demi johns and stuff

[lainey lou]

Have just been reading the mead thread and it sound lovely.
I have no kit, was thinking of asking for some for Chr!$tm@$.
What stuff would I need to get started?
Also was looking at plastic demi johns on t'internet, any thoughts on these?

[Scunny Zeb]

Also was looking at plastic demi johns on t'internet, any thoughts on these?

they are the same as the supermarket 5ltr water bottles.

works out far cheaper to buy one of them and just drill a hole on the cap for the bubbler.

[funstuie]

Post a wanted ad on your local freecycle. Homebrew stuff seems to be given away all the time on there. I managed to pick up a few demijohns locally on mine.

It's worth a try.

[organic]

Cheaper still is glass ones for FREE!
I got five of the things off my local Realcycle group.

You could probably get a load for not very much down at your local car boot too.

In either case you occasionally see people giving away or selling their entire setup.

If you just get demijohns (glass, plastic or the 5 litre water bottles suggested by Zeb) you'll be wanting other bits and bobs too... in that case you migft want to try your local home-brewing emporium.
Wine Making & Brewing Supplies in Wiltshire Yell.com

There aren't any in Melksham (that I can tell from the search results) but you might want to drop in to one of them. You get that warm glow from helping a local business instead of giving your money to Wilkinsons and could benefit from some face to face advice... though I should point out, I did ignore some of the advice I got at my brew-shop and went with the advice from my book and online for no other reason than it felt more right.

I've got my first Elderberry wine on the go now and will be starting a Sloe wine this week.


Stuff you'll need.

Polypropylene fermentation bucket (they come in various sizes, if you're only going to do 1 gallon at a time a smaller one will do, I got a 5 gallon bucket just to give me the option of brewing more in one go without getting more junk)
Airlock (You'll need this whether you use a plastic or glass demijohn)
A big pan (some recipes call for the ingredients to be boiled for a while, others just call for boiling water. I don't have a big pan so end up with 2 or 3 pans on the go at once to heat up all the water in one go)
Funnel (for getting the liquid from the bucket into the demijohn)
Sieve (to get the bits out on the way into the demijohn - my funnel has a sieve of sorts but I still use another as it's got a finer mesh)
Tubing (to siphon off the liquid from the demijohn - you'll need to at some point)
Something to mash any fruits and to stir the must.
Sterilising stuff. I use campden tablets (about 3 or 4 to a pint of water) to sterilise the bucket, demijohn and so on, others use other things, others still don't bother. The cleaner your kit is the less likely you are to end up with vinegar.

If you want to keep track of sugar and alcohol content you'll want a hydrometer and a trial jar. If you couldn't care less about that don't bother.

I'd suggest getting a book out from the library or buying one as it will explain a few things you'll need to know - like how to go about siphoning and considerations for bottling and so on.

Oh, and you'll probably want a second demijohn at some point. Even if you only plan on doing a single wine at a time, having a second one clean and ready to use when it comes to racking the wine off the must would be handy. Though if I recall correctly the thread about mead says not to bother racking so you'd probably be ok without.

[organic]

Oh yea - if you're using a hydrometer you'll need a thermometer to make sure you get accurate readings.

[lainey lou]

Wow! Thanks folks!

[Brewer-again]

demijohns

I often find them at my local recycling sites for about 30p each. Just choose the larger opening ones and clean them well. Soap and hot water then dilute bleach, or chempro which is an astonishing glass cleaner.

Soak for 24 hours and all the dirt falls off, you can then decant the cleaner off the sludge and use it again and again.

[Two_Sheds]

they are the same as the supermarket 5ltr water bottles...just drill a hole on the cap for the bubbler.

like what I done. I've been banned from starting any more

[Mac]

Looks great TS. What you got bubblin away in there?

[Two_Sheds]

Looks great TS. What you got bubblin away in there?

A bit of everything, I think
- parsnip & apple
- elderberry
- elderberry & banana
- blackberry
- black- and redcurrant
- greengage
- beetroot
- cherry plum
- fruit teabag x 2 (courtesy of ShirltheGirl's recipe)
- chablis from a kit

I want to start some carrot, but I've been banned until some of this proves to be drinkable