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There is controversy about whether degassing your homemade wine is necessary. On one side, there are those that say that it is very important to making wines that you’ll enjoy and be proud of in the months and years to follow.  On the other side, there are those that suggest that degassing is not that important, that the amount of carbon dioxide that remains when you bottle your wine is negligible. But this assumes that you will be bulk aging your wine for several months in the carboy before bottling, which will supposedly allow the carbon dioxide gases to dissipate.

I’m with the first camp and it is my experience that degassing wine is important. I’m not worried about pressure building up in the bottle due to the presence of carbon dioxide. I’m concerned about taste and visual appearance. Who wants to pour wine for guests that foams up in the glass?

Degassing is also an important consideration for winemakers that are planning to enter their wines into competitions. Wines are not judged only on taste. Odor and appearance are also important factors. If the wine is meant to be a still wine but has carbon dioxide bubbles, it will not score well on appearance.

Most people who make wine these days use commercial wine kits. These kits are made so that the winemaker can bottle their wine in 4 to 8 weeks.  Of course, bulk aging the wine will offer benefits, but many don’t care about the characteristics that might develop in the wine in a year or two – they want to enjoy their wine now!  For those winemakers, degassing the wine is vital.  For winemakers that plan on bulk aging their wines under an air lock, degassing may not be as important as most of the gas will dissipate during the bulk aging process.  However, there are times when simply bulk aging the wine will not be enough to rid it of excess carbon dioxide. Cool temperatures and high barometric air pressure may result in wine with excess carbon dioxide if not manually degassed.

Although it is not likely the winemaker will completely remove carbon dioxide from their wine, having too much of it can affect the taste of the wine negatively. In water, carbon dioxide is noticeable to our taste buds when it is present in a ratio as low as 200 mg per liter. In small amounts, it can enhance the tannins in wine but too much carbon dioxide can produce unwanted tastes.

There are several ways to degas wines, including manual vigorous stirring, using a device attached to an electrical drill and using a vacuum pump.  I’ve covered some of these methods here that will be especially helpful to you if you make wine from wine kits.

Ian Hugh Scott has been making his own wine for years. As well as wines from commercially available kits, he has discovered the pleasures of experimenting with other ingredients such as black currants, strawberries, blueberries, and even ginger and parsnip!

Follow along with Ian’s regular home winemaking activities at his blog

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If you’re making wine from commercially available wine kits, you’ll have everything you need to make very good wine. Even the yeast is provided for you in the kit. I’ve found that Lalvin EC-1118 strain of yeast is the one that is most often included in both premium and lower quality kits.

EC-1118 yeast is a very good all purpose wine yeast. Originating in the Champagne area of France, it is used to make a wide variety of juices because of it’s high alcohol tolerance, ability to withstand a wide range of temperatures, and it’s neutrality to flavor and aromas.

Perhaps though you are considering experimenting with other types of wines like making your own from fruit in your garden, or even frozen fruit from the grocery store, you might want to learn more about the types of yeast strains available to you. It has been shown in several studies that the strain of yeast used to make a wine can have positive affects on the flavors and aromas in the resulting wine.

There are many different characteristics in a wine yeast that you might want to know about when selecting your yeast for your next wine. For example, you might want a wine that doesn’t fully ferment to “dry” (zero or almost zero residual sugar), but instead want a wine that has a hint of sweetness to it. In that case, you’ll want a yeast with a lower alcohol tolerance. It is the yeast that turn the sugar in a juice into alcohol, and the higher a strain of yeast can tolerate alcohol, the more sugar it will consume.

Another factor is the yeast’s temperature range. Some like the aforementioned EC-1118 strain have a wide range of temperature (45° to 95°F) in which it can live, grow and reproduce while other strains such as Scott Lab’s ST strain can only tolerate a temperature between 60 and 68°F. But there are other advantages of the ST strain, as long as you can keep your fermenting wine in that temperature range.

