck in Dolly birdQUOTE]

Hi Cha97michelle,

Its really nice to have a great support network on the site, I will definatley ask if I have any questions - Thanks

Its quite refreshing you say that you have to save hard, as I can completely understand, there seems lots of people who are in various situations, mine being at the bottom of the rung monitary terms, but every little helps.

Since moving to Cornwall, we have enbraced the way of life, and all the good things it has to offer, so this is not very different to how we live our life everyday, i just earn a lot less than I did a year ago, and have to be more inventive with money saving/budgeting to try and pay a little extra off the mortgage.

It must be really hard being an SAHM, im quite impressed

Dolly Bird

dolly-bird

ThriftFelicity,

You sound like a pro at this Home Brew !
Ive always wanted to make my own, I always remember my dad and grandad making beer and wine as a child, and the blipping of the airlock in the dining room - Heaven.

Cornwall doesnt have much to offer for Home Brewing, although, Tesco and Wilko have branched out in that area slightly, so V excited about coming up country to the HomeBrew shop- Child in sweetshop comes to mind. :T

Will make a list with your suggestions - Thanks.
Glad you mentioned about the extra, finings etc, as I would have probably bought them. Also like the freezing idea - Nifty.

I am a wine drinker generally, but would love to try something new, like different ciders. Cant wait to try the juicing idea, have got a home juicer, but never used it, presume this will do the job ?

I have quite a lot of soft fruit in my garden, raspberries, gooseberries, whitecurrants, redcurrants, blackcurrents, tayberry, and a few strawberries. I am really looking forward to using some of them this year instead of just freezing for later.

Dolly Bird :j