It's Been A While.....!

I've not really made much wine or beer over the last year or so, only managing a couple of gallons of Rhubarb wine and three gallons of Blackberry (plus one Blackberry and Apple which smells delicious!)

 

It's a great time of year to be starting again too, with Dandelions almost ready for wine.

 

I have also decided to have a go at all-grain brewing and I'm just getting the gear together

to start my first brew.

 

There's a lot to learn and I'll keep you posted with the ups and downs of the process.

 

First things first;

 

Buy some books and read them.  Then read them again.

 

Visit one of the online forums like this one

 

 

This is going to be my new 'brew shed'

 

 

 

 

Over the next couple of days, I will give it a coat of paint and add some electrics.

I'll also stick a worktop and some shelves up too.



More Bitter Bitte! (This is getting silly now)

43p per pint

I thought it might be a good idea to make a second batch of Young's Harvest Yorkshire Bitter, but this time using medium Spraymalt instead of Beer Enhancer.  This raises the cost by £5.01 for 40 pints, so it will be interesting to see if there's any real difference in taste.

Look out for a taste comparison soon!!

Bitter Bitte! (Part 1)

(36p a pint)

Well, not German, but Yorkshire Bitter.  Young's Harvest Yorkshire Bitter to be precise.  I haven't tried this kit before and, in addition to this, I am also substituting my usual Spray Malt for some Geordie Beer Enhancer.  A 1kg bag of enhancer costs £4.49, instead of £4.75 for 500g of Spray Malt (of which I would need 2), thus a saving £5.01. The beer kit cost £9.99.

Boil up about a gallon of water.

Put beer kit and beer enhancer into a sterilised fermenting bin.

Add boiling water, using part of it to rinse out the beer kit tin.

Give the mixture a good stir.

Fill up with cold water to the 5 gallon (40 pint) mark.

Rehydrate the yeast in lukewarm water for a few minutes.

Pitch the yeast and give the liquid a good stir, adding some air to aid fermentation.

It should now look something like this =====>

Put the lid on, leaving one part cracked open to allow

Co2 to escape (or cover with a large towel).

Leave for roughly 5 days in a warm place to ferment.

Some people recommend you scrape off the layer of 'scum'

that appears on the top after a couple of days.  I have never bothered,

and don't really think it will make any difference to the beer's taste.  

I could be wrong though.

TBC..........



Start Up Costs For Making Beer

Having been quite surprised by the final figures for starting up in wine making, I thought it only right that I should find the cost for making 40 pints of beer.

Again, my figures are based on buying everything from new.  I use King Keg barrels, which are more expensive than other barrels, but I have read that they are one of the best barrels for homebrew.  You can, of course, buy a cheaper barrel, or even a secondhand one.  Also, the price of beers kits can range from £8 to £22 or more, but most kits are around the £12 mark.

I use Spray Malt, as it gives a better flavour and more body, but if you are on a budget you can use 1kg of sugar instead.

King Keg Pressure barrel  £45.99

Fermenting Bin  £8

Beer Kit (incl yeast)  £12

Spray Malt  (1kg)  £9.50

Sterilising Powder  £2.75

So, that’s £78.24 for the lot, which is £1.95 a pint!  Still as cheap as buying a bottle of beer from the supermarket.  Subsequent brews will cost 53p per pint. 

It certainly beats paying the government MORE money, surely?