Hi, Just to start off, i'm 22 and recently got interested in home-brewing after my grandpa gave me some wine he made. He has a large plastic bucket and made orange wine from his orange tree. I've never liked wine in my life and would rather drink a beer, but his was so good that I could drink it like I would orange juice. The way he brewed his though and some things i've read have made me wonder which is really the proper way. For example:
His plastic bucket has a large mouth to it, and he just had a cheesecloth rubber-band attached to it. He had it open to the air like this for several months before siphoning it out into mason jars. Is it really OK to leave it open to air this long? Would it have turned out better if he would have air-locked it eventually?
He didn't use any special equipment and didn't even use yeast. He just boiled oranges in water and put that in to the bucket and let it sit. It turned out very sweet and with quite a bite to it. Would it have taken less time or turned out better if he used wine yeast?
Also his had a slight vinegar taste to it. Is this normal for home-brewed drinks?
Anyway, I went to a local store and bought some welch's grape juice and a 3 pack of bakers yeast and started a gallon of my own grape wine in a 1 gallon milk jug. I don't expect it to be nearly half as good as my grandpa's was, but this seems like something I will enjoy and eventually buy proper equipment for. So hello everyone!
His plastic bucket has a large mouth to it, and he just had a cheesecloth rubber-band attached to it. He had it open to the air like this for several months before siphoning it out into mason jars. Is it really OK to leave it open to air this long? Would it have turned out better if he would have air-locked it eventually?
He didn't use any special equipment and didn't even use yeast. He just boiled oranges in water and put that in to the bucket and let it sit. It turned out very sweet and with quite a bite to it. Would it have taken less time or turned out better if he used wine yeast?
Also his had a slight vinegar taste to it. Is this normal for home-brewed drinks?
Anyway, I went to a local store and bought some welch's grape juice and a 3 pack of bakers yeast and started a gallon of my own grape wine in a 1 gallon milk jug. I don't expect it to be nearly half as good as my grandpa's was, but this seems like something I will enjoy and eventually buy proper equipment for. So hello everyone!
