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Went to the local home brew shop and bought a wine making kit for about £18. It makes 30 bottles of wine, I had to buy 4 bags of sugar to go with it costing £2.40 so it will work out at 68p a bottle. Not bad.

This is my first attempt at making any kind of wine from grapes so thought I would take the easiest route. Although now I am not so sure of how it will work out, the packet says that it can make wine in week. Surely it is going to taste horrible if I make it in a week.

Andy Hamilton wrote:Went to the local home brew shop and bought a wine making kit for about £18. It makes 30 bottles of wine, I had to buy 4 bags of sugar to go with it costing £2.40 so it will work out at 68p a bottle. Not bad.

This is my first attempt at making any kind of wine from grapes so thought I would take the easiest route. Although now I am not so sure of how it will work out, the packet says that it can make wine in week. Surely it is going to taste horrible if I make it in a week.

Don't worry - it will still taste better than my hooch!

We shall see mate so far it smell like the really, really cheap stuff that you get in plastic 1 ltr bottles in France, the stuff cheaper than box wine. In 7 days I think it will turn into a chateux, chateux though.

Was thinking of doing the same thing mate - was this in Brewer's Droop on the Gloucester Road you bought it in?


take care



phil

thebristolbloke wrote:Was thinking of doing the same thing mate - was this in Brewer's Droop on the Gloucester Road you bought it in?

Yes it was mate, Can't remember the name of it, it was near the back of the shop and in a red packet with a bloke in a top hat on the box. I will let you know who it tastes in a week or so.

The instructions say that it is ready in a week if you keep it fermenting at above 25c but it tastes better at temperatures below that but will take longer. I think it will take 10days to a week. I will report back.

seem to be having problems with this, you would have thought that in 2 days the hydrometer should have a different reading than when it started - especially if it suposedly ready in a week. It still reads the same as when I first started. This is the first time I have made grape wine and it seems to be bubbling away and making a lot of noise, the instructions said to put water in the airlock, all it seems to do is bubble and no alcohol. A layer of thick bubbles have formed on the top.

Am I doing something wrong or worrying about nothing?

Andy Hamilton wrote:seem to be having problems with this, you would have thought that in 2 days the hydrometer should have a different reading than when it started - especially if it suposedly ready in a week. It still reads the same as when I first started. This is the first time I have made grape wine and it seems to be bubbling away and making a lot of noise, the instructions said to put water in the airlock, all it seems to do is bubble and no alcohol. A layer of thick bubbles have formed on the top.

Am I doing something wrong or worrying about nothing?

Worrying about nothing!

If it's bubbling away, then the yeast is producing carbon dioxide and that means it's busy working away converting sugar into alcohol. Chill out and acquire some patience!

PS I have the same problem with the OH's lack of patience - see my cider making post.

Ah cheers mate, so worring about nothing I was hoping so. - will look at the cider making post.

I never thought that I would have issues with my girlfriend with homebrew, but she hates noises and the bubbling is driving her mad. - We had a huge row about where to put the fermenting bin. That why there was a bit more of a matter of urgency to getting it brewed. Now where can I buy earplugs from

So how's it doing? And who are the earplugs for, her or you?

If it's bubbling, the yeast is doing its stuff and you just have to wait.

I think you should treat the 'ready in a week' thing as sales hype. (It worked - you bought it!)

I do have a hydrometer but never really tried it. It just seems a lot of bother to sterilise it and a jar and pour enough to float it. Do others here bother? Am I just lazy?

my fermentation bin is in our utility room which is right under our bedroom the bubbles help me drift off at night with a smile on my face. My wife objects to the smell I c'ant smell anyting though although I am a smoker .

yeah I did take the ready in a week thing with a pinch of salt, it is almost ready now after 2 weeks.

Earplugs for both of us

I must admit I just throw the hydrometer in the mix and read it rather than steralising it first, I supose I should but it has been ok so far.

Andy
How did this go?

The Chili Monster wrote:Andy
How did this go?

Really well, I had two bottle last weekend, just filled up some bottles straight from the fermenting bin - probally another no no for experienced brewers - but they tasted like wine and not vinegar. Must say I was pretty impressed with the results. Got a part this weekend so I am expecting the other 28 bottles to go down pretty well.