Starting brewing - exciting!

[BigJim]

Another quick/simple one for you to try at this time of year is gorse/whin flower wine as recommended by High FW ( Gorseflower wine recipe - Channel4 - 4Food ). I started a few litres off last weekend; picking the flowers at the moment is easy while the bushes are covered in them and the scent is pretty special.

[Doive]

Sampled the parsnip and dandelion brews this evening - both down to around 1.010 now. Parsnip needs to age, but dandelion could easily be drunk, tastes good, not too dry or strong. Will let both of them finish and see where to go from there. Also started off a blueberry and an orange & grapefruit, so will be interesting to see how they get on. Finally, bottled up 23 litres of stout, just need to be patient now and let those age...

[ohbeary]

Off to a flying start. Parsnip wine tackled first, followed the recipe and made the error of adding too much sugar, ended up with a SG off the scale of the hydrometer, around 1.030. Will likely end up with a strong, sweet wine. Took a fair while to get going as well once the yeast was added. Tasted quite foul too, like really sweet strong cold tea. I hope the alcohol improves it...
Doive, 1.030 is well on scale @ 3.7% did you mean 1.130? still on scale but 17.7%

[Doive]

Yes, well spotted 1.130 it started at. Fined, settled and racked off to age now. I've gone a bit mad since. Picked up another dozen demijohns to give me 28, brewed fourteen types and strengths of wine, and consumed a gallon each of cranberry and blueberry wines - both around 12%, and are very easy drinking. Building a stock to keep and enjoy.

[ohbeary]

Doive, the best way of building stock is to decide on a favourite recipe and make 5/6 gallons of it in a fermenter, once you get the big brew bug......