# Show your homebrew beer and wine



## garnede (Dec 17, 2011)

So I see a lot of hobbies and crafts on this forum, but no home brew threads.  So what are you guys making, racking, or drinking?  

I want to start making both beer and wine, but I don't have the equipment yet.  What do you suggest for supplies for a beginner?  What are some sources for supplies, local and online? 

     Yea Beer!


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## wranglerjoe1968 (Dec 17, 2011)

I have to bottle up my batch of wine soon.  Hope it is good.  It was my first time trying it.


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## garnede (Dec 17, 2011)

What did you use?  Grapes, berries, fruit, flowers, or something else?


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## wranglerjoe1968 (Dec 17, 2011)

Muscadines


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## CreekChub (Dec 17, 2011)

I started 2 years ago with a Mr Beer kit. Brewed up several
batches using various extract recipes.
I would suggest that and learn as you go. It would be really
expensive to go all out and buy everything new to start
brewing all grain. With the M.B. you can brew small test
batches on the cheap and slowly build up what you need
to brew larger batches and all grain. I still have 5 of the 
M.B. fermenters and use them for wine and cider. Mr Beer
has a sale going on this weekend and you can also buy
their kits at K mart or Bed Bath and Beyond.
http://www.mrbeer.com/category-exec/category_id/139

This is a great forum for beginners: http://www.mrbeerfans.com/ubbthreads/
and where I hang out.

Also, http://www.brewmasterswarehouse.com/
is a great brew supply store in Marietta.


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## garnede (Dec 17, 2011)

Thanks CC


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## Jeff1969 (Dec 17, 2011)

I wanna get into brewing and wine making one of these days. If you're close to Lilburn check out http://homebrewingsupplies.org/

Home Brewing Supplies on Indian Trail Rd at I-29. It's my aunt and uncle and they are very knowledgeable and are willing to help out with info and such.  Tell em Jeff referred ya.


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## dwhee87 (Dec 18, 2011)

garnede said:


> So I see a lot of hobbies and crafts on this forum, but no home brew threads.  So what are you guys making, racking, or drinking?
> 
> I want to start making both beer and wine, but I don't have the equipment yet.  What do you suggest for supplies for a beginner?  What are some sources for supplies, local and online?
> 
> Yea Beer!



I started almost 20 years ago, and still brew 2 or 3 times a year. I get most of my supplies online from www.austinhomebrew.com. 

You can buy the basic "kit" for around $100. It'll include a fermenting bucket, all your siphons, airlocks, capping equipment (manual) and usually a book. The location listed above is good. Another good place is Winecraft in Sandy Springs (just north of 285 on Roswell Rd.). The benefit to going into a storefront is that the people there are usually very knowledgeable and helpful.

I've currently got an Irish Red in bottles and a lemon wheat. I just picked up 20 pounds of honey at Costco yesterday to do my annual Spiced Mead (a real family favorite).

I will caution you....Homebrewing can become addictive. Once you start, you may never be able to stop.

Good luck, and "Don't Worry, Have a Homebrew".


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## garnede (Dec 18, 2011)

dwhee87 said:


> I will caution you....Homebrewing can become addictive. Once you start, you may never be able to stop.
> 
> Good luck, and "Don't Worry, Have a Homebrew".



That is what I'm hoping.  I do a lot of scratch cooking and even make cheese and lard my self.  I like knowing where my food comes from.  As much as I like beer and to a lesser extent wine, why shouldn't I make my own.  I have about two dozen types fruit and berries growing so it won't be long till I have an excess that needs long term storage.  What better way than a good home brew wine or hard cider.


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## cch0830 (Dec 19, 2011)

Brewmaster's Warehouse out of Marietta, GA will help you get started.


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## marktaylor99 (Dec 19, 2011)

I got a Cooper's kit several months ago and have done 4 batches so far. I have already added some extra equipment and switched to using 12oz glass bottles instead of the plastic bottles the kit came with.
It's tons of fun. I would suggest starting with extract kits first. I've yet to try it 'from scratch' yet but plan on it soon.


