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Home Brew

Posted: Sat Aug 20, 2011 2:53 pm
by JJW009
I thought I'd started one of these, but I can't find it so here's a new one.



Banana and Ginger Beer:



2 over-ripe banananas, mushed up with a bit of skin left on

1 lemon, juiced

25g ground ginger

1.3Kg sugar

high alcohol champaign yeast

make up to 4.5litres



Ferment until about 1.015 then rack and bottle. Drink when fizzy but not explosive.



This brew is nearly 15% so one pint has quite a big impact. Can be mixed with 2 parts lemonade for a more sane pint.



*hic*




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Home Brew

Posted: Sat Aug 20, 2011 5:14 pm
by belchingmatt
Sounds like fizzy WIN to me. <!--emo&:drunk:--><img src='http://i2.ifrm.com/4013/140/emo/drunk.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='drunk.gif' /><!--endemo-->




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Home Brew

Posted: Sun Mar 04, 2012 6:14 pm
by JJW009
Value Mead:



2 jars value honey

12 oz sugar

1 lemon

GP yeast

Made up to 1 gallon with water



Started:

11/12/2011 gravity 1100



Drunk:

03/01/2012 gravity 1005



Perfectly clear, lightly sparkling, medium sweet.



Verdict: Pretty darned good for less than ?3 a gallon!






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Home Brew

Posted: Sun Mar 04, 2012 6:17 pm
by JJW009
Light banana wine:



2lb sugar

1 large banana

1 lemon

GP yeast

made up to 1 gallon



Started:

18/12/2011 gravity 1080



Drunk:

25/02/2012 gravity 1005



Cheap light white wine flavour with only a slight hint of banana. Very gluggable.




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Home Brew

Posted: Sun Mar 04, 2012 6:18 pm
by JJW009

Home Brew

Posted: Mon Mar 12, 2012 6:52 pm
by JJW009
I've just invented Banoffee Wine <!--emo&:o--><img src='http://i2.ifrm.com/html/emoticons/ohmy.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='ohmy.gif' /><!--endemo-->



Needs work, but I think I have a winner here <!--emo&:lol:--><img src='http://i2.ifrm.com/html/emoticons/laugh.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='laugh.gif' /><!--endemo-->




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Home Brew

Posted: Mon Mar 12, 2012 10:20 pm
by Mrs Redeyes
Is any of it likely to survive you long enough for other people to try it?

<!--emo&:lol:--><img src='http://i2.ifrm.com/html/emoticons/laugh.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='laugh.gif' /><!--endemo-->




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Home Brew

Posted: Mon Mar 12, 2012 10:40 pm
by JJW009
I wouldn't inflict this batch on anyone - I left the skin in too long so there's a bitter taste. However, I might make two or three gallons next time to experiment with. Hopefully at least half a bottle will make it to your house before Yule <!--emo&:P--><img src='http://i2.ifrm.com/html/emoticons/tongue.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='tongue.gif' /><!--endemo-->




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Home Brew

Posted: Wed May 02, 2012 8:54 am
by Mrs Redeyes
Nettle Wine:



A plastic shopping bag full of nettles

3.5lbs sugar

Lemon and Orange rind

2 large handfulls of raisins

2 cm chunk of ginger root bashed up with a rolling pin



Put the above into a stock pot or preserving pan, add 6L water and heat until boiling, simmer for 50 minutes with stirring.



Meanwhile put 3.5lbs of granulated sugar into a fermenting bucket and add a couple of kettles of boiling water, stir until the sugar dissolves.



Strain the preserving pan mixture and add the liquid to the fermenting bucket. Give it a good stir and make up to 5L with water. Leave the bucket to cool to RT before adding the wine yeast according to the instructions. Stir the bucket twice a day for 3 days and then strain the liquid into clean demijohns fitting an airlock.



Rack for the first time after 6 weeks, then again at 5 months and 8 months. Bottle at 1 year and stand for 6 months (minimum) to 1 year.






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Home Brew

Posted: Wed May 02, 2012 8:59 pm
by RedeyesUK
The nettle beer is underway <!--emo&B)--><img src='http://i2.ifrm.com/html/emoticons/cool.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='cool.gif' /><!--endemo-->



I dumped in almost a kilo of nettles and boiled it up:



<a href='http://s2.photobucket.com/albums/y39/re ... C00657.jpg' target='_blank' rel='nofollow'><img src='http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y39/re ... C00657.jpg' border='0' alt='user posted image'></a>



Also in there is some ginger and some dandelion root (for a bit of bitterness, and also because fsck dandelion - it's not like it's hard to come by round here <!--emo&<_<--><img src='http://i2.ifrm.com/html/emoticons/dry.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='dry.gif' /><!--endemo--> ). Also, probably, a selection of insect life - I rescued a ladybird and a spider when I was rinsing the nettles, so logic would suggest there's a few I missed! <!--emo&:lol:--><img src='http://i2.ifrm.com/html/emoticons/laugh.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='laugh.gif' /><!--endemo-->



The resulting goop neither looks or smells particularly pleasant:



<a href='http://s2.photobucket.com/albums/y39/re ... C00658.jpg' target='_blank' rel='nofollow'><img src='http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y39/re ... C00658.jpg' border='0' alt='user posted image'></a>



Now just waiting for it to cool before straining it into the bucket.