In a recent study by the Australian Wine Research Institute, it was shown that even using two different strains of yeast (which is called “co-inoculation“) may also be beneficial to increasing the flavors and aromas in a wine. At the same time, the winemaker has to be careful that the two strains will not compete against each other, resulting in a “stuck fermentation” – where the yeast seem to become inactive. In that case, it’s good to have a packet of EC-1118 on hand as it is often used in such cases.

Yeast generally is available in the retail market in 5 gram packages. This is enough to innoculate 5 gallons of juice. Larger packages are available but are usually only used by professional winemakers. Sometimes though, you might be able to work something out with a local winery if they are using a yeast that you are finding difficult to obtain through a retail store.

Don’t be afraid to experiment with yeast! You might want to consider smaller batches of wine, ie. 1 gallon as opposed to 5 gallons when you are experimenting. If it doesn’t turn out the way you want, it’s a smaller amount you have to deal with.

More information and resources about yeast may be found here.

Follow along with Ian’s regular home winemaking activities at his blog.

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“Marbles for home winemaking?” you ask. “What on earth would marbles have to do with making wine?”

Well, marbles certainly won’t impart any flavors to your wine (unless of course you have not sanitized them first – and that would be a bad thing), but marbles can come in very handy. Marbles don’t seem to be as popular in the school playgrounds as they were when I was in grade two, but we used to have fun with both the large and small size marbles. Both sizes can be very handy in your winemaking endeavors.

Some winemakers love to make use of additives such as oak cubes, oak chips, or elderberry flowers to their carboys while their wine is fermenting and/or bulk aging. The problem is, these additives will float on the top of the wine and much of their effectiveness is lost. So what can you do to increase the effectiveness of your oak or dried elderberry flowers? Use your marbles!

You can purchase nylon mesh bags in various sizes or you can make your own like others who make wine at home with some imagination using cheese cloth, thread and needle. For the carboy which has a small opening, you’ll of course want to make or purchase smaller bags that will easily fit through the mouth of the carboy when you want to remove it. If you’re planning on using oak cubes, consider that it will be easier to remove a bag with oak cubes the closer the width of the bag is to the size of the cubes. Pulling a bag out through a small opening, even though you managed to squeeze them in, will be much more difficult when the cubes all bunch up together where the diameter of the carboy is smaller at it’s opening.

Once you have your bag, throw in a few marbles first (you should test to find out how many marbles you will need if you are submersing oak to ensure they sink below the surface). Then add your additive ingredients. Tie a knot in the top of your bag, and then attach a string that is long enough string that can extend from the top of the submerged bag to hang outside of the carboy. For this, 10 lb. test fishing line works well, and you will still have a tight fit for your bung and airlock assembly.

Marbles can also useful after you have racked your wine from one fermentation vessel to another. Sometimes, when trying to avoid syphoning the sediment from the bottom, you’ll lose a small quantity of wine and end up with too much head space (officially referred to as ullage When this occurs, home winemakers are often told to “top off” the wine to decrease the head space between the carboy opening and the top of the wine. Topping off with the same style of wine is preferred when this happens, but often you might not have any available. Some wine kits advise to top off with water. What you can also do is use the marbles to displace the air. Don’t just simply drop your marbles into the carboy, though! Use the nylon bag as described above. As the marbles are submerged into the wine, the head space will be reduced.

As always, be sure to use glass marbles that have been sanitized thoroughly in a sulfite water solution.

Ian Hugh Scott has been making his own wine for years. As well as wines from commercially available kits, he has discovered the pleasures of experimenting with other ingredients such as black currants, strawberries, blueberries, and even ginger and parsnip! Follow along with Ian’s regular home winemaking activities.

Article Source:http://www.articlesbase.com/wines-and-spirits-articles/dont-lose-your-marbles-keep-them-for-your-home-winemaking-1394568.html

Brewing beer at home using kegs is actually a simple process. If you are unfamiliar with how to do this, you cannot take advantage of an opportunity to save tons of money. Are you still uncertain about whether to try? Then, think about this for a moment. Did you know that brewing beer at home using kegs has a cost of about 6$ per gallon?