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## CreekChub (Dec 19, 2011)

+1 on the Coopers, I made some really good beer back in 
2010 splitting the cans in half or thirds into the Mr Beer
fermenters along with DME, steeping grains and added
hops.
I am going to buy some more of the Coopers cans soon
just so I can brew more often. With all grain, I need about
6 hours. With the Coopers I can be done in an hour or so.
It's been hard to find 6 hours lately.


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## Fishin & Hunting (Dec 19, 2011)

I started brewing about 20 years ago.  Haven't made a batch in over three years.  Thought about selling my equipment once or twice, but still haven't done it.  I enjoy doing it, just so many other things that need to be done.  And I have made my share of beer.  But with no brew stores around here, its hard to get a new batch started.


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## BriarPatch99 (Dec 19, 2011)

Maybe you missed this one....

http://forum.gon.com/showthread.php?t=638938


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## dwhee87 (Dec 21, 2011)

CreekChub said:


> With all grain, I need about
> 6 hours. With the Coopers I can be done in an hour or so.
> It's been hard to find 6 hours lately.



That's why I've never gotten into the all-grain. Too much time. I've gotten the extract brewing down to a science. I can sanitize, brew 2 batches and get to the fermenter, and clean up in right at 2 hours.

One of the best tools I've found to speed the process is a copper wort chiller. You can find them online for about $50. I can cool a 1.5 gallon pot of wort from boiling to 80 degrees in about 7 minutes with mine. It basically works as a heat exchanger, flowing cold water through a copper coil immersed in your brew pot of hot wort, and discharges the heated water outside of the pot. One of man's greatest inventions.


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## CreekChub (Dec 22, 2011)

I built my own chiller, a 50ft'r from a roll of 3/8 copper
purchased at Lowes. That helps a bunch and if I am 
really pressed for time I top up with a gallon of cold
bottled water. Distilled for extract or spring for all grain.
I have also just put the brew pot of boiling wort into a 
bathtub of cold water. Ran some errands into town and
returned an hour or two later and pitched my yeast.

As attractive and easy as the hopped malt extract is, it's
so much cheaper with all grain. Both methods has it's
pros and cons but they both make beer in the end.


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## CreekChub (Dec 22, 2011)

Just ran some numbers for a pilsner/ saaz "smash"
I can make 10 gallons of a 4.0 abv basic all grain pilsner beer that
is much more flavorful than Bud or Miller for about 26 
bucks including the yeast and hops.


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## garnede (Dec 22, 2011)

CreekChub said:


> Just ran some numbers for a pilsner/ saaz "smash"
> I can make 10 gallons of a 4.0 abv basic all grain pilsner beer that
> is much more flavorful than Bud or Miller for about 26
> bucks including the yeast and hops.



Care to share any recipes?  Or any for dark beer (brown or red)?  I like recipes that are inexpensive but take time.  I tend to have more time than money these days.  That and I won't buy a cook book unless it has at least 1 recipe that takes more than 4 hours.  It means cooking from scratch instead of out of a box or can.


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## CreekChub (Dec 22, 2011)

Well you sound a lot like me. I grew up smoking meat and
cooking while never using a recipe and that has carried
over into my brewing. I brew mostly "wildcat recipes" that
are not to style. People have been brewing for thousands
of years all over the world and certain traits and styles 
have formed from the different regions due to the types
of water, hops, yeast and grains from the specific areas.
Styles:
http://www.bjcp.org/2008styles/catdex.php

