Just Home Brew Tips

Anybody who wants to make some homemade wine, whether they are a beginner or an expert, should think clearly about a few important points before preparing a gallon (or five!) of wine.

The first, and most important, point is to make sure that all your containers and utensils are thoroughly sterilised. Whether you are making cheap homemade wine from fruit juice, or an expensive specialist wine-making kit, the last thing you want is for it to be spoiled by one stray bit of bacteria. All your demijohn’s or carboys should be completely cleaned throughout, before and after every batch that you prepare.

And also don’t forget the surfaces where you will be working. Would you want to do your preparations in a kitchen just after someone has made some chips and sprayed the atmosphere with salt and vinegar?

Secondly you must think about the optimum position for your wine to be brewing away once it is prepared. You have to make certain that wherever you choose is free from contamination, and even more importantly, is it going to be maintained at a comfortable temperature to aid the fermentation process.

For instance, you wouldn’t want it to be started in a garden shed at the beginning of winter, when you know that temperature is guaranteed to drop before the fermentation finishes.

The basic rule is if the ambient temperature feels warm enough for you, then the fermenting wine will probably be happy too. A warm and happy yeat is guaranteed to be a hardworking yeast!

Next, you need to make sure that you have all the ingredients ready and handy before you begin, especially if you are going to need specialist ingredients like tannin, pectolase and or citric acid. Make sure you have double-checked the full recipe are ready to go. Obviously a good wine-yeast and some yeast nutrient is an absolute must.

Also you want to be sure to have a hydrometer available, and you have fully read and understood the instructions on how to use it. Using this essential tool is the only sure way that you will know exactly how much potential alcohol will be in the finished bottle of wine. For experienced cheap wine makers, a rule of thumb is to have about one kilo of sugar for every gallon of wine you are intending to make.

So if you have taken care of all these simple but essential things, then you are just about ready to start brewing.

Enjoy!