Home brew suggestions?

[Quickly]

The tobacco thread has put me back in mind of something I've wanted to try for a while: home brewing alcohol. I'm just looking for some suggestions on what to brew. I'd like it to be:

- Not too complicated (first timer)
- Not needing too much equipment (small student flat)
- Strong enough to have a party around once its finished

Home brew beer doesn't seem like it would be very strong, and I wouldn't have many people willing to share some wine with me. I looked at vodka but it seems quite complicated and not advisable for a total amateur.

Any suggestions guys?
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[V2]

kits like these are pretty easy to do and probably about the strongest you can make without a still

https://www.classicliquors.com/

[DrDonnyBrago]

[virus]

just started homebrewing myself, gallon demijohns being my chosen size at the moment.

Heres a few recipes Ive tried:

Cheap cider (aka turbocider/apfelwein)

4 litres apple juice from concentrate
1 litre orange juice from concentrate
3lb of sugar
1 tablespoon of wine yeast

leave it in a warm room til the airlock stops bubbling, drinkable anytime after that, not the best cider in the world but gets you suitably drunk for 2 quid 50 a gallon.

apple mead
1 litre apple juice from concentrate
2.5lbs honey
1 tablespoon of yeast
same as before, leave it alone in a warm room til the airlock stops bubbling, estimated percentage if it ferments completley is about 11/12%abv. Doesnt taste much like honey but it tastes nice and is very drinkable, this stuff is rocketfuel.


Im soon to be moving on to a 2 gallon batch of mead when I get a heatpad to keep it warm enough.

Cheers
John

Cheers
John
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own: 81 xs1100g...
owned: 85 rat CG (sold), 91 GS500e (stolen), 84 gsx400f (scrapped), 81 z250 (siezed, siezed, scrapped), 83 cb250rs (sold), 84 gpz750r ratfighter (killed) 84gpz400 (sold), '80 cb650 ratfighter (wrote off) 95gsx6/12f ratfighter (killed) 91 xj900 (sold)
stinkwheel Well I just had my hands up a pigs fanny. Which makes your concerns pale into insignificance.

[carlosthejack...]

I used to do wine. Forget red, it always came out pink and insipid, and once you've tried kits, you can move onto experimenting, but for simple and cheap, just try a litre carton of fruit juice. For me, pineapple worked best.

Don't forget, everything needs to be scrupulously clean and sterilised.

Carton of juice
Sugar
Yeast
Lukewarm water

Chuck it all in a demi-john and lock it off. It's that simple (detailed recipes are all over the net, but use the above ingredients) and once it's racked off it's very drinkable. Unfortunately (or fortunately, depending on your POV), the stuff I used to make ran at around 15-16% (and was dry) and was like jet fuel. I woke up on the floor on more than one occasion.

I'd rather enjoy a glass of a nice full red now, rather tahn drink to get unconscious, but it was fun at the time...
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DonnyBrago: "I think you may be confusing rain and napalm..." Paulington: "It's not what you ride, it's how you ride it."
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[jaxx]

+1 for pineapple! Easily the best tasting and quality out of the wines I've made.

The easiest to make is Ribena wine.
1 bottle ribena - bring to the boil to get rid of preservatives etc
1/2 bag of sugar - none if you prefer it dry, ribena is very sweet anyway
1 tsp yeast

Once you've booiled the ribena, add the sugar (if you want it sweet), and allow it to disolve.
Put it in the Demijohn, top up with cool water
Add yeast
Shake

Wait 3-5 weeks,
Get hammered on what is in essence, pop

[ThoughtContro...]

[Quickly]

Excellent replies guys, I'll be looking into this tonight and making a decision on what to attempt.
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[Quickly]

Edit: since the post below I've watched this video. Seems simple enough. Does the cider stay in the tub until it's ready to drink, and then you just pour it out into glasses? If so that's do-able.


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I've decided to give cider a bash, but I'm quite confused here. There's so many kits online and they all claim to be the simplest and easiest ones, but they all seem to have something different. I'm not even sure I really understand what I need to do.

I get that I can just go and buy some apple juice, throw it in with some other ingredients, stick a lid on it and I'm there. I think? But if that's true, why would I need a kit? And why wouldn't everyone be doing it? So many questions...

I don't suppose someone can recommend a kit they've used in the past? Or give me a a list of only what I need and in what order to use it?

Thanks
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[Benson_JV]

[virus]

[cornish]

i live in the arse-end of nowhere and have recently turned to moonshining. been trying a few things out. All gear was fluppence at car-boot and sometimes demi-johns etc turn-up on free-cycle. I got most of mine free when i got my allotment (they were left in the shed). Bargain!

Have tried elderberry wine (elder trees easy to spot) and came out lovely. Blackberry was LUSH wish i did more. Bramble tip made nice rose wine. Elderflower - have tip here, don't even bother picking them, get them dried on ebay for next to nothing. Wine came out lovely, will be having a crack at the elderflower 'champagne' sparkling stuff this summer. Made elderflower cordial which was yum - especially when served over ice with voddie in it.

Were all pretty much free to make as main ingredients were either cheap or free. I had loads of books but filtered out the crap and best one is 'first steps in winemaking' by CJ Berry. Bloke looks like a Bond villan but knows his stuff.

There's a lot of palaver about hydrometers and measuring alcoholic content etc. Have said 'pah' to all this and gone for the 'just brew it and drink it' approach - which seems to be working fine. all tastes yum and no-one has gone blind/had multiple organ failure/died
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smile and be happy. . . .it gets right on everyone's tits!