But, styles and recipes are not so important in the begining.
There is a lot that can and will go wrong on your first few
batches unless you study up and observe some other brewers
in action. You have time and patience it sounds like so you
have half the battle won already.
The number one thing new brewers get wrong is fermentation
temperatures. Think of yeast like say tropical fish? maybe?
Each strain prefers a certain temperature and swings low
or high will have foul effects on the beer.
I would recommend reading all you can ahead of your first
batch and learn from others mistakes. 
Sign up over at: http://www.mrbeerfans.com/ubbthreads/ubbthreads.php/activetopics/7/1.html
and tell them HatchetJack sent you or not LoL.
We will get flooded soon with new brewers who received 
the MB kit for Christmas and lots of questions. There are
some really great brewers there who have made it "home"
like I have.
A more advanced site is:
http://www.homebrewtalk.com/f39/
Most people start out by reading this online book:
http://www.howtobrew.com/intro.html
Some recipes by one of the better brewers in the country:
http://beerdujour.com/jamilsrecipes.htm


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## garnede (Dec 27, 2011)

CreekChub Thanks for the info.


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## garnede (Dec 28, 2011)

Wow, really thanks for those links.  I have been reading through some of the threads on home brew talk and it is a great site with tons of great info.  I never liked the idea of having to use an extract to make homebrew, thanks to a couple of threads I think I might just start with an all mash stovetop brew.


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## CreekChub (Dec 29, 2011)

Extract is actually good to start with. It allows you to 
concentrate on sanitation, fermentation and just the process
to "get your feet wet and get a brew under your belt".
It sometimes gets a bad rap from new brewers who blame
the extract rather than temperature or sanitation mistakes
they made early in their brewing career. You can make award
winning beer from extract provided that it's fresh and you
make no mistakes.

However if you want to go all out and start with all grain
I would recommend building a simple mash tun rather than
trying the stove top brew in a bag. It's not really a time
saver, can get messy and there are problems that could
arise like scorching the bag/grains and not getting proper
conversion due to the grains being compacted in too small
of a bag and pot.
There is also the issue of trying to boil that much wort in
the kitchen. Most stoves will struggle to bring 5 gallons to
a boil and a glass top is next to impossible. I had trouble
boiling 2 gallons with a glass top.
I have a turkey fryer with the aluminum pot and started out
doing all grain in it. Now I have a bigger stainless pot 9 gallon.
I boil my wort in that pot and use the turkey pot to heat
sparge water.
Realistically you need at a minimum an 8 gallon pot to 
brew a 5 gallon batch preferably a 9. Reason being you
need to start with a 6.5 - 7 gallon volume due to boiloff and
 when the wort starts coming to a boil it will foam up and rise about
4 - 6 inches. Too small a pot and you have a mess in
the floor.


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## CreekChub (Dec 29, 2011)

I built my mastun out of a rectangular cooler. I thinks it's
about a 40 qt. I found I liked it much better than the first
one I built which was a round "gatorade" type cooler.
The round ones are hard to stir the grains and all the 
weight of the grains sits on the braid or manifold and I
was getting stuck sparges.
Also the bigger volume of the rectangular cooler allows me
to brew 10 gallon batches. I mashed just over 18 pounds 
of grain in there yesterday boiled a concentrated wort in
my 9 gallon pot, split between two buckets and topped
up each bucket with bottled water to make two 5 gallon
batches.
I use a stainless braided manifold made from a washing
machine supply hose. Along with added rice hulls it works
great.


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## garnede (Dec 29, 2011)

My stove takes about 20 minutes to boil 5 gallons of tap water.  I think I'll hit a brewing store and chat them up and go from there.  It will be a few months till I can afford all of the equipment, so I have plenty of time to read up on everything.   

I have no doubt that you can brew great beer from extract, I just like being in control from start to finish.


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## Fletch_W (Dec 30, 2011)

Creek Chub, I've also wanted to make a Pilsner/Saaz smash. I've read on HBT that I can lager it in the bottles after primary, but I've also heard mixed messages. Guide me. 

Secondly, referring to HBT, I had a premium membership but ever since it expired a couple of weeks ago, I can't read any PM's or view the site, like it's set up to make you pay your dues again, instead of just bumping you back down to free status.


