Homebrewer's Frequently asked questions FAQ

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FAQ entries

Can you add my shop to your shops list

Can you make wine from pineapples

I recon so! I will have a look in my brew books and send you a recipy if I find one

Do I need to agetate the alco pop brew while it ferments

No, but it should not harm it. To avoid the sediment some visitors filter the brew with a coffee filter before they add the concentrate.

How can I distill alcohol

How long does beer keep

For most beers 4 - 8 weeks is fine. Heavy / high strenth beers take longer to mature. Drinking heavy beers too early can make them too bitter. It all depends on the how the ingredient balance changes over time.

Having said this I have had no problems drinking home brew beer as early as two weeks and I have kept home brew beer for up to a year and it been pretty good. This was kept in a 2 litre ex-fizzydrink bottle (PET).

I keep it as long as I want and if it tastes a bit funny then I do'nt drink it. Homebrew usually improves with age. Chimay blue improves with age it is 9% alcohol and has a five year shelf life. I kept a can of standard larger for a year and when I poured it out it had loads of bits and look very unpleasent.

How long does country wine keep

It depends on the wine. A full bodied wine like elderberry can keep for many years. Ligher wines that is ones with less tannin and lower in alcohol will need to be drunk sooner.

All wine need at least 6 month to age
Most country wines benefit from two years in the bottle
Elderberry is very full bodied and I her tale of it being fine after 20 years. Do bear in mind that home brew corks are not designed for such long term storage. Having said that I just opend my ten year old elderberry wine and it tasted great. I had sealed it with a normal homebrew cork.

How long does wine keep in a plastic ex-lomonade (PET) bottle

I would say 3 months tops. The reason for this is that plastic allows oxygen through. For a plastic, PET is quite good a barrier to oxygen but over time too much oxygen will permiate through the thin PET barrier. Since wine is quite high in alcohol it is more prone to exposure to oxygen. In addition these type of plastics allow odours to seep through so if you keep it near your garlic you will have a new flavour all of its own. This is why mineral water in platic bottles has a shelf life.

How much wine yeast should be used

About a teaspoon full for most things seems too work. Too much yeast will make it taste yeasty. too little may resuly in a slow fermaentation which risks spoiling bacteria. Its not that critical as yeast multiply at the start of fermentation when there is oxygen present and as long as they have enough nutrients.

Is glucose the only sugar that will cause fermentation?

What is the Difference between brewers yeast and baking yeast?

They are pretty similar. The difference is in the by-product of fermentation. Baker yeast does not have the same taste. I think the alcohol tolerance is similar (5% by volume) . In times gone by people often used bakers yeast in place of brewers yeast for home brew. (They probably do
so now). Some literature says do not use bakers yeast as it leave a flowery taste but I suspect it is not the yeast and more the way the
yeast is packaged. So to summary the brew will taste a little different but its not a bad altenative.

FAQ : Frequently Asked Questions