Home Brewing Beer Kits

So, if you want to jump on this great idea, you need to purchase a home brewing beer kit that includes a keg, a tap, and other supplies you will need, such as hops and containers. A home brew beer kit will only cost you about $20. And, for your $20 investment, you can brew beer at home using kegs. Once you get a taste of the final product, you will never go back to any other way again.

Depending on your skill level and the amount of beer you want to make, the price of the home brew beer kit can vary. No matter what, when you brew beer at home using kegs, you can make a tasty brew that will turn out exactly the way you like it. This is a pursuit that is worth your time. If you brew beer at home using your kegs, you can come home after a hard day on the job and enjoy a frosty glass of beer you made yourself. Is there really anything better than the feeling of putting the perfect brew of beer to your lips?

Once you have bought a home brew beer kit, you must be careful to follow each instruction to the letter and measure each ingredient in an exact manner. If you variate even a tad, the taste of the beer can come out different than you had hoped. Brewing beer using kegs has become such a popular method, there are brew beer at home radio stations and pubs that advocate making unpasteurized beer.

In order to brew beer at home using kegs, you have to know about the sugar to ethyl alcohol conversion process and the fermentation process of yeast and carbon dioxide. When comparing beer brewed at home to big-name beer, the difference is in the scale of beer made. You can brew any kind of beer your imagination dreams up, as long as you have brewing know-how and ability.

So, if you want to make beer with a quality that is on par with commercial brands, you need the correct home brewing equipment and an ability with a certain refinement. You will soon be on your way to making beer that is second to none.

If you’re looking for some more information about home beer brewing then check it out homebrewingsecrets.net.

Article Source:http://www.articlesbase.com/wines-and-spirits-articles/home-brewing-equipment-kegs-are-simple-and-cheap-1382986.html

Home brewing is a process that many people have enjoyed for a number of years. There might be people who do not want to be inconvenienced, so they would rather take a quick trip to their local grocery or liquor store. They would prefer to leave their beer in the hands of commercial brands that have been in the beer making business for a long time. But, when you pay for this “convenience,” the cost can add up. It might not seem like a lot here and there. However, when you sit down and do the math, you realize that a year’s worth of store bought beer can actually cost tons of money.

At first look, buying your own home brew supplies will not make any sense. You probably think that for the same cost as these supplies cost, you can buy beer several nights and a row and still come out even, all without taking the time to home brew beer. But, if you take a second look, you will find that it is the superior option. You can have a beer made to your specifications. And, even though you the cost of the supplies is the same as a crate of beer, you can continuously use them. So, once you locate a dealer, the cost of the supplies comes out a lot cheaper than buying beer in a store.

There is also the thought of the hard work that entails making a home brew beer. After all, isn’t that what major beer companies are for? Well, of course, but think about it in this light for a moment. You can save yourself the inconvenience of cooking by eating out every single night, but wouldn’t you save a ton of money by cooking for yourself? The more you practice, the better you will get at home brewing. Before you know it, you will have many home brewing recipes at your disposal to make every brew customized just the way you like it.

It is easy to find home brew supplies no matter where you live. If you can’t find exactly what you want in a store, you can always shop on the internet, and you can probably come out cheaper. Not all supplies are the same; it depends on what type of kit you purchase. Kits range from a preparation receptacle that requires kitchen tools to dedicated brewing utensils that give you a wider range of brewing options.

If you have not purchased home brew supplies before, don’t worry; they come with instructions. So, if you are a first timer, make sure you read and closely follow each and every step. If you keep making your home brew beer the same way, you will eventually become adept enough in your technique to start making variations. Home brewing will take time and hard work, but the end result is worth it all.

If you’re looking for some more information about home beer brewing then check it out homebrewingsecrets.net.

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One would think that combining natural ingredients into a boiling pot in your kitchen is a recipe for catastrophic explosions galore, but it’s actually a recipe for having a good time brewing beer at home.

So how does one go about brewing beer at home? Simple. You can purchase a home brew kit from a hobby store and get to work creating your own tasty homemade brew from the comfort of your own kitchen. Where’s the fun in that?