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## CreekChub (Dec 30, 2011)

This was what I brewed:

Pilsner/ Saaz smash
"single malt and single hop"

5 gallons

* 8 lbs Briess pilsner

.25 oz saaz @45 minutes
.25 oz saaz @20
.50 oz saaz @5

IBU 12
SRM 3
ABV 4.3

This was a great easy drinking session beer.
I used US 05 ale yeast fermented about 65-67*
for 3 weeks and then kegged. Not a true lager but
a fine beer.

HBT is a great place for information but it's also very
competitive among some of the members as they brew
against one another. I sense some hostility over there
and they have been known to poke fun at newbies.


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## garnede (Jan 3, 2012)

Is the premium membership at HBT worth it?  What do you get besides more PM space.

Also after some reading I may try a couple of extract beers to get comfortable with the process, before I put my self in charge of more of the process. It will help me diagnose the end product and how to make it better when I do my own.


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## redkelly (Jan 5, 2012)

another brewer in the house.  i ben brewing extract kits for several years.  have only done the extract kits.  ben getting them lately from Northern brewer(.com).  They are a step up from the Coopers that i started with.  I'm going to take it to the next level, all grain, soon.  Been getting all the info I can on utube and different forums.  if there is anybody in the macon area who brews or is interested in getting into a co op brew club  shoot me a PM.


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## garnede (Jan 7, 2012)

I think my first brew will be an Apfelwein.  It seems to be hugely popular over at HBT and cheap and easy to make, so no great loss if I screw it up.  Anyone on here given it a try?


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## fourwinds (Jan 12, 2012)

garnede said:


> I think my first brew will be an Apfelwein.  It seems to be hugely popular over at HBT and cheap and easy to make, so no great loss if I screw it up.  Anyone on here given it a try?



I was going to make the apfelwein recipe on HBT. But, since it was my first brewing attempt I wanted something that I could drink sooner. I had read that apfelwein can taste pretty harsh/hoochy until it has had some time to age. So, I chose to make the Brandon O's graff recipe (also on HBT). It's basically apfelwein but with the addition of some malt, barley, and hops. It is supposed to be smoother and ready to drink quicker. My batch turned out well and came in at 7.5% abv.


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## garnede (Jan 12, 2012)

well I already have all the ingredients for the apfelwein, so I'll go with that and let you know how it turns out.  It seems so simple that it will let me get to know fermenting without much work or money risked.  Then I can move on to other wines and beers.  

I think I'll make a pumpkin cider, about 5%, at the same time, but It will take longer to clear and bottle.  I'll also make some Skeeter Pee on the yeast cake.  It should be ready to drink by the time it gets hot here.  I might start a third brew too, that way I'll fill the pipeline and always have a homebrew to drink while making the next batch.


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## Fletch_W (Jan 13, 2012)

HBT Premium membership is good for viewing other "secret forums" that have nothing to do with brewing beer... and have some more PG-13 type of content associated. Also, you get a cool avatar and everyone else on the site will assume you are an expert because you paid your $19.99 or whatever it is. Mine expired, and since I didn't re-up, it seems like the whole site is somewhat broken. 

If I remember correctly, Ed's Apfelwein is just hard cider with sugar added to bump the gravity. As said, not much to it, but also will take some time to be drinkable. I've made my own versions. 

I haven't made Brandon O's Graff, but I can't argue with 1200 people who did, and liked it. 

If you want a good recipe from Ed, try his "Haus Pale"... search "Edwort's Haus Pale"... it is also my Haus Pale, but I add a little Amarillo to the party and use Maris Otter malt instead of plain 2-row base malt. You won't be disappointed.


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## Fletch_W (Jan 13, 2012)

CreekChub said:


> This was what I brewed:
> 
> Pilsner/ Saaz smash
> "single malt and single hop"
> ...



