Tophe

Recipes 

Hey all...

I currently have only been a beer brewer. Ive got a few carboys and what not. Everything for extract brewing plus a little. Is there anything equipment I need to acquire for wine that I dont have, besides corks, corker and wine bottles?

I have a 4 gal kettle. Can I use a 6.5 gal carboy for primary, or do I need a bigger one. I was thinking about buying a 7.9 gal bucket for this.

For ingredients I think I am going to buy a kit from Midwest or NB.

rdwj

Recipes 

I recently did my first wine kit. Most of them are 6 gallon kits.

I'm not expert, but here is my advise based on the one kit I have under my belt...

Wine from a kit is REALLY easy, but there is one thing that you have to worry about with wine that isn't a problem with beer - headspace. You don't want it because of the risk of a particular type of infection. You can either use something like sanitized marbles to fill the last 1/2 gallon or you can get some 6 gal carboys.

The kit I did required a secondary and a polishing vessel. I plan to have wine going pretty much all the time, so I picked up 2 6 gal carboys. It's also nice to have something to stir with -that you can get in a carboy. These work well

For a corker, I got one of these. It's cheap and easy. Soak your corks and use a rubber mallet with this corker. It works pretty good.

I also got a bottling bucket and bottle filler because I never bottled before. You probably already have those.

Good luck!

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On Tap: Whatever I just brewed (got sick of updating it)

DUDEbeer

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-Using a bucket is alot more convient for stirring in ingredients and addatives.

-Buy a Degassing whip there really inexpensive and fit at the end of any electric screwdriver they really save your arm when your ready to degass your wine.

Tophe

Recipes 

Thanks for the replies...actually the 2 carboys I just picked up from a buddy are 6 gal carboys I think. They look a little smaller than my 6.5.

I think I'll order the 7.9 gal fermenter and checkout that degassing whip. Bottling bucket and filler are already covered.

Tophe

Recipes 

Okay.....I'll be brewing wine soon....I ordered this kit

German Müller-Thurgau. Delicious flavors apricot, green apple and peach aromas of Riesling, and the early ripening qualities of Silvaner. A great sipping wine, its a perfect choice for potato chips (theres nothing like a crisp glass of Müller-Thurgau and some crunchy chips!) but mostly its a very satisfying wine to quench a thirst in good company

Sounds like it will be good to me. Also bought a degasser . Ill pick up a corker and corks at the next stop to the HBS

LouT

Recipes 

Don't forget the bottles!
How long does that wine have to age? I've been wanting to do a wine for my wife, she usually only likes cabs, merlots, zins, and other strong reds. If I do one of those it will take a year to age, so I think I'd like to do something that ages quicker (ready to drink while young). Hijacking this thread, sortof, but hope someone can suggest. (When she does drink whites she likes pinot grigio, hates sweet whites like "white zinfandel"...)

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Primary - California Common -finally!
Secondary - nothing, back after year plus hiatus
Keg carbing & conditioning - nada
Drinking - store bought: Loose Cannon IPA, Wachusett IPA.
On deck: Trying to decide (beer); wine kit likely (red wine)

Tophe

Recipes 

Wont forget the bottles...Still have 6 weeks to cover that. The LHBS is getting ready to get some new styles in soon.

LouT

Recipes 

Do they recommend the muller-thurgau be aged a year, or is it actually decent to drink after a month or two in bottles?
Any suggestions for wine that is ready to drink in a short amount of time - I'd like to make a few batches of "quicker" wines first off, to give us something to drink while subsequent batches have time to age out.

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Primary - California Common -finally!
Secondary - nothing, back after year plus hiatus
Keg carbing & conditioning - nada
Drinking - store bought: Loose Cannon IPA, Wachusett IPA.
On deck: Trying to decide (beer); wine kit likely (red wine)

Flyin' Lion

Recipes 

My first batch of wine I bottled half of the batch and bagged the other half. The bags are made of Mylar (I think) and fit into a plastic holder--wine on tap. My SWMBO loves this and helped me justify a kegerator.

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Tophe

Recipes 

This is suppost to be good in a month or so. Thats one reason I bought it.

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"Give a man a beer, he'll drink for a day. Teach a man to brew, he'll drink for a lifetime"

All tanks are empty :(


Drinking: A two year old keg of Eff'd up MawN Lower Beer I made !
TindleKrauft Brewing