Hello all,
I've wanted to do homemade fruit wine and ciders for a long while. Twice I've planted fruit trees and/or bushes, and moved the next year or two before they could produce. This year I'm planing peach/pear/apple trees, black currants, and grapes. More fruit is almost certain to be planted next year.
I've never brewed before, but my uncle who has an orchard does a lot of fruit wines and my brother has done some beer, mead, and cider.
A few weeks ago on craigslist I stumbled across someone selling winemaking equipment. 6 gallon plastic bucket fermenter, corker, hydrometer/syphon etc, two 6 gallon glass carboys, and 4 dozen empty wine bottles for $80. I bought it immediately, planning ahead.
I found this site looking up how to build a kegerator as I was thinking of getting one and buying some craft beer in kegs. Then I started mentioning to my wife about eventually making cider that we could dispense from the kegs. She started talking about how I've been talking on making wine/cider for a years but never did anything. So I said I was going to make Edwort's Apfelwein cause it was easy, I just needed yeast, sugar, juice, and the equipment I already had.
One thing led to another and after some discussions over the weekend not only am I buying yeast and sugar, but by the end of the weekend we had made a $500 order from Northern Brewer that included their Home Brew Keg System with 2 5-gallon cornies and a dual CO2 regulator and a freezer temp controller. Plan is to get a freezer than can hold a minimum of 4 cornies, if not more (room for expansion). I'll have a few weeks to decide on the final size and watch for sales as the apfelwein ferments.
I'll be starting with the apfelwein as soon as I get the yeast. I would like to get into beer brewing at some point. I see Northern Brewer sells kits that appear to be very easy to use, and seem like a good way to get into beer before starting full grain brews.
At some point I'd like to try making sour beers, I like them, but they are usually more than I want to pay on a regular basis.
I'll be doing wine as well once I start getting fruit in. I may try some with grapes/juice from the local winemaking club my coworkers have mentioned, but mostly I think wine will wait until I have my own fruit coming in to use.
Also once I have fruit I'm going to try peach and pear ciders, in addition to apple ones. I'll have to get a press I suppose...
Anyhow, figured I'd say hi. I joined cause I kept reading a lot of threads here and I feel it will be useful place to get advise as I start this journey.
I've wanted to do homemade fruit wine and ciders for a long while. Twice I've planted fruit trees and/or bushes, and moved the next year or two before they could produce. This year I'm planing peach/pear/apple trees, black currants, and grapes. More fruit is almost certain to be planted next year.
I've never brewed before, but my uncle who has an orchard does a lot of fruit wines and my brother has done some beer, mead, and cider.
A few weeks ago on craigslist I stumbled across someone selling winemaking equipment. 6 gallon plastic bucket fermenter, corker, hydrometer/syphon etc, two 6 gallon glass carboys, and 4 dozen empty wine bottles for $80. I bought it immediately, planning ahead.
I found this site looking up how to build a kegerator as I was thinking of getting one and buying some craft beer in kegs. Then I started mentioning to my wife about eventually making cider that we could dispense from the kegs. She started talking about how I've been talking on making wine/cider for a years but never did anything. So I said I was going to make Edwort's Apfelwein cause it was easy, I just needed yeast, sugar, juice, and the equipment I already had.
One thing led to another and after some discussions over the weekend not only am I buying yeast and sugar, but by the end of the weekend we had made a $500 order from Northern Brewer that included their Home Brew Keg System with 2 5-gallon cornies and a dual CO2 regulator and a freezer temp controller. Plan is to get a freezer than can hold a minimum of 4 cornies, if not more (room for expansion). I'll have a few weeks to decide on the final size and watch for sales as the apfelwein ferments.
I'll be starting with the apfelwein as soon as I get the yeast. I would like to get into beer brewing at some point. I see Northern Brewer sells kits that appear to be very easy to use, and seem like a good way to get into beer before starting full grain brews.
At some point I'd like to try making sour beers, I like them, but they are usually more than I want to pay on a regular basis.
I'll be doing wine as well once I start getting fruit in. I may try some with grapes/juice from the local winemaking club my coworkers have mentioned, but mostly I think wine will wait until I have my own fruit coming in to use.
Also once I have fruit I'm going to try peach and pear ciders, in addition to apple ones. I'll have to get a press I suppose...
Anyhow, figured I'd say hi. I joined cause I kept reading a lot of threads here and I feel it will be useful place to get advise as I start this journey.
