Iâve been making wine and beer on and off for the last forty odd years and had some notable failures along the way, but, Iâm glad to say, the results get better with time.
Like a lot of us oldies I started off with the Boots kits (beer OK but not the wine). So I started making fruit wines. They werenât too bad but I found it was a lot of time and effort for something that didnât really stack up against grape based wine so I went back to kits and spent many years trying to find a really good one.
About three years ago the local brew shop told me about the new range of Canadian produced kits. Instead of the traditional two pints of fruit juices that taste something like what it says on the box these kits are 90% pure grape juice. Everything you need (yeast etc) is included. The kits are more pricey but the results are fantastic.
Pity I canât say the same about beer kits. After many years Iâm just about ready to give up on anything but Bitter. I havenât yet found a Pilsner the pours clear or a stout that really tastes like stout.
I also enjoy a glass or two of cider and again I canât find a kit that doesnât taste like fizzy, watered down apple juice so if anyone has a receipt that involves 100% real apple juice (and knows where to get it) Iâll be glad to hear.
A bit about me. I live in north Ess*x (great county, donât believe the press), Iâve been happily married for 40+ years, we have two children and one grandchild. After many years working in London Iâm now retired and enjoying every minute of it. If thereâs anyone out there whoâs worried about retiring I can only say Donât. Grab the chance with both hands and donât look back. Trust me in a few months youâll wonder how you had time to go to work.
All the best.
PS Please excuse the Ess*x above. The text checker seemed to object to the correct spelling!
Like a lot of us oldies I started off with the Boots kits (beer OK but not the wine). So I started making fruit wines. They werenât too bad but I found it was a lot of time and effort for something that didnât really stack up against grape based wine so I went back to kits and spent many years trying to find a really good one.
About three years ago the local brew shop told me about the new range of Canadian produced kits. Instead of the traditional two pints of fruit juices that taste something like what it says on the box these kits are 90% pure grape juice. Everything you need (yeast etc) is included. The kits are more pricey but the results are fantastic.
Pity I canât say the same about beer kits. After many years Iâm just about ready to give up on anything but Bitter. I havenât yet found a Pilsner the pours clear or a stout that really tastes like stout.
I also enjoy a glass or two of cider and again I canât find a kit that doesnât taste like fizzy, watered down apple juice so if anyone has a receipt that involves 100% real apple juice (and knows where to get it) Iâll be glad to hear.
A bit about me. I live in north Ess*x (great county, donât believe the press), Iâve been happily married for 40+ years, we have two children and one grandchild. After many years working in London Iâm now retired and enjoying every minute of it. If thereâs anyone out there whoâs worried about retiring I can only say Donât. Grab the chance with both hands and donât look back. Trust me in a few months youâll wonder how you had time to go to work.
All the best.
PS Please excuse the Ess*x above. The text checker seemed to object to the correct spelling!
Half of Essex seems to be on this forum. 
As for kits try Coopers Irish Stout. Not made one in a while, but it was good.
