The home brew thread

[nickdutch]

Im probably gonna make alcohol for family and friends this Christmas. Its even better that i don't actually drink as otherwise I wouldn't have any presents to give as i would drink it all.

[Darktide]

I made a few gallons of mead a few years ago that went down as a storm for presents. "Webster's honeymoon mead". About time I made some more I think!

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[ForgeCorvus]

Darktide, funny you should mention Mead as I'm starting a batch off as soon as I've borrowed the kit off my brother (whos really into brewing stuff)....I'm told the recipy is not really a pure mead as it got raspberries in it, according to Wikipeadia its a Melomel http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mead


One of my favorate winter warmers isn't a home brew exactly but everyone I've given it to has been impressed.
Baltic Trawlerman
Get some vodka, cheap supermarket stuff is just as good for this as the expensive branded product.
Find a nice bottle (this adds to the appearence of it being something fancy, good if you're giving it as a present or want to keep your source secret )
Crush a packet of Fisherman's Friends for every 250ml of spirit and pour into the bottle (crushing speeds up disolving)
Add the vodka and shake well until there are no bits........ If you're just using the bottle the vodka came in you can add the F'sFs to the spirit but you'll need to pour off a glassful to make room
If I'm making a litre or more I'll add an extra bag or two

[Darktide]

Darktide, funny you should mention Mead as I'm starting a batch off as soon as I've borrowed the kit off my brother (whos really into brewing stuff)....I'm told the recipy is not really a pure mead as it got raspberries in it, according to Wikipeadia its a Melomel http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mead


One of my favorate winter warmers isn't a home brew exactly but everyone I've given it to has been impressed.
Baltic Trawlerman
Get some vodka, cheap supermarket stuff is just as good for this as the expensive branded product.
Find a nice bottle (this adds to the appearence of it being something fancy, good if you're giving it as a present or want to keep your source secret )
Crush a packet of Fisherman's Friends for every 250ml of spirit and pour into the bottle (crushing speeds up disolving)
Add the vodka and shake well until there are no bits........ If you're just using the bottle the vodka came in you can add the F'sFs to the spirit but you'll need to pour off a glassful to make room
If I'm making a litre or more I'll add an extra bag or two

When I started looking at mead making a few years ago there seems to be thousands of recipes, but your right, if you add fruit it's called melomel. Just ordered some honey and I'm going to add lemon zest, raisins and cinnamon. I've missed the Christmas boat but it'll be ready sometime in January.


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[Le Mouse]

I made a few gallons of mead a few years ago that went down as a storm for presents. "Webster's honeymoon mead". About time I made some more I think!

I love mead! I'm lucky to have a shop nearby that sells locally produced mead, but I'd love to try making it. Is it complicated?

One of my favorate winter warmers isn't a home brew exactly but everyone I've given it to has been impressed.
Baltic Trawlerman
Get some vodka, cheap supermarket stuff is just as good for this as the expensive branded product.
Find a nice bottle (this adds to the appearence of it being something fancy, good if you're giving it as a present or want to keep your source secret )
Crush a packet of Fisherman's Friends for every 250ml of spirit and pour into the bottle (crushing speeds up disolving)
Add the vodka and shake well until there are no bits........ If you're just using the bottle the vodka came in you can add the F'sFs to the spirit but you'll need to pour off a glassful to make room
If I'm making a litre or more I'll add an extra bag or two

WOW! That would clear your sinuses as well as bomb a few braincells! What does it end up tasting of?

[ForgeCorvus]

WOW! That would clear your sinuses as well as bomb a few braincells! What does it end up tasting of?

Errm, not sure..... Not what you'd expect
I will say I hate F'sFs but I like this stuff.

Advantage is the recipy is based on a quarter litre, so you can make a small batch as a trial

One of my other adulterated vodkas is,
Ice-Maiden*
Get cheap Vod
Per quarter litre crush two to three packs of Extra Strong mints (more is better, also the use strongest ones you can find....You're after as much peppermint oil as you can get)
Put B into A (remembering headspace in the bottle)
Shake until disolved

Sweet and packed with peppermint..... Serve cold at your own risk


Honey water can be difficult to get going, this is why adjucts like fruit or fruit juice are added (yeast likes a bit of acidity )
I'm sure Darktide can tell us more, I'm working on theory not experence

*This is its PC name........ IM me if you want its rude version

[Darktide]

Mead is pretty simple to make, if I can do it.... anyone can. All you need is honey, water, yeast and some form of yeast food. The lemon zest in mine will act as the nutrient. As already mentioned, wilkos do a good line in home brewery kit.

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[grenfell]

Another variation of forge's recipes is to use werthers originals ( the original hard ones) to produce a toffee vodka that is perhaps a little too easy to drink.
I've also used crab apples and orange to flavour vodkas ( seperately not together).
I must admit that I would rather use a better quality spirit as the base rather than the el cheepo gins and vodkas as I find it generally produces a " smoother" finished product ( just personal opinion / taste thing) . Some of theharshness can be taken out by adding cane sugar of course.
I've also made mead in the past. It's one of those drinks that can have many variables as there are nearly as many types of honey as there are berries all of which can impart their own flavours. It's also easy to ferment down to complete dryness which sort of puts some people off the finished product. Equally it's possible to get stuck ferments as too much honey initially will prevent the yeast from working , but all in all worth giving it a go.

[nickdutch]

You can also get the flavorings from lovebrewing to turn your cheap vodka into nearly anything.

[tigs]

elderberry flower champagne its fantastic stuff
recipe from the river cottage book


4litres hot water.
2 litres of cold water.
700g sugar.
Juice and zest of four lemons.
2 tablespoons white wine vinegar.
About 15 elderflower heads, in full bloom.
A pinch of dried yeast

Put the hot water and sugar into a large container (a spotlessly clean bucket is good) and stir until the sugar dissolves, then top up with cold water so you have 6 litres of liquid in total.

Add the lemon juice and zest, the vinegar and the flower heads and stir gently.

Cover with clean muslin and leave to ferment in a cool, airy place for a couple of days. Take a look at the brew at this point, and if it's not becoming a little foamy and obviously beginning to ferment, add a pinch of yeast.

Leave the mixture to ferment, again covered with muslin, for a further four days. Strain the liquid through a sieve lined with muslin and decant into sterilised screw-top plastic bottles (a good deal of pressure can build up inside as the fermenting brew produces carbon dioxide, so strong bottles and seals are essential).

Seal and leave to ferment in the bottles for at least a week before serving, chilled. The champagne should keep in the bottles for several months. Store in a cool, dry place. it can produce lots of gas if left for a long period, so do remember to let it off so it does not explode