I happen to have US-05 on hand. I thought for sure I would need a wyeast lager something or other... and to make it cold. Now's the time for me to try that. Any last words of advice? 

As far as newbie fun-poking at HBT, most of the newbies who get fun-poked are strutting onto the site masquerading as experts when they've only brewed 3 batches. Or, if they are dismissive to good advice. Or, if they post their idea for a Watermelon Jolly Rancher Oatmeal Lambic and get upset when noone takes them seriously.


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## garnede (Jan 14, 2012)

No one said anything about the apfelwein needing a long aging in the first 500 post.  I'm starting the batch in a little bit.  It is just too simple to pass up.  If it takes a little while to drink, oh well.  The pumpkin wine will take 4-6 months just to get into the bottle, so if I'm drinking the apfelwein within a month or 3 I'll be fine.


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## CreekChub (Jan 15, 2012)

Fletch_W said:


> I happen to have US-05 on hand. I thought for sure I would need a wyeast lager something or other... and to make it cold. Now's the time for me to try that. Any last words of advice?
> 
> As far as newbie fun-poking at HBT, most of the newbies who get fun-poked are strutting onto the site masquerading as experts when they've only brewed 3 batches. Or, if they are dismissive to good advice. Or, if they post their idea for a Watermelon Jolly Rancher Oatmeal Lambic and get upset when noone takes them seriously.



Oh yeah it's pilsner so it needs a 90 minute boil to drive off
the dms.

It's a fine session beer as is but is smoother and sweeter
than say an ordinary german pilsner almost liquid bread
like.

If you want it more lager like ferment it at about 60-62*
with either the US 05 or Danstar Nottingham.
Mash about 155*, less for a dryer beer, higher for a sweeter beer.


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## CreekChub (Jan 15, 2012)

garnede said:


> No one said anything about the apfelwein needing a long aging in the first 500 post.  I'm starting the batch in a little bit.  It is just too simple to pass up.  If it takes a little while to drink, oh well.  The pumpkin wine will take 4-6 months just to get into the bottle, so if I'm drinking the apfelwein within a month or 3 I'll be fine.



I have read about the apfelwein in the past but never
brewed it. They say it's really dry and takes about a year
to really become a great drink.

I just bottled a Mr Beer sized spiced cider tuesday and don't
plan on touching it until late October. Anything with apple
juice takes a while to condition out but it's easy to make
so it's worth doing one every now and then to build up a
pipeline of it.

There is a "Baloon Wine recipe" posted over at MR.BEERFANS
in the "Other than beer" thread that is a really nice
easy wine ready in 2 months. I made a batch of it and
several friends tried it today and really liked it.
It's easy like frozen concentrated grape juice, water, sugar
and bread yeast. I am impressed with it, a nice easy drinking
table wine. Might be right up your alley to fill a fermenter.
Less than an hour easy to make this wine.


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## garnede (Jan 18, 2012)

CreekChub said:


> I have read about the apfelwein in the past but never
> brewed it. They say it's really dry and takes about a year
> to really become a great drink.



You should make a batch, counting everything I made it for under $22 (including juice, sugar, yeast, bucket, and airlock) and even though it was my first "brew" it took less than 30 minutes, sanitizing and cleanup included.  If it is drinkable right away, ok.  If It gets better with age, then I just need to make more of it, so it can last that long.  In the first 150 pages no one was letting it sit more than 3 months.  After that I got tired of seeing the same dozen questions asked again and again by people too lazy to search the thread for the answer.  I will let it sit till it is clear, then I'll bottle it and wait the 3 weeks for it to carb in the bottle, and give it a go.  If it still taste green then  I'll just let it sit around till it doesn't.

I made a gallon of cranberry apple wine this morning and I'll start 5 gallons of skeeter pee tonight.  I figure if I start lots of batches at the same time I won't have a problem waiting till the apfelwein is ready to drink.  Skeeter pee is made to be drunk young, and the cranberry wine will take months to bottle anyway, I'm going to keep sweetening it each time I rack it till it finishes lightly sweetened.


