Virgin Brewer Beware!

[hopsbee]

Howdy,

I have a basic starter set, only made one batch of samsons ale which semed to turn out ok but i have a few questions as i am keen to expand on this and make more differnet types and red wine.

Firstly,

-can i make red wine with the equipment i have got already? - fermenter, hydrometer, syphon etc
-if not, what else will i need?
-will buying a fermenter with tap make it easier? i found syphoning a bit of a faff to be honest
-how important is temperature, airing cupboard gets to around 26 degrees when heating on, 23 when not and the utility (preferred option) around 18 lowest to 22 highest, do i need a heater and place brew in spare room.

I hope you appreciate i am new to this art but very quickly becoming hooked, i don't want to throw money away on things i don't yet need.

Also, any good ales and wine kits anyone can recommend are greatly appreciated.

Thanks in anticipation.

 

[RobWalker]

Red wine - yes, but if you want to make a small amount you really need a fermentation vessel matching in size because headroom is bad. If you only want to make a gallon then go and buy a 5L water bottle and use that as a FV with a hole bored in the lid for an airlock, it really is the best solution for a trial run! most people buy two, one to ferment in and one to rack off to so you get clearer wine, but i've never actually had any issues sitting on the lees until clear.

depending on what kit you buy, you may need some chemicals - tannin, citric acid. you CAN get these from household sources if you want - strong black tea for the tannin, fresh lemon juice for citric acid. Pectic Enzyme is pretty essential or your wine may be hazy, and only pectic enzyme will drop it out if that happens. Clearing agent is useful if you have any, but if not, both gelatine and generally being patient and waiting for gravity to do its job work well.

Aside from that I doubt you need much else!

 

[Mark1964]

your better off making wine from juice see here
viewtopic.php?f=48&t=10179

 

[Laurin]

Your utility room with it being between 18C and 22c is quite good for ales, for wine alright but could be a couple of degrees lower, if you want to make lager you need to make it at around 10C. Most lager kits are supplied with ale yeast though, so you can brew it at room temperatures. Just check the instructions which would come with the kit.

 

[dennisking]

Hi and welcome.

 

[hopsbee]

Thanks for all the info guys, so if i'm getting this right;-

I need another vessel for racking wine into, and ale wise i can just crack on with what i've got.

is the airing cupboard too hot for brewing ale then, range from about 22-23 degrees?

And, the spare room, heating on low as not used maintains around 17-18 degrees, so is this ideal for wine?

Basically, i'm thinking i could make ale in the utility and/or airing cupboard and wine in the spare room simultaneously.

Role on rota days so i can get cracking on with it!! :drunk:

 

[Laurin]

17C -18C would work for both, for ale it would just take a bit longer. Fermentation creates also a bit of heat, that means that the brew is 1-2C higher than the outside temperature.
I am fermenting wine with champagne yeast, ginger beer with ale yeast and cider with cider yeast at the moment in room which is about 16C probably a bit lower during night and they are all bubbling away happily.
If you want to raise the temperature of a single fermenting vessel you can also just wrap it in blankets, winter jackets, etc. to insulate it and keep the warmth it creates inside.
If you want to monitor your temperature you can get THESE strips which you put on to the fermenting vessel or you can fix the probe of a thermometer (the kind where the probe is on the end of a cable) on the outside with some tape and cover it with bubble wrap etc. so it measure the fermenting vessel rather than the room tempertaure.

 

[hopsbee]

Thanks for that Laurin, some good tips and info there. The missis might get cold, but at least the brew wont