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My debut cider brew is now in bottles conditioning. I racked it off onto 500ml of applejuice in a sterilised demijohn, then filled the bottles from there. Another week or two and I'll be sampling. Purely on a quality control basis, you understand. With best part of half a litre and all the trub...

Strained the juice off the currants this evening. No mould on top of the must, so adding the campden tablet has worked. Had a bit of a faff straining it, as I only had the wife's jelly bag, which is smaller than my buckets and has a rigid circular rim at the top. First attempt resulted in...

I can understand that and I'd probably do the same if I lived in mainland Britain. However, for me, it makes more sense to use them because of the free postage and removal of VAT. If I could find a good home brew supplier who doesn't charge excessive postage rates and understands that they can...

I got them to call me. A very pleasant lady with a voice like Carribean sunshine couldn't tell me much more than the bot did this morning. Could be one of a number of factors. Sorry can't give you a date for dispatch but we'll email you. You can cancel and buy from another seller if it's urgent...

Tried that this morning but the bot just repeats the same message and doesn't refer you to any real people to talk to about it. Only gives you the options to sht up and wait, or cancel.

It was to be fulfilled by Amazon. I always try to buy goods that are dispatched by Amazon themselves, because they will remove the VAT, which is not applicable here in the Channel Islands. Most Amazon marketplace sellers don't. The basic price might be a little higher by Amazon but it almost...

I ordered a Woodfordes Wherry kit from Amazon 3 days ago and it still hasn't been dispatched. All the other stuff I ordered has been but the beer kit is showing a message Item not dispatched yet. We will email you with a delivery date when it is dispatched". Odd, because the kits are showing...

I picked another 3 1/4lbs of redcurrants this evening and de-twigged them before putting them in the freezer. I don't have many demijohns, so I'll do them a gallon at a time. There's probably another couple of gallons-worth left out there to pick.

That's reassuring that you've had good success. If mine turns out good enough for a wedding present, I'll be well pleased. I've not frozen the currants. The recipe just calls for boiling water, a stir and leave for a week. Coincidentally, just after I set them to soak, my neighbour told me to...

Yes, live and learn, I'll keep the initial level lower next time. The DJ has been on a tray from day one, so should be okay.

Just an update on my debut turbo cider. At two days it had formed a massive yeasty head, some of which made its way out of the airlock. I had to clean up and change the airlock 5 or 6 times that day. Day 3 (today) the fermentation slowed a little and the foamy part of the head subsided, leaving...

I picked 3 1/4 lbs of redcurrants and whitecurrants from our bushes this evening, about 70% red and 30% white. Stripped them off their twiggy things and poured a gallon of boiling water over them in a fermenting bucket. The recipe says leave the bucket in a cool place for a week and don't worry...

Another good tip but I have to store them in a damp place, so I need to cling film them to keep moulds and stuff out.

I must be having a bit of a dim day. I didn't even think of the dishwasher. I could have washed and rinsed the inside them bunged them in the dishwasher to wash and dry the outside. I don't think I'd trust the dishwasher to get the inside properly clean.

I've had permission from the Queen of the kitchen to oven them. Bit of a faff because, being tall bottles, they don 't like to stand up on a wire shelf, but after a few jangly bottle cascades, they are now drying on a low heat. Pardon my ignorance, but what's a bottle tree?

I'm just getting back into brewing and, thanks to a tip from my old mate @Alderneybrew , I've got my hands on some nice 660ml glass Cobra beer bottles from our local Indian restaurant. Getting them clean and free of beer dregs is not an issue; bottle brush and a bleachy solution in the sink with...

....but it signals my return to the brewing hobby after many years absence. A gallon of turbo cider is on and already bubbling away like a good un after 15 minutes. Morrison's 100% juice from concentrate 1/3 pint of ultra strong tea Youngs cider yeast yeast nutrient.

Too right! Always better to learn by other's mistakes. I've just started a gallon of turbo cider to get something under way. Should be ordering a nice easy beer kit (Woodforde's Wherry) soon. Also eyeing up the rhubarb patch and the redcurrant bushes with wine in mind.

Haha, Small world, ain't it mate! I didn't know you were into brewing!

Hi T.E.T.B. I've said hello to him on his welcome thread post. I think I've "spoken" to his wife on Facebook, but you never know, there may be 3 or more of us on the island. I certainly know of a few who make cider in the autumn.