Beginners

Introduction

This section is dedicated to those who have never before made their own wine or beer, but are intrigued by the idea that it might be possible, and even more intrigued by the the idea that it might be drinkable!

Well, like anything worthwhile there are small amounts of time, money and energy to be invested, but these will be rewarded many times over.

The easiest way to begin making wine or beer is from a kit, where everything has been balanced for you, and the outcome is virtually guaranteed. By far the vast majority of home-made wine and beer made in Ireland today is from kits. The main reason for this is that the quality of modern kits is so good that you can easily produce a wine or beer that will be as good or better than the shop-bought product, at a fraction of the price.The other reason is that we are all juggling so many different demands with our available time!

But if you wish to dedicate a little more time to your hobby, you can begin to learn how to make delicious wines from fruits and berries and flowers, either indigenous or exotic.Or set up a micro-brewery in your kitchen and mash your own barley and sparge your own wort! That though, is beyond the scope of this page, so we will assume for now that you are about to make your first wine or beer from a kit.

Equipment

To start making wine or beer, a small outlay on equipment is necessary.

For Wine you will need a fermenter (plastic) for a 5-gallon batch or kit, or a demijohn (glass or plastic ) for a 1-gallon amount. These will have an opening at the top to take an airlock and bung. Thus the wine can be sealed away from the air in the final stages of fermentation to avoid spoilage, while any remaining fermentation gasses can still escape. It is preferable to have two of these so that you can "rack" (syphon) off the wine at various stages leaving behind the sediment. When your wine has finished fermenting, you can either bottle it (empty wine bottles can easily be cleaned and recycled) in which case you will need some corks and a corker or use a vinotainer. This is a collapsable bag inside a cardboard box complete with tap, and really cuts down on the labour. So the only other items you will need are a syphon tube and possibly a brew belt or fermentation mat to keep your wine warm while it is fermenting. Also strongly recommended is a thermometer. If you wish to make wine from berries, fruits, flowers, etc. you will also require an open bucket.

For Beer you will also require a fermenter, airlock and syphon tube as above. The only difference comes at the end stage, when you have the option of putting your beer into either bottles or a keg. The keg comes with or without a small brass valve on top to take a CO 2. cylinder. This is used to inject a small amount of gas into the headspace of the keg whenever the pressure drops. Without this you are relying on the natural pressure from the small secondary fermentation. This works well initially, but often dissipates when you are only halfway down the keg. There is little difference in terms of quality between kegging and bottling. The keg is labour saving - in effect you will have draught beer on tap. If you decide to bottle, you must gather enough bottles to hold 40 pints, clean and sterilise them, and then use a crown capper to put on your crown caps (unless you've been lucky enough to find "Grolsch" type bottles!) Again, a thermometer is strongly recommended, and a brew belt or fermentation mat will keep the temperature correct (20-25°) if this is a problem.

We have a range of beginners kits - everything you need to make your first batch of wine or beer.

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Technique

Wine
Although your kit will come with full instructions, you may find the following hints and tips helpful also. (5 gall. kit) --

1. If your fermenter is new, rinse it out well with hot water, and you are ready to begin. Put on the kettle. Empty the contents of the concentrate container into the fermenter. Rinse out the container with hot water and add this also. If there is sugar to be added, put the correct amount into a saucepan, add enough water to dissolve it, and heat until dissolved. Add this and stir. Top up to the 4-gall. mark with cold water, stir well and check the temperature. Add enough hot or cold water so that you end up with 5 galls. at 20-25°. To ensure that you end up with 30 bottles, make sure your initial volume is slightly above the 5-gall. mark on the fermenter.
2. Now add your yeast, stir again, put the fermenter in a warm place and watch it go! (you may see nothing for 24hrs. or so while the yeast multiplies). This initial "primary fermentation" should last for 4-6 days if the temperature is within the desired range. During this period there is no need to fit an airlock-just cover loosely to keep out flies. When fermentation is almost complete (if you are unsure, do it sooner rather than later) add the bung and airlock. Pour a little water into the airlock so that the level comes about halfway up. The fermentation gasses will soon begin to bubble through the water.
3. You now have a visible indicator as to when the fermentation is finished. When you have little or no bubbles passing through the lock, wait another few days to allow some settlement, and then rack off (syphon) the wine into another fermenter, leaving the sediment behind. At this point you add your stabiliser (to keep the wine fresh and prevent oxidation) and fermentation stopper (optional, but does guard against a re-fermentation in the bottle). Stir vigorously at this point to de-gas your wine. Now add a clearing agent, stir again, and refit the airlock, or preferably a solid bung. Clearing will take a few days in a cool place. A week is better if you can wait
4. Now you are ready to rack the clear wine into either bottles or a vinotainer. It is a good idea if you are bottling to rack the clear wine back into your other fermenter and bottle from there. It is good winery practice to rinse out fermenter and bottles before use with a sterilising solution (available as a powder, or dissolve 5 campden tablets in one pint of water) Either real or plastic corks can be used. If real corks are used, leave the bottles upright for a few days for the cork to seal properly and then store them on their sides. Plastic shrink capsules and pre-gummed labels are available to give a professional finish to your wines.

Beer
Stages 1 to 3 are the same as for wine kits, except that you will not be adding stabiliser or fermentation stopper, and you will not be de-gassing your beer.

Stage 4 - If you decide to bottle, a small amount of sugar (half a level teaspoon per pint) is added to each bottle to induce a slight secondary fermentation in the bottle. This gives the characteristic sparkle and "head" that we associate with beer. To encourage this secondary fermentation, the bottles are left in a warm place for 3-4 days before being moved to a cooler spot to mature for a few weeks before drinking. The procedure for kegging is the same, the amount of sugar to add being 2-3 ozs.

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