Chateau RavenNight...

[RavenNight]

Hi!

Basically i've just inherited a shed load of Home Brewing stuff from my Grandad. I've got a huge fermentation tub, thermometer, hydrometer, about six glass demijohns with airlocks, a siphon, a filter thingy, various corking apparatus and a press.

I'm looking for an absoloute novices giude to home wine production. I understand that you can get wine kits with grape juice and yeast etc. from various places, I was wondering if anyone knew of anywhere you vould get that sort of thing on the high street. Also any general tips/advice would be wicked. Thanks!

RavenNight

[TeePee]

Boots used to stock home brewing gear in larger stores, although I'm not sure if they still do. Other than that you are probably limited to speciality stores best found online.

Just make sure you sterilise everything .

[RavenNight]

Sadly Boots no longer stock it (according to local store) luckily Art of brewing are just round the corner in Chessington so will pop over there and grab myself some ingredients, I'll let you know how it goes!

[Gorgeous]

Boots used to stock home brewing gear in larger stores, although I'm not sure if they still do. Other than that you are probably limited to speciality stores best found online.

Just make sure you sterilise everything .

Ah home-brewing brings back memories from my childhood. My dad used to have all the home-brewing kit for wine, he used to get the kits from boots when they were on offer of dirt cheap. Then when my parents started drinking it, a 10 year old me would pull out the cork/rubber bung on the demijohn and drink right out of it. Ah... those were fun days.

Parents used to make elderberry wine from the elderberries from the stables behind our house.

This link might give you a few recipe ideas http://www.yobrew.co.uk/wine.php

[RavenNight]

Yes I've heard great stuff about home made elderberry wine and living very near a huge stack of wild elderberries I might get into production of some myself! Off to collect some bit and pieces for the set this Friday.

[Rave]

I used to make the 'super strong liquor' kits which (if you were lucky) brewed up a gallon of 20% hooch. You then added the flavourings to make a passable imitation of Malibu, cherry brandy etc. I had many happy pissups out of those as a teenager.

Nowadays I find I can get drunk as cheaply by buying all my booze in Calais.

[RavenNight]

Well a little update, I popped down to Art of Brewing and got myslef a basic ingredients kit so now I've got a Demijohn of rather tasty looking Red bubbling away in the bottom of my airing cupboard. Three weeks til its drinkable...

[teachmech]

Talk about memory I can still remember my parents having 6 or 7 of these in our airing cupboard. The strongest they ever made was peapod wine it was like paint stripper. When we moved about 10 years after they stopped we found 3 bottles in the back of a cupboard, didn't have the guts to open it so we just threw it away.

[RavenNight]

Well after weeks of careful care I am on the verge of completion. Tomorrow I bottle it and rack it off, I'll let you know how it goes!

[RavenNight]

Well, its all done, bottled and racked. I'm gonna open the first one in about a week.

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y32...9/DSC_0037.jpg

[johnny02004976]

cant wait to see how it goes mate we need pics before drinking and after

[RavenNight]

Lol, the amount of stick I'm getting from people, I swear theres a sweepstakes on the outcome. My mate's offering good odds on temporary blindness etc.

[RavenNight]

Well I opened a bottle last week, its rather nice, very fruity and full-bodied if slightly harsh, goes great with Beef etc.

[johnny02004976]

slightly harsh

glad to hear it went well