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## CreekChub (Jan 18, 2012)

Congrats, sounds like you have a nice pipeline started.
The skeeter pee, is that the lemon wine made from artificial
lemon juice or something?


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## garnede (Jan 18, 2012)

Opps, a double post.  Could the mods delete this post?  Thanks


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## garnede (Jan 18, 2012)

Not artificial lemon juice.  96 oz lemon juice and 7 lbs of sugar in 5 gallons.  You pitch it onto a yeast cake from another wine to over come the acidity of the lemon juice.  It finishes at around 10%.  Here is where I got the recipe from:
http://skeeterpee.com/?page_id=17


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## garnede (Jan 20, 2012)

Last night I started a pumpkin wine and a multi-berry mulberry wine.  Basically I cleaned out the freezer of berries and had enough to make a gallon batch, with mulberries being the largest single contributor.  Hopefully the pumpkin wine will be ready for thanksgiving this year, if not it should be great next year.


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## fishshocker (Jan 26, 2012)

Just found this thread...I've been brewing for several years now.  I just did a Graff for the first time this year and WOW did it turn out awesome!!!!  I actually made 2 5 gallon batches, gave one to a neighbor (they bought the fresh pressed cider) and I aged one batch for quite a while.  It is definitely worth making.  I haven't made the apfelwein but after I read through the thousands of posts about each type, I finally decided on the graff.....MMmmmm.....graaaaaffff......

To add to CreekChub's post on homemade chillers, I also made one, 50ft copper, but I added a bilge pump (wally world) and now I put the pump in a large cooler of ice water and I can recycle the warm water from the exit hose back into the ice water bucket.  That cut my chilling time down by 60% and I save a ton of water.  I have to add a couple of bags of ice through the process, but that is a heck of a lot better than running a hose wide open.
Also if you're ready to step out of the MR. BEER fermentors, I found Old Time Pottery stores will sometimes have 5 gallon glass carboys on sale for around $10.  They are not the nice thick glass that you'll get from a homebrew store, but I guarantee that both types will break just the same if you drop them...which I have.  I dropped an empty cheap one and it broke into hundreds of pieces, I also dropped an expensive thick glass (7 gallon) carboy that was a quarter full of sanitizer....that one went into a ba-jillion pieces!


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## garnede (Jan 27, 2012)

What made you decide on the graff over the apfelwein?


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## Capt Quirk (Jan 27, 2012)

garnede said:


> Last night I started a pumpkin wine and a multi-berry mulberry wine.  Basically I cleaned out the freezer of berries and had enough to make a gallon batch, with mulberries being the largest single contributor.  Hopefully the pumpkin wine will be ready for thanksgiving this year, if not it should be great next year.



Let us know how the pumpkin turns out. Thought about doing a batch last year, but had already started two batches of other stuff.


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## garnede (Jan 27, 2012)

Capt Quirk said:


> Let us know how the pumpkin turns out. Thought about doing a batch last year, but had already started two batches of other stuff.



Will do.  I made a 5 gallon batch that was bigger than I expected.  The pumpkin gave up a lot of water and sugar and I ended up with 6.5 gallons of must.  I split the batch into 2 containers for the primary and one smelled sweet while the other smelled musty (not bad just musty).  So I split off 1 gallon of the sweet by it's self, 4 gallons of the mixed sweet/musty, and 3 gallons that is half sweet and half apple juice.  So I will have a few different wines from this one batch.


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## Capt Quirk (Jan 27, 2012)

If you don't mind, would you care to share that recipe?


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## garnede (Feb 2, 2012)

Capt Quirk said:


> If you don't mind, would you care to share that recipe?




