Adventures in Alcohol Making!

We have just started home brewing -beer and wine to start. 

We were chuffed to bits to bottle up 24 bottles of our home brewed chardonnay yesterday, ready to be cellared for a few months.    I've got a bitter in secondary fermentation in a keg right now and going to be starting on a double IPA this week. 

Just to get ourselves familiar with all the techniques and methods, we have started the very simple way of kits, but we're already wanting to advance and make things our own! We're looking forward to trying all kinds of beers, ciders, country wines, and other assorted concoctions!

We're spending all our hard earned cash on equipment right now, trying to find ways to get better already!!  We're dreaming big and hoping the investment right now saves a bucketload in the future!! 

As I'm an engineer, I am in heaven. I'm already dreaming up efficiencies, organising, control systems, bottling methods, etc. 

Who else home brews anything? 

Sounds like your brewing is going great and you are having a lot of fun phatbeetle ! 

My son and his friends chipped in over the winter and got a still off of Ebay after watching one too many episodes of Moonshiners on TV.
They gave it one shot and now the still is getting rusty in the garage, silly boys!    

My cousin in the US has really gotten into home brews in the last couple of years.  He makes a big variety and experiments with flavors.  They all sound SO good!  His struggle is getting the alcohol content right - I think they usually turn out stronger than he intended.

I haven't had a chance to sample any of his brews but the rest of the family has said that they are really, really good.

What a fun hobby!!  And who knows - maybe it'll turn into a crazy successful brewery!

We've had a merlot on the go now and I have just started a double hopped IPA today - still in the learning stage with kits, but going to get some further equipment and start on malt extracts.
My bitter is in the 'cellar' in its cask now, giving another week and will then drink.

We tried our Chardonnay and it's not bad- but we are letting it sit for a while in the 'cellar' (under stairs cupboard - the coolest place in our house) hopefully it improves with age - Fun anyways!

We brewed in the US and it was quite a bit of fun.  We had to sell off an extra carboy or two and the collection of bottles we had built up, but we retained enough equipment to start up again once it gets move over here.

A number of years ago my dad planted different varieties of hops in their yard, so hoping those can finally be used soon!

Once you get back up and running here Bertine, post back and let me know how you get on! 

Good Lord my father makes wine. He uses like bananas and dates and things. We have alternative names for his differing vintages: the Weasel, Carpet, Super Carpet, Good Old Sock '07....

Good Lord my father makes wine. He uses like bananas and dates and things. We have alternative names for his differing vintages: the Weasel, Carpet, Super Carpet, Good Old Sock '07....

HAHAHA, I'm sure some of ours will end up with those names as well!  We've been looking at Country Wine recipies to try. We definitely want to try a gorse wine one as there is gorse everywhere!

Homemade bitter is great! Quite drinkable!

I was in our local shop where they sell all the home brew stuff- we are becoming quite regulars, lol, and anyways, chatting with the guys there and we ended up with free ingredients to make a pilsner beer. So we will have a bash with that   

Started a Shiraz today as well!

My DH does home brew of beer.  We've both gone on courses and are very much into craft beers.  The last beer we made was a vanilla stout, which was lovely.  The DH is interested in moving on to higher end equipment as well so he can move beyond the kits.  It's very interesting! (But we need a bigger shed and another fridge to do what he wants).  His pipe dream is to become a brewer one day.

My DH does home brew of beer.  We've both gone on courses and are very much into craft beers.  The last beer we made was a vanilla stout, which was lovely.  The DH is interested in moving on to higher end equipment as well so he can move beyond the kits.  It's very interesting! (But we need a bigger shed and another fridge to do what he wants).  His pipe dream is to become a brewer one day.

Heheheheh! Brilliant!

Shiraz up next for bottling. 


Double Hopped IPA will be bottled this weekend.   

Hey phatbeetle, if you ever want to make some Cabernet Sauvignon and send it my way, I'll be happy to take it off your hands

Trying my hand at cider now. Hehe

Gorse wine (yeah, that prickly yellow flower) should be ready for bottling momentarily