[oldpink]

Saki, very easy and strong

you need:
white rice
raisins
sugar
wine / champagne yeast

take 900g of plain white rice and add to a brewing bucket
add 1 gallon of hot water allow to soak for 30 mins
add 450g of chopped raisins, 1kg of sugar and 1 teaspoon of yeast
put the lid on the bucket with an airlock (from a brewer suppliers or make your own )
place in a warm dark place (airing cupboard is ideal) allow at least 1 week to ferment
or until the bubbles stop coming through the airlock, syphon off and filter then bottle it up
leave for another week or more to mature in the bottles and your done

I've made this a few times and can get it to 12 - 14% proof according to hydrometer readings
by adding the sugar in stages and using slightly more sugar
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I have become comfortably numb

Theory & hazard 24-may 2016, CBT 8th June 2016, MOD 1 2nd Aug 2016 Mod 2 2nd-Nov 2016 - Current bike CBR 600 RR

[Benson_JV]

[Frost]

Anybody brewed rice beer?

[virus]

[Benson_JV]

[Ditto]

This thread is win.

I wanna buy a beer making kit now

Whats best to start, bitter or lager?
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CG 125 > Bandit 600 > CBR 600 FY > Street Triple R

[Benson_JV]

[Ditto]

Well ive been reading up on it for the last hour or so, watching some videos and my dad used to do it back in the day. Im gonna get this kit:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Home-Brew-Starter-Kit-Bitter/dp/B001C54KQW/ref=sr_1_2?s=kitchen&ie=UTF8&qid=1299370121&sr=1-2

Can get them from Tescos apparently.

Presumably I can then buy additional kits like stout to refill it.

How long does this stuff last once its in its bottles? Does it get better the longer its left, and is it necessary to prime it?

Also, can I just use granulated sugar instead of so called 'brewing sugar'?

Cheers
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CG 125 > Bandit 600 > CBR 600 FY > Street Triple R

[Benson_JV]

That is exactly the same kit I started with.

You do indeed just then buy the kits (and sugar) and go again.

I recommend you use PET bottles, which are coke/fanta/etc bottles as they are 1/2L instead of pint bottles, which trust me, are a pain in the arse to bottle. 40 pint bottles? Pah. I'd rather rinse/sanitise/rinse 23-1L bottles!
In these PET bottles it lasts upto around two/three years before oxidation starts to set in, this is proven by the fact my dad has some 4 year old Belgian beer just starting to oxidise!

It is necessary to prime, unless you want flat beer of course.
You can indeed use bog standard sugar, although the flavour will be a little weaker with less body.
I also recommend making the kit upto 32 pints instead of 40 pints, this will result in more body (and thus flavour) and a slightly higher (around 5%) alcohol content.

HTH

Benson.

EDIT: Instead of brewing sugar, I'd recommend 2x 500G packets of Spray malt. Which is essentially spray dried malt, much more flavour and body with these.
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Willson - "If you go out on that CBR600 in the winter, you're going to do more miles on your side than on your wheels."
Riding: CBR600FW Driving: Audi A6
Previous Bikes: '96 Bandit 600, '96 GPz305

[Ditto]

Thats what I forgot to ask.

Does the alcohol level stop increasing once the fermentation is complete.

I.e. Once bottled the alcohol level will stop rising? I read that an easy way to get more alcohol is just to add more sugar? But there must be some drawback to this...

What happens if you leave the mixture in the fermentation bucket for too long? And how does the bottling process stop fermentation?

Also, I was just gonna buy a load of 15p Value Cola, tip that out and use those bottles?
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CG 125 > Bandit 600 > CBR 600 FY > Street Triple R

[Benson_JV]

Once fermentation is complete that's it.
Once bottled that is the end, as once the yeast has eaten the yeast in the bottle (and given off the Co2 to carbonise the bottles) it'll die.


If you keep adding sugar, the beer will get stronger but the taste will suffer drastically. I advise against this, the better way to get stronger is to drop the amount of water down, I.E 40 pint kit, make upto 32 pints or even 20 pints. I did this with the kit you are mentioning and it improved it IMHO.

If you leave it in too long you risk contamination, although I've had brews in the bucket (fermenting and finished, I just didn't have time to bottle) for two weeks with no ill effects.

Those bottles will be suitable yes.
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Willson - "If you go out on that CBR600 in the winter, you're going to do more miles on your side than on your wheels."
Riding: CBR600FW Driving: Audi A6
Previous Bikes: '96 Bandit 600, '96 GPz305

[Ditto]

Woohoo, im intrigued to try it now.

The kit comes with a sterilising solution if im correct? As ive heard this is the most important part. Otherwise I read bleach is ok to use.

Im gonna try and get the kit tomorrow then crack on with it on monday.

Is there any where I can get spray malt or brewing sugar other than online? Otherwise I will just have to go for the granulated stuff for the first attempt.

Ill drop another post if I run into any troubles and hopefully you will be around to help
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CG 125 > Bandit 600 > CBR 600 FY > Street Triple R

[Benson_JV]

I suggest you use Miltons baby sterilising stuff, I use it and it's perfect. As even if the kit does come with sterilising (which I don't think it does) you won't have any to do the bottles.

You can pick it up from homebrew stores if you have anywhere near you, if not order from barley bottom as they have an excellent shipping time and you'll probably have anything you order by Tuesday.
I ordered about 40kg of malt and it was here next day!

PM if you need any help mate!
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Willson - "If you go out on that CBR600 in the winter, you're going to do more miles on your side than on your wheels."
Riding: CBR600FW Driving: Audi A6
Previous Bikes: '96 Bandit 600, '96 GPz305