Re starting home brewing

[Peteyd]

ah, Maybe thats where i went wrong... i did it, stuck it in the bottle and left for a while. to be fair, it did taste rather good, just VERY volatile...

[ameno]

i once made elderflower champagne in sparkling water bottles. i decided to opt for proper, strengthened bottles when one of the plastic ones started to look like a peanut in its shell...

Sparkling water bottles is exactly what I use. They are designed to resist pressure, and I'd much rather use a plastic bottle precisely because it's bulges like that when the pressure is too high. It's a good warning that the pressure is building up too much, whereas with glass it's all guesswork. Even pressure-resistant glass can still reach its limit and explode.
Anyway, that's why you burp elderflower champagne every couple of days, to release the excess gas. You only stop releasing the gas once fermentation has almost finished, to allow the last bit of gas to build up and make it fizzy.

[Peteyd]

I've got some blackcurrant wine on the brew at the moment. It's just about ready to strain off the fruit and transfer to a demijohn.
I also racked my oak leaf wine the other week, and although it's not ready to drink yet, it's coming along nicely. It has a quite unexpected, but quite pleasant, nutty aftertaste to it.



My grandmother had a similar experience. She was making elderflower champagne in normal glass bottles (not the pressure resistant kind). She kept them outside the house, along the side wall, and just as well, as a dozen or more of them all exploded one day.

i once made elderflower champagne in sparkling water bottles. i decided to opt for proper, strengthened bottles when one of the plastic ones started to look like a peanut in its shell...

[ameno]

I've got some blackcurrant wine on the brew at the moment. It's just about ready to strain off the fruit and transfer to a demijohn.
I also racked my oak leaf wine the other week, and although it's not ready to drink yet, it's coming along nicely. It has a quite unexpected, but quite pleasant, nutty aftertaste to it.

My grandmother used to be scarred of home made wine.
I mate of hers gave her a bottle and some time later it blew up.
She would never entertain anything home brew after that.

My grandmother had a similar experience. She was making elderflower champagne in normal glass bottles (not the pressure resistant kind). She kept them outside the house, along the side wall, and just as well, as a dozen or more of them all exploded one day.

[Plot70]

My grandmother used to be scarred of home made wine.
I mate of hers gave her a bottle and some time later it blew up.
She would never entertain anything home brew after that.

[Peteyd]

ooh. i do love a home-brew.

I've had my fair share of "learning opportunities" with brews. i would carefully open it (at arms length, pointed away of course!), leave it for a couple of minutes to let the fresh air get it, give it a good sniff. if you find yourself recoiling in disgust, its probably not worth continuing.. haha

seriously though, take a small glass (literally a thimble) and have a taste - as long as you dont have a stomach issue, you will be fine with such a small amount. you can normally tell if its any good from the first taste or so.

I'd be interested to hear how you get on.

I have a really vivid memory of one of my first attempts of re-starting a stalled brew, all seemed to be going well, we bottled and left to "mature". flash forward to about a month later, sitting in the living room, the house was shock with an almighty boom, i genuinely thought something had crashed into the house. after going round and looking for a car hanging out of the wall, i suddenly remembered the brew upstairs in the spare room...

we had to redecorate the room, get the wall re-skimmed as the plaster was damaged, window replaced as something had hit it and cracked it and change the carpet as it stank of alcohol afterwards. i've still not heard the end of it...

[Nicos]

Kits ...in sealed tins like baby milk sized tines....

[burnie]

OH has just dug from of the cellar some tubs of home brew.
( well not literally ‘ dug out’ , but found at the back of some shelving)
Do you think even though we’ve had them for about 6 years they will be ok????

Can you describe "tubs" a bit better? Is this kits or is it stuff you have made?

[ohbeary]

With any luck they will be marvellous, have a smell, if it smells like vinegar it will still be great as vinegar and a few herbs like rosemary or thyme will make a decent ingredient, you could use it for light pickling or salad dressing.
If it smells good! get it racked off pronto into DJ's to allow any further sediment to drop and add a Campden tablet to be safe, bottle when you are sure it is ready; if fruity and sweet you could fortify with the local hooch.
Please forgive me if I am wrong but I believe you are on the Continent where there are many local distilleries who will help out and distil your product to produce an interesting tipple.

[Nicos]

OH has just dug from of the cellar some tubs of home brew.
( well not literally ‘ dug out’ , but found at the back of some shelving)
Do you think even though we’ve had them for about 6 years they will be ok????

[ohbeary]

If you are going to make (God forbid) Tomato wine you will need a very sweet variety like San Marzano or Sugar Plum, do check the acidity and tannin levels or it will be bland.
An over the shoulder comment from Swmbo, just because you can ferment it does not mean that you should! (good luck anyway xxx).
Er and don't forget the vinosity at least 250ml grape concentrate per gallon.

[ameno]

I am reminded by the current glut of tomatoes that I read a recipe for " a pleasant Rose type" wine from said fruit, so I made some. Now CJJ Berry also said you can make wine out of any fruit "except God forbid tomatoes", Berry was right, you could put it on your chips but you couldn't drink it, I also put Lettuce wine in the same category.................................yuk.

You could trying letting your tomato wine turn to vinegar. Tomato wine vinegar might be quite nice.

[burnie]

I am reminded by the current glut of tomatoes that I read a recipe for " a pleasant Rose type" wine from said fruit, so I made some. Now CJJ Berry also said you can make wine out of any fruit "except God forbid tomatoes", Berry was right, you could put it on your chips but you couldn't drink it, I also put Lettuce wine in the same category.................................yuk.

[Snoop Puss]

^Thanks, burnie. Not much to be lost just giving it a try, I guess.

[burnie]

I've never made alcho pops, but I believe some sugar is also often added to taste Snoop. I understand from my brother that Sloe gin is basically sloes just pickled in Gin, so I guess the same might work with other fruits.