First attempt, a little help please

redser7

Hi there,
I always had it in the back of my head to give home brewing a go. A local lady advertised a home brew kit for free and I went round to collect it. It was her husband's kit but he died last year. So I owe it to him to keep the brew going
From the little reading I've done it looks like a fairly complete kit of 3 demijohns, airlocks, hydrometer, test jar, thermometer, ph tester, book and a couple of bits I don't know what they are. I reckon I just need a plastic primary fermenter and a syphon tube. So I want to get started right away. I have an allotment so I'm going to give rhubarb wine a bash (maybe with a little strawberry mixed in). But I have a few questions if you don't mind ...

Would a kitchen basin or regular bucket be ok to use for the primary fermenter?
Does anyone know of shops in North Dublin or city centre where I could get yeast, nutrient and Campton tablets?
Any tips on where you get bulk sugar cheap?
The recipe in the book uses 3 lbs fruit and 3 lbs sugar. What sort of % strength can I expect the wine to be?
Is there a general purpose yeast and nutrient that I can use? Or ones that people have used for rhubarb that makes a nice wine? Can they be got in bulk to save a few bob?

Appreciate any help or tips. Would love to have a brew ready for Christmas and drop that lady round a decent bottle. She also gave me a bottle of her husband's Plum wine (2008). Pure nectar!

Cheers

BeerNut

redser7 wrote: »

Would a kitchen basin or regular bucket be ok to use for the primary fermenter?

It has to be food safe. If in doubt, I wouldn't.

redser7

Thanks Beernut

sharingan

redser7 wrote: »

Would a kitchen basin or regular bucket be ok to use for the primary fermenter?

No, for a lot of reasons.

1. It needs to be catering grade, or the chemicals in the plastics will leech into your wine.
2. Dedicated fermentation vessels have a lot of practical advantages, not the least is that they can be sealed from atmospheric bugs that can spoil your wine, they are easy to keep clean and sanitised, and can have taps and other features that can make bottling or racking easier.

I have a few fermentation vessels, but I really like this one:
http://www.homebrewwest.ie/brewferm-fermentation-bucket-30-litres-graduated-with-airlock-tap-and-bottle-filling-stick-1040-p.asp

Does anyone know of shops in North Dublin or city centre where I could get yeast, nutrient and Campton tablets?

Cant help you with regional stores, but most people buy online.

Any tips on where you get bulk sugar cheap?

Aldi ? Lidl? When I brewed a lot with plain sugar thats where I got mine. In practice, unless you are brewing a lot (multiple fermenters at once) you can't go through enough sugar for the costs to be that significant.

The recipe in the book uses 3 lbs fruit and 3 lbs sugar. What sort of % strength can I expect the wine to be?

For how many litres of wine? As a reference, a simple wine I made last month, with ginger raisins and beetroot and 5-6Kg of white sugar came out at 14.5% ABV. (FG 0.990 and 30Litres of it)

Is there a general purpose yeast and nutrient that I can use? Or ones that people have used for rhubarb that makes a nice wine? Can they be got in bulk to save a few bob?

I use this a lot: http://www.homebrewwest.ie/super-wine-yeast-compound-60grm-1087-p.asp

It is cheap considering how many uses you get out of it.

For something special I would use a commercial yeast.

Yeast affects flavour, but while you are learning to brew it is best to use cheaper accessible options.

Appreciate any help or tips. Would love to have a brew ready for Christmas and drop that lady round a decent bottle. She also gave me a bottle of her husband's Plum wine (2008). Pure nectar!

Cheers

Take your hydrometer readings seriously, to avoid bottle bombs and to know your ABV content. I have given friends some mighty hangovers with over strength white sugar based ferments. Go for flavour not strength.

Balance out your DemiJohns and fermenter capacity, so that you can always rack all of your wines.

Higher strength beverages, like wines and strong beers, need time for their flavours to develop in the bottle. Resist the urge to drink early.

redser7

Thanks a million Sharingan, that's all very helpful, appreciate it. All the recipies in the book make a gallon demijohn's worth and use (more or less) a mix of 2 or 3 lbs fruit/veg along with 2 or 3 lbs of sugar. She generally recommends 6 months for most things but I'll be sampling to see the difference in taste over time.
I like the look of that fermenter, thanks a lot.
On the taste, the kit actually came with a sacrometer. I think it's the same as a hydrometer, so will keep a good eye on it.
Mind if I ask, I have tons of beetroot at the plot. How long would your recipe take to be drinkable? Is it a nice brew? I mean does it taste like beetroot? Hard for me to imagine
Cheers!

sharingan

redser7 wrote: »

On the taste, the kit actually came with a sacrometer. I think it's the same as a hydrometer, so will keep a good eye on it.
Mind if I ask, I have tons of beetroot at the plot. How long would your recipe take to be drinkable? Is it a nice brew? I mean does it taste like beetroot? Hard for me to imagine
Cheers!

I would look for notes comparing sacrometer and hydrometer readings. Without looking at it, I can't really tell if their functions are slightly different (it could be calibrated differently).

I am still waiting on the beetroot to settle in flavour. It still has a harsh alcohol taste to it (and a kick from hell). Its a blended flavour, but I didn't use enough beetroot for the flavour to dominate (colour is a deep pink).

Beetroot might also work better for beers, and would be drinkable much sooner.

redser7

Thanks again