Why not invite the friends over and create individual brews based on which each person likes? This should be a time of fun, creativity, daring and brew making. When you decide to make beer at home you are investing in an evening or even a couple of evenings of good old fashioned fun.

Here are a few tips on how to truly find the joy of home brewing.

Visit a Hobby Shop

There is a hobby shop in almost every town. Take a trip to the one closest to you and find a home brewing kit. These kits will come with the beginner needs to enjoy brewing beer at home. If you have no clue how to get started, you’ll be glad to know that most home brewing kits come with guides on how to start the home brewing process. You don’t have to go this alone- chances are the hobby shop owner knows a few things about brewing beer at home. He’ll answer any question you have as long as it guarantees a sale.

Gathering the Supplies

Once you get your home brewing kit home, you’ll need to look through the included guide for a list of all the ingredients and tools you need to get started. Chances are you’ll need hops, water, seasonings and sugar- but you’ll also want to get creative with your ingredients. Remember that this is home brewing, which means you make beer how you want to make it.

Have Fun with Home Beer Brewing

The joy of home beer brewing is within reach. Buy your kit, gather your ingredients and get to beer making. Have fun experimenting with different flavors and levels of body- with home brewing you can be as creative as you want, or you can just stay with the tried and true and make something everyone will like.

Make beer at home, everyone should!

If you’re looking for some more information about home beer brewing then check it out homebrewingsecrets.net.

Article Source:http://www.articlesbase.com/wines-and-spirits-articles/why-should-i-brew-beer-at-home-the-joy-of-home-brewing-1382987.html

Alright so I just finished reading over the Home Beer Brewing Secrets eBook. This guide is actually the best one I have purchased on this topic. It was filled with explanations and a full step by step guide that I needed.

There were many sections to this eBook. It starts off with the explanation of what is in beer and how beer tastes like it does. The book also goes over how many home beer brewing kits fail to even make beer. The eBook does talk about one tool in particular that will help stop your beer from spoiling, and it’s so simple you’ll laugh when you read it. I honestly didn’t even realize it. I’m not going to tell you here obviously but you will find out when you read Home Beer Brewing Secrets.

The eBook also goes into how to pair beer with certain foods. Normally you think you can only pair wine up with a meal, but this guide will turn you into a beer connoisseur, you will know exactly what types of beer to drink with what meal.

Another important aspect this home beer brewing guide covers is how to properly store your home brew. After you brew your beer at home, or make beer at home, you will need to know how to store it properly.

Aside from the regular beer making steps, this guide goes over and beyond the normal. Home Beer Brewing Secrets talks about the history of beer, some tips on how to drink and enjoy beer responsibly, proper beer tasting techniques, and even how beer may be healthy for you.

Honestly if you’re sick and tired of paying an arm and a leg for “premium beer” then you should check out this make beer at home guide. Before you know it you will have your own home brewery and you’ll be making all the premium brands for pennies on the dollar.

If you’re looking for some more information about home beer brewing then check it out homebrewingsecrets.net.

Article Source:http://www.articlesbase.com/wines-and-spirits-articles/home-beer-brewing-secrets-review-1382989.html

Everybody everywhere craves the taste of a well home brew beer every once in a while. If you drink responsibly, there is nothing wrong with celebrating life while drinking a great beer. The sensation, the way it quenches your thirst on a hot day, the feeling you get when drinking and watching your favorite sports team. Beer appreciation?’s what we love.

In the case of beer, everyone likes something different. There are certain brands we search for in the grocery store, liquor store, or bar. Why? We look for “that” brand because there is just something we like about it. Perhaps it’s the flavor, the texture, or maybe it’s the strength. No matter what it might be, there is something about the wide range of choices when brewing beer at home.

Making beer at home allows you to take control of the creation process. When you buy home brewing supplies in the store, street, or internet, you can create beer with the taste and texture you want. Through much time and work, you can create a beer brew with a certain quality that will have you reaching for a glass time and