JJ, a little expert help here? The instructions I'm following don't say anything about racking into demijohns, rather just leaving it in the bucket - does that sound right? <!--emo&:unsure:--><img src='http://i2.ifrm.com/html/emoticons/unsure.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='unsure.gif' /><!--endemo--> I'm following variations of these instructions:



<a href='http://www.selfsufficientish.com/nettlebeer.htm' target='_blank' rel='nofollow'>http://www.selfsufficientish.com/nettlebeer.htm</a>

<a href='http://www.instructables.com/id/British ... ttle-Beer/' target='_blank' rel='nofollow'>http://www.instructables.com/id/British ... e-Beer/</a>

<a href='http://www.instructables.com/id/How-to- ... ttle-beer/' target='_blank' rel='nofollow'>http://www.instructables.com/id/How-to- ... e-beer/</a>




Home Brew

Posted: Wed May 02, 2012 9:28 pm
by JJW009
Those recipes are all to settle in the bottle. It won't be clear (as you can see from the pictures), especially once you open and it fizzes everywhere. However, there is nothing wrong with cloudy beer!



If you want it clearer then do rack it off into a demijon after 3 days and then leave for a week, but the yeast will mostly die so you'll need to "prime" each bottle with a teaspoon of sugar and leave them for about 3 weeks.



For reference, 1lb of sugar in the gallon gives a brew of about 5%. The first recipe was pretty weak, although that's not untraditional. Beer is partly a way to preserve water, and weak beers (tea beers) were drunk during the day and by children.




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Home Brew

Posted: Wed May 02, 2012 9:38 pm
by RedeyesUK
OK thanks, that's cool. I'll probably rack it off, when's the best time to do that? (noob questions, I know <!--emo&:shame:--><img src='http://i2.ifrm.com/4013/140/emo/shame.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='shame.gif' /><!--endemo--> )



I sort of followed the second recipe mainly, but with about half the ingredients (no way was I going to go and find another kilo of nettles! <!--emo&:o--><img src='http://i2.ifrm.com/html/emoticons/ohmy.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='ohmy.gif' /><!--endemo--> ), which left me with 400g of sugar in 4 litres, so about 1lb/gallon. It's all good <!--emo&:)--><img src='http://i2.ifrm.com/html/emoticons/smile.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='smile.gif' /><!--endemo-->

Home Brew

Posted: Wed May 02, 2012 9:45 pm
by JJW009
RedeyesUK wrote:I'll probably rack it off, when's the best time to do that?
After about 3 days. The main fermentation should be done by then, unless it's freezing cold!



Don't overdo the lemon unless you like lemonade, but it does need some acid to stop it going bad and to help the yeast.




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Home Brew

Posted: Thu May 03, 2012 8:57 pm
by RedeyesUK
JJW009 wrote:If you want it clearer then do rack it off into a demijon after 3 days
RedeyesUK wrote:I'll probably rack it off, when's the best time to do that?
JJW009 wrote:
After about 3 days. The main fermentation should be done by then, unless it's freezing cold!


Looks like I was having an attack of the stupids last night! <!--emo&:shame:--><img src='http://i2.ifrm.com/4013/140/emo/shame.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='shame.gif' /><!--endemo-->



Part of the problem (apart from me being slightly brain dead) was with the fermentation buckets; I couldn't see any way for the gas to vent off, which I thought would be a problem, hence my questioning. Turns out they aren't fermentation buckets at all (like I thought Mrs R had bought), just regular old buckets. <!--emo&:rolleyes:--><img src='http://i2.ifrm.com/html/emoticons/rolleyes.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='rolleyes.gif' /><!--endemo--> Nothing a sharp knife, a demijohn stopper and an airlock can't solve though. <!--emo&:good:--><img src='http://i2.ifrm.com/4013/140/emo/good.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='good.gif' /><!--endemo-->

Home Brew

Posted: Thu May 03, 2012 9:40 pm
by JJW009
The lids on my polythene fermenting buckets are close fitting enough to keep vinegar flies out, but they still let the gas out. I wouldn't bother modifying them if yours are the same.



Mr "regular" bucket doesn't have a lid at all so now I'm confused <!--emo&:unsure:--><img src='http://i2.ifrm.com/html/emoticons/unsure.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='unsure.gif' /><!--endemo-->




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