Adventures in Homebrewland (image heavy - you have been warned!)

pandora205

Well my wine is doing okay, despite me forgetting to put the yeast nutrient in to start with.

When thinking about the next lot, I looked up recipes on here and via Google and found a wiki guide, which is very minimalist:

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=9tWZAH1BuD0

I note that one of the reviewers who seems to know what he's talking about says don't add water, just use juice.

arkonite_babe

I have to admit, my cherry raspberry and grape concoction is quite potent *hic* :beer:

Larumbelle

Well, we've popped open our HM lager and elderflower wine today, and I have to say that they're good drinking!

Cheers! :beer:

2cats1kid

Looks like a lot of hm wine has been imbibed over Christmas and New Year. I've bottled the first lot of blackberry (did 2 lots, using different recipes) and my mixed hedgerow wine (blackberry, elderberry, sloes, greengage, rose hip and crab apple - basically anything I found on my rambles!) and I am liking them both. The hedgerow wine is smoother, but the blackberry is fuller bodied, so you pays your money and you takes your choice.

Blackberry #2, wild grape and herbal tea wines still in the DJ waiting to be bottled.

Next one I'm going to do is elderflower. Not done a flower wine before, so quite looking forward to playing.

Larumbelle

I've never done elderflower wine from flowers (the stuff I've opened today was from concentrate) but I've done elderflower champagne and it was gorgeous!!! I'm looking forwards to doing elderflower wine properly too

pandora205

pandora205 wrote: »

Not a good start to my wine making hobby, I've made a mistake already!

I did the first bit okay, added all the right stuff but forgot to add the yeast after a day. It's a week later and I've just put it in. But the experts amongst you will know what happened - it all fizzed up and overflowed all over the kitchen.

Anyway, I've mixed it in and topped it up a bit (with luke warm water). It's back in the airing cupboard.

Will this work or should I scrap it and start again?

Thanks

As you can see, I made a bit of an error when I started on this process, but all progressed okay. The wine fermented and cleared. I 'cleared it' (not very well, there's still some sediment) and bottled it. But now it's fizzing and sparkling! It actually tastes quite nice but the 'corks' (plastic variety) keep popping everywhere!

What did I do wrong/right? Is there a solution to the cork problem?

Thanks

Primrose

Possibly you didn't completely stop the fermenting process, or the wine temperature fell and has now risen if it's being stored in a warm place which has encouraged the fermentation process to start again. A small quantity of campden solution in each bottle (no more than a teaspoon full) should stop the fermentation. Make sure you store your wine in a place where it can't cause any damage to carpets or anything else until you stop the fermentation as you could end up with the bottles exploding.

pandora205

Thanks. It's probably because I have the bottles in the kitchen which is too warm. I hadn't thought about that leading to the fermentation process to continue. I'll need to find a cooler place!

Thanks

norangeduck

Any one got any advise - I just brought a wine making kit a beaverdale one, i got a red mix, but also got a white zinfandal flavour, now I know with this particular kit the red turns out more like a rose, so thats why i got a white zinfandal, but Im now having second thoughts over adding it, would it go horribly wrong?!! - the red tastes good just on its own, so I could leave it.

Also can I use just noraml granulated sugar, as the instructions suggest brewing sugar - thanks!!

JOel_2

gravitytolls wrote: »

We have a barrel in which we made beer ~ some form of Woodfordes ale ~ but it wouldn't com out. We put in a gas bomb (?I think), the CO2 stuff, but only managed to get a pint out of it before the problem started again. What do you think was wrong? We spoke to Woodfordes, but they just recommended the co2 stuff.

I wouldn't mind another go, as we have the barrel, but am unwilling to brew more if the same problem is going to happen again.

My first brew had this problem, I found out the rubber seal round the top cap was missing, and the gas was escaping.

On another note, I'm just waiting for a suitable house with garage so I can attempt (another) full mash brew, the last attempt went really well and made some awsome beer, but stunk the house out for months!

Joel