Starting from scratch - equipment and kits

[lancsfirepro]

Hi folks,
First post so please be gentle. I'm completely new to wine brewing, though I used to dabble with beer making about 20 years ago.

I'm looking to buy an equipment starter kit; are there things I should be aware of or look for especially?
Also, I'm looking to pick a white wine kit - I generally go for a South African or New Zealand Sauv Blanc so would appreciate any recommendations for kits you may have had success with.
Finally, as it's my first attempt, would I be better going for a cheap kit rather than the ones I've seen upwards £60 in case I make a balls of it first time out?

Thanks for any assistance,
Gareth

 

[deano469]

Dependant on how much you want to brew/spend it can be done quite cheaply. I'm new to home brewing myself and when I first started, I was using 5L water bottles from the supermarket with a hole drilled in the cap and an air lock fitted into it. Only other things you might need are a hydrometer, thermometer and a syphon.
Wine kits wise I can't really help as I mainly brew cider but again, if you want to do it cheaply a lot of people have had success brewing WOW, if you have a look in the recipes section there are loads of variants to try in there.

 

[Chippy_Tea]

If you want to make wine from kits you only need a basic set up Demijonn, airlock, syphon tube, bottles and steriliser as everything else is in the kit but kits can be expensive and as i have found the end result of the cheaper kits are not always what you expect, the flip side is if you buy an expensive kit and don't like the finished wine you are likely to be put off trying others.

Another method of making wine is to use supermarket juices which are cheap to buy and you can make whatever you like, the original of these was a Wurzels orange wine (WOW) the thread below takes you through every step to make your own wine including what you need to make it.

WOW guide - viewtopic.php?t=10179

If you like this idea here is another thread of recipes posted by forum members - viewtopic.php?f=41&t=39846

 

[stevie1556]

Cheapest way of doing it isn't to buy a starter kit. I did, and thought it was a waste of money.

Get a couple of 5L bottles of water from Tescos (£1.10 each), buy a couple of airlocks, a syphon tube, and the various ingredients.

As above, kits are good but you can make a WOW type wine for about 65p a bottle, and most of my friends prefer them over kits. I would recommend them if you want to try brewing again with only a little bit of money. For kits, the Solomon Grundy strawberry or mango, or the California Connoisseur Zinfandel Blush are really nice. I've made all of them and I wouldn't hesitate to do them again (if the other half lets me that is).

 

[Chippy_Tea]

Get a couple of 5L bottles of water from Tescos (£1.10 each), buy a couple of airlocks, a syphon tube, and the various ingredients.

To be honest i would start with one glass Demijohn, the home made drink bottle DJ's can leak air and give the impression fermentation is very slow or non existent, the less things that can go wrong when starting out the better.

 

[oldbloke]

I started with http://www.biggerjugs.co.uk/premium-win ... p-916.html, served me well over 3 years of country wines. Had all the absolute minimum gear so I could get going. I have of course bought loads more gear since...
With kit wine you probably wouldn't need both bucket AND demi and if you want to do 5gallon kits you'd want something more like http://www.biggerjugs.co.uk/winemaking-size-p-938.html
Suggest you have a look at the equipment sets at biggerjugs.co.uk then pricecheck equivalent stuff at other suppliers.

 

[godfrey]

i started with a plastic 33 litre bin with no lid for mashing
and the Wilko Fermentation Vessel Screw Top 25L
making elderflower champagne using recycled champagne bottles

I now have a proper fermentation bin with lid for mash
2 x 25 litre screw top fermenters
16 gallon demijohns and 2 half gallon demijohns

I think the kits that OB has listed is a great place to start !
the rubber bungs and airlocks for my demijohns cost more than those kits :lol:

 

[iceo]

i started a few months back doing wow's, TC's and beer kits.

i have only used 5L water bottles (i use them 5 times each before binning them) to date . i dont have any air locks just a bit of cling film with a pin hole in it and placing the cap back on (not screwed on) .

a long syphon tube,
glass bottles are best but plastic pop bottles will do

 

[Robbo]

If you drill a 13mm hole in the cap of a 5 L water bottle and fit a rubber grommet (99p) you'll get a tight seal. I use both glass and plastic and find no difference between them .

 

[Chippy_Tea]

i have only used 5L water bottles (i use them 5 times each before binning them)

Why you do this, i have used the same one several times.

 

[Chippy_Tea]

If you drill a 13mm hole in the cap of a 5 L water bottle and fit a rubber grommet (99p) you'll get a tight seal. I use both glass and plastic and find no difference between them .

If you drill a 28mm hole a standard bung fits perfectly. :thumb:

 

[Robbo]

If you drill a 13mm hole in the cap of a 5 L water bottle and fit a rubber grommet (99p) you'll get a tight seal. I use both glass and plastic and find no difference between them .

If you drill a 28mm hole a standard bung fits perfectly. :thumb:

I tried that method first because the bung was cheaper than the grommet but i couldn't get a tight seal. So I now use grommets with pet bottles and bungs for Demi's.

I had to throw out a PET bottle after I made a Blueberry and Red Grape WoW, the foam on the top of the brew stained the plastic and I couldn't get it clean. All the others were fine it was just that one recipe.

 

[lancsfirepro]

Thanks for the replies guys. I realised that I can use one of the containers I already have (for work use), it's a 30L capacity with a good lid. So have ordered an airlock and a very expensive grommet for it! Also ordered a plastic carboy and some other odds and sods. Going to try a Beaverdale Sauvignon Blanc for starters.
Question that has been puzzling me... most wines I buy have a screw cap: can i used these instead of corks or is that a no no?

 

[Tim_Crowhurst]

Some people do use screw caps, but I personally don't because the glass is much thinner so they're more likely to break when corking/uncorking the bottles. Also, the thinner glass means the cork doesn't fit as tightly in the neck as the inside diameter is larger. This is mostly a problem for wines that need long-term storage, like meads, elderberry or anything that's heavily oaked.

You can get screw-fit caps for screw-neck bottles. I can't remember who makes/sells them, but I'm sure someone else will provide a link.

 

[Chippy_Tea]

most wines I buy have a screw cap: can i used these instead of corks or is that a no no?

I have read in the forum that you can use them a couple of times then the screw caps threads get worn and you cannot tighten it enough to get a decent seal, i use 1.5 litre plastic spring water bottles (PET) as i do not store/age my wine for very long periods, if you intend to do this glass is best.

You could ask your local pub if they could save you a few wine bottles or you could go to the bottle bank and help yourself.

 

[oldbloke]

IIRC it was bobsbeer here who was selling seals for screwtops, but I don't know if he has any left - they went like hot cakes. As said the one that came with the bottle is OK for a couple of uses but may be unreliable after that.

 

[iceo]

i have only used 5L water bottles (i use them 5 times each before binning them)

Why you do this, i have used the same one several times.

they get abit tatty and the bottoms start to soften or the carry handle breaks. with doing beer kits i use the water to brew so throw the oldest away and they are soft plastic so start to scratch inside then cleaning not worth the risk of losing a brew for a £1.

I find the sainsburys ones are better for brewing (stronger) and the Morrisons one better for racking (ridges not as deep)

 

[lancsfirepro]

As luck would have it, a mate of mine works at a wine bottling firm, so wine bottles and screw caps should be readily available. Just have to cross his palm with beer.