Homebrewing (wines, meads, saki)

Thread originally posted on the Aeclectic Tarot Forum on 27 Jul 2002, and now archived in the Forum Library.

Violet Gargoyle	27 Jul 2002
Does anyone else here engage in one of my favorite hobbies? I love making my own brews, I get gifts for friends and a brew perfect for every season or ceremony, barring my occasional "oopsies". Last winter I bottled some pumpkin wine which should be good for drinking around Halloween. This summer I am drinking the Rhubarb wine that I made last year. I just bottled some spiced mead for the yule season and strawberry mead for the spring. I am about to try my first attempt at sake.....

Sorceress_Jade	27 Jul 2002
Do you have to have a lot of gear to do this, is it difficult. I'd LOVE to be able to brew wines and i've always wanted to try sake. I'm only 20 at the moment so can't buy any myself. I'm no drunk, but i'm one of those that drinks for flavor. Good luck on your sake! I was watching this show on it yesterday and it looked so very interesting. :)

divinerguy	27 Jul 2002
I used to make my own ale. Fun, and very tasty. But, it can be a pain sometimes.

Violet Gargoyle	27 Jul 2002
Quote: Originally posted by Sorceress_Jade Do you have to have a lot of gear to do this, is it difficult. I'd LOVE to be able to brew wines and i've always wanted to try sake. I'm only 20 at the moment so can't buy any myself. I'm no drunk, but i'm one of those that drinks for flavor. Good luck on your sake! I was watching this show on it yesterday and it looked so very interesting. :) Don't worry, I rarely drink myself, only special occasions, so I may average one glass of wine per month, pretty much for the same reason and the fact that I like tinkering with recipes. Actually, you dont really need alot of stuff. The minimum would be: Glass gallon jug Fruit or veggie of your choice (average it at about 4 lbs per gallon) Sugar or Honey (average it about 5 lbs per gallon) A little packet of yeast (you can find bakers yeast at the grocery store). Citric acid (usually a few drops of lemon juice is enough if you even need it at all). An airlock of some sort, something that will let air out but not in. A collander (to drain the main fruit bits later) if you eat spaghetti, chances are you already have one.... OPTIONAL- a rubber hose or some sort of small syphon OPTIONAL BUT HIGHLY SUGGESTED- Campden tablets, they kill the bad bateria in the brew that might have snuck in despite best efforts Time A place to store the finished product, depending on how long you think it will be before you drink it. You can get more complicated equipment with practice. I know it can get difficult if you don't have a brew supplies store to go to (there are a few online now, though) there are also some great sites now with recipes and suggestions (plus books and instructions, always helpful) I can post some sites if anyone is interested.

Violet Gargoyle	27 Jul 2002
Quote: Originally posted by divinerguy I used to make my own ale. Fun, and very tasty. But, it can be a pain sometimes. What kind of ale did you make, divinerguy?

cricket	27 Jul 2002
Quote: Originally posted by Violet Gargoyle I know it can get difficult if you don't have a brew supplies store to go to (there are a few online now, though) there are also some great sites now with recipes and suggestions (plus books and instructions, always helpful) I can post some sites if anyone is interested. hehehe... You've got THAT right. It's hord to get anything going around here. ;) I've been really interested in starting, though. Would you mind posting a site or two, and maybe a few tips to those of us wanting to start up?

Phoenix	27 Jul 2002
My dad makes his own wine...I love home made wine better than store wine.

cricket	27 Jul 2002
Oh, Phoenix, that reminded me! *L* My husband keeps telling me about the one time his dad made muscadine wine. He said it was so strong that they all started getting 'drunk' off the fumes while pouring it into the bottles!

Phoenix	27 Jul 2002
LOL! Oh God, that is TOO funny! LOL!

divinerguy	27 Jul 2002
Quote: What kind of ale did you make, divinerguy? It was something between Samuel Adams beer and Sierra Nevada Pale Ale. Very tasty.

jade	28 Jul 2002
your wines sound sooo interesting :D i don't drink myself, but i think your wines sound tempting heehee jade

Violet Gargoyle	28 Jul 2002
The ultimate test: Does it taste good over some vanilla ice cream? Okay, that's pretty much just my taste test...... Here's a pretty thorough site. It also covers the basics of the "How to" part. and has some neat links. http://winemaking.jackkeller.net/ The recipes are sort of scattered, but here is the part with the most, its given me some new ideas to try (scroll to the bottom for a list: http://winemaking.jackkeller.net/request.asp To give you an idea of the stuff that is out there (in different degrees of optional complication) here is the site for the store that I get my supplies from. There is stuff for the ales, sodas, beers, etc. Go to the Online Catalog link..... http://www.nthomebrew.com/ This is just to give you an idea of what is out there, like I said you don't necessarily need all of the stuff that stores will sell you, there ARE some things that make it less complicated.

Moonklad	28 Jul 2002
I got interested in this hobby last year. So far all I have made is muscadine wine which turned out fabulous to my surprise. I am not sure of the alcoholic content but it is stronger than any commercial wine I have ever drank. The land I live on has hundreds of vines growing wild and this year I am planning to make several batches when they ripen which will be closer to fall. I am going to attempt to make some mead also this year. Its a fun hobby but waiting to drink the product takes soooo long. Moonklad

Violet Gargoyle	28 Jul 2002
I know what you mean, good luck with the mead, its actually one of my favorite types to brew, when I can afford to get allllllll that honey. (I usually make 3 gallon batches). I just bottled some Strawberry mead, it tastes pretty good, but next time I am going to use more strawberries.......

Sorceress_Jade	28 Jul 2002
Thanx for the sites :D And diviner guy, that sounds fabulous, those are probably my two fav. beers.

lunalafey	28 Jul 2002
well, I have not made wine or beer (love wine yuck beer) BUT *wispers* It would not be right for me to have not been involved in making some other spirit, something involving my name so to speak.

The Homebrewing (wines, meads, saki) thread was originally posted on 27 Jul 2002 in the Chat board, and is now archived in the Forum Library. Read the active threads in Chat, or read more archived threads.