I have asked this question many a time as all of mine so far smell exactly the same - revolting!! Ive only started this year but Im learning more as Im going along and understanding the process a little better with each batch so hopefully, somewhere along the way, theres gotta be a nice tasting one Have just made a batch of elderberry, peach & banana - it smells and tastes lovely so far.
does it really taste good... or is it just alcoholic and cheap?
Mostly good.
I suppose if a batch was a bit naff I'd try to drink it because of the effort and ingredients. So far that hasn't happened though*. My most recent lot was some plum wine made from plums in punnets reduced to very low price in my local Co-op. The wine (two demi-johns) turned out very sweet - to the extent that I felt quite disappointed when I first tasted it. One friend virtually spat it out though she said if I keep it, it will improve and be great around Christmas time. On further tasting, it's not as sweet as I thought and I enjoy it (as have 9/10 others who tried it).
I started another batch, also from cheap plums but I added less sugar.
I've made some extremely nice blackcurrant wine in recent years and some reasonably good stuff from gooseberries. Maybe I've been lucky. The worst wine I made was my second ever attempt: some red from a kit that was just awful. *With great reluctance it was poured away. Crying or Very sad
I don't like alcohol so don't drink my wine, have tasted it but can't really say what its like, its just alcoholic but it is lovely in cooking, which is what I make it for so I'm happy
The Chili Monster wrote:My interpretation of Stoney's Treacle Ale was pants.
:tongue2:
However, it was a first venture into the world of homebrew. I suspect that leaving it on the lees too long and a bad (putting it mildly) racking technique didn't help. It hasn't put me off (I've some wine on the go.)
I've only just read this. First, don't worry too much - treacle ale only appeals to about one in five people who try it.
Second, leaving it on the lees for too long is not a good idea. Bad racking is surviveable if you leave it to settle for a while and then rack again more carefully.
My barley wine, some cider vintages (04 in particular) and my stout get rave reviews, with people asking to be paid in all three when I get jobs done. They also disappear fast when we have people over.
My nettle beer and some cider vintages have been well regarded by those who have a taste for them. The only problem with the nettle beer is that it tends to make people doze off.
My bitter proved popular with older gents and the OH, but few others.
My ginger beer is a little too erratic - never bad, sometimes sublime but usually average or a little better.
My treacle ale is good IMO, with the added bonus of not having to share it much! It has a couple of fans, but most people opt for my other brews.
My potato wine is best drunk after a couple of glasses of something else. It's not that it's bad, it's just very, very strong and tends to numb the taste buds so it's best drunk once you've tasted all the other booze!
My rhubarb wine is the sort of thing you can serve the vicar - pleasant and innocuous but don't let him (or her) have a couple of glasses or they'll be out frolicking in the graveyard.
But my personal favourite is always cider. I love the way you can make it year in, year out using the same method and the same apples from the same trees, and get different results each time.
elfcurry wrote:The wine (two demi-johns) turned out very sweet - to the extent that I felt quite disappointed when I first tasted it.
I learned a good trick for dealing with this, which is to deliberately make a very dry rhubarb - underplay the sugar a bit and use a high alcohol tolerance yeast. Rhubarb's taste is so delicate (some would say bland) that you can then blend your oversweet wine and overdry rhubarb, and should be left with something much more palatable.
I must stop talking about this and go and do it. I've got around 15 gallons of various plonk in the garage, most of it on the lees for a whole year and some of it no doubt spoiled. Should be a merry winter never the less!
Ive just started on the homebrew front don't know why I've never tried it before as booze is such a large part of my diet But I have made nettle beer and that went very well bit like a fizzy bitter that sounds terrible but it was OK .
dibnah wrote:Ive just started on the homebrew front don't know why I've never tried it before as booze is such a large part of my diet But I have made nettle beer and that went very well bit like a fizzy bitter that sounds terrible but it was OK .
Welcome to the club!
We hope to start cider making this weekend - our mystery admirer had more apples dropped off today, plus we have all our own as well. I also have to find time to head south and collect some more, but when?
We also had a tonne of barley dropped off today and while most is for the pigs, a fair bit will find its wine into a new batch of barley wine. Then there's the stout to make as well.
Oh, and I mustn't forget the potato wine either.
I think I'm going to have to get more fermenters and kegs! Either that or drink faster.
I have the same problem with my latest batch. I was attempting to make a full 20 pints of it, but when adding it into the demijohns I found I only had 15 pints worth… Not to sure what went wrong (probably watching TV at the time of making it seems the most likely cause), however I refused to accept this as the possible reason for a 5 pint shortfall, until I found a piece of dried noodle in the batch…
Nettle & Noodle beer was never the plan.
Come a week Monday it will be ready to chill and drink, so let’s hope two weeks of fermenting has done the job. Either way, I’m drinking it.
Cheers,
The Cardinal.
"Not all chemicals are bad. Without chemicals such as hydrogen and oxygen, for example, there would be no way to make water, a vital ingredient in beer."
the very first wine i made was the best i ever made - by common decision.
Was damson that i fermented in 3 recycled plastic coke bottles. exploded several times. ended up with three wine bottles. easile some of the best wine i ever tasted rather like a well aged port.
Other stuff i made - my mead and grapefruit wine in particular were attrocious to start and ended up devine within 2 years
some has been mediocre right through and some drain cleaner
Jeremy Daniel Meadows. (Jed).
Those who walk in truth and love grow in honour and strength
I got into homebrew pre teens when I used to make it as a hobby,but not actually drink it. I would say about 10% was OK. M'Gran got me into it, some how every thing she made was drinkable with in 3 months (and all was drunk) from cold tea to pea pod and goldern rod all was made and drunk.
I don't make much wine these days, I prefer the "real" stuff. But as Hedgy says when you do get one thats brillient its a great feeling. I once made a Blackberry that when bottled retained a very slight fizziness, medium sweet lots of fruit. Like a Lambrusco but better and around 13% alcohol. My god that stuff was legendry, never achieved anything like it since.
I'm concentrating my efforts on proper cider and perry. Last years very limited perry production (4 bottles!) was a sucess in terms of flavour even MOH who hates cider was impressed. Only the fact it was around 14% alcohol spolit it, as You had to sip it instead of my usual quaff.
Edit
Oh beer I've made it 3 times from kit. First time was OK, scond time was some of the best stuff myself or any of my mates have ever tasted, can't get the kit anymore, third time was foul.
I would like to try making a "proper" lager" since we have the benefit of a cellar, so in theory it should be the right lagering temp.
Last edited by Cheezy on Wed Oct 03, 2007 12:23 pm, edited 1 time in total.
It's not easy being Cheezy
So you know how great Salsify is as a veg, what about Cavero Nero,great leaves all through the winter , then in Spring sprouting broccolli like flowers! Takes up half as much room as broccolli
Have just made a batch of elderberry, peach & banana - it smells and tastes lovely so far.
But I have made nettle beer and that went very well bit like a fizzy bitter that sounds terrible but it was OK .
but it is lovely in cooking, which is what I make it for so I'm happy