Sorry, I missed this question.  I used Jack Keller's recipe.  I grated 22 lbs of long of naples winter squash, from this past summer's garden.  I did not peel it before grating, just washed it with a veggie brush.  I did not have a large enough fermenter for all of it, his recipe is for 1 gallon but I made a 5 gallon batch (that needed 9 gallons with the pulp and made 6.5 gallons when the pulp was removed), so I broke it into 2.  one ended up smelling sweet and the other smelled musty, but not in a bad way.  I strained the pulp off thru a 5 gallon nylon paint strainer and then put 1 gallon of the "sweet" juice into a fermenter to see if it would make a better product.  The rest, sweet and musty, went into a 4 gallon bucket with air lock, after it was full I still had about 1 1/2 gallons left so I put it into another bucket and added a 2.25 gallons of apple juice to it.     

http://winemaking.jackkeller.net/reques53.asp

PUMPKIN WINE


The sugar is high and will produce either an 18% alcohol dry wine or a lower alcohol sweet wine, depending on what yeast you use. If you want the high alcohol, use a high alcohol yeast such as Lalvin K1V-1116 (Montpellier) or Wyeast 3347 (Eau de Vie), both of which can handle the extreme sugar. If you want moderate alcohol but sweet wine, use Red Star Côte des Blancs for 13% alcohol with 5% residual sugar. For slightly less sweet, use Lalvin 71B-1122 (Narbonne), ICV-D47 (Côtes-du-Rhône), Lalvin Simi-White, or White Labs WLP730 Chardonnay White Wine for 14% alcohol and 4% residual sugar, or Lalvin AMH (Assmanshausen), Lalvin BGY (Burgundy), Lalvin CY3079, Lalvin ICV-D80 (Côte Rôtie), or White Labs WLP720 Sweet Mead/Wine for 15% alcohol and 3% residual sugar. Read the yeast descriptors at Strains of Wine Yeast for correct nutrient and temperature requirements for the strain you select. Begin this recipe in the morning so you have time to complete the tasks without having to awaken in the middle of the night.


Pumpkin Wine

5 lbs grated pumpkin flesh
3-1/4 lbs finely granulated sugar
1 tsp pectic enzyme
1/2 oz citric acid
1 tsp yeast nutrient
1/4 tsp yeast energizer
1 finely crushed and dissolved Campden tablet
6-1/2 pts water
wine yeast (see above)


Grate the pumpkin flesh mechanically (recommended) or by hand and set aside. Do NOT place chunks in a blender and attempt to chop them. Bring the water to a boil and stir in the sugar until dissolved. Remove from heat. Place grated pumpkin flesh in primary and pour boiling water over pumpkin. Allow to cool to room temperature and add finely crushed and dissolved Campden tablet. Cover primary and allow to sit 8-10 hours. Add pectic enzyme and allow to sit overnight. Next morning add citric acid, yeast nutrient, energizer and activated yeast. Cover primary and stir twice daily for three days, submerging "cap" as necessary to keep moist. Pour through a nylon straining bag and let pumpkin drip drain. Transfer to secondary and fit airlock. If you did not recover a full gallon of liquid, wait 5 days and top up as necessary. Rack after two weeks and again after additional 30 days, topping up and refitting airlock each time. Set aside for 3 months and then rack, stabilize, sweeten if desired (unlikely you will need to but...), wait 3 weeks for dead yeast to fall out, and rack into bottles. Set aside to drink next year at Thanksgiving or Christmas. [Adapted from Leo Zanelli's Home Winemaking from A to Z with major modifications by Jack Keller]


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## Capt Quirk (Feb 2, 2012)

Can't wait to try that, thanks for sharing


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## garnede (Feb 18, 2012)

I took gravity readings and sampled the product on my Apfelwein, Cranberry apple wine, and the mulberry multi-berry wine today. They all taste great. The best by a long shot was the seconds from the mulberry multi-berry wine. I took the berries from the first batch and added apple juice and simple syrup. I'm going to blend the first and seconds and let it bulk age for another month before bottling. 

I'll bottle the Apfelwein tomorrow, second best in my opinion. And the lees on the cranberry apple wine aren't compact yet, so I'll let it bulk age till the lees compact a little more. Even though it was the "third best", the cranapple wine taste great too. 

I'll check the FG on the pumpkin wine and skeeter pee next week. I'll start another batch of skeeter pee on the lees of the apfelwein too.

PS  I had to take a second "gravity sample" of the apfelwein.  It is chilling right now.


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## garnede (Feb 19, 2012)

Apfelwein is bottled, and skeeter pee is made on the yeast cake.


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## Nastytater (Mar 4, 2012)

I made some Blueberry Wine last year that turned out great...It didn't last long though...And Now I can't remember the exact recipe that I used...LOL


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## billyrb (Mar 5, 2012)

I just picked up a homebrew wine making kit off ebay a few weeks back, hope to try my hand at some muscadine wine this year, as well as blackberry, raspberry and whatever other berries we can grow in the back yard


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## garnede (Mar 6, 2012)

I'm drinking a glass of the Mulberry Multi-berry, right now. Look for recipes on Jack Keller's wine making site/blog.  It is a great resource for winemakers, especially those making non grape fruit or "country" wines.


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## billyrb (Mar 7, 2012)

Mulberries are some good eating!  I'd be darn interested to try making some wine from them, never thought about it.  Thanks for the info about Jack Keller, will check out his site.


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## garnede (Mar 11, 2012)

EdWort's Apfelwein:  1 bottle, this stuff is dry (tart, not sweet), but good.  Bottle 2, maybe it is not too dry, and I'm buzzed.  Bottle 3, I'm drunk and this stuff is great.  After a few hours, bottle 4:  This stuff is potent and is absolutely a keeper. 

Less than 2 months from "brewing"  to drinking carbonated delicious wine.  Also less than $20 for 54 bottles of 10% alcohol wine, can't beat it with a stick.


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## billyrb (Mar 11, 2012)

ha!  I've had a few bottles that my friends made that followed similar thoughts!


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## Sirduke (Mar 28, 2012)

First beer I ever brewed, but will NOT be the last ! Used the Mr Beer, gonna try an Irish Stout next, won't be using the Mr Beer this time, got a 5 gallon carboy and airlocks.  I've also got 10 gallons of blueberry wine working up. I'll let you know how that turns out.


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## garnede (Mar 29, 2012)

I have shared the Apfelwein with 2 neighbors, and they both love it.  But that means I'm running out fast, so I "brewed" up 6 more gallons today.  I also racked my skeeter pee and Cranberry Relish wine.  The latter I had to top up, and since I want it for thanksgiving, I topped it up with 1 quart of apple juice and 1/2 cup of sugar mixed together.  I'm pushing the yeast to it's higher range of tolerance, but it should turn out fine.

Sirduke, When you get a empty carboy, you should try a batch of Edwort's Apfelwein.  It kicks butt, and if you drink 3 12oz it will knock you on your butt.


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## bruceg (Mar 29, 2012)

I like Brewmasters Warehouse in Marietta - er - because I live in Marietta. If I was closer to one of the posters above who's folks have a place, I'd check them out!

Been doing extracts adn extracts with specialty grains. Haven't gone partial mash or all grain as I brew on a glasstop stove and am not sure about getting 5 gallons to a boil (or even my stovetop supporting that much weight!).

Will be doing a cream ale this weekend.


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## bruceg (Mar 30, 2012)

*Here's a red I did a while back*

So far I've done an Amber, a Extra Special Bitter Pale Ale, a few Pale Ales, a really nice Pilsner and a Kolsch. Working on a Cream Ale for the weekend. Don't have a fridge with temp controls, so will keep it to Ales for a while. Don't want it getting too hot during fermentation (and putting ice bottles in a cooler with the fermentation bucket gets old pretty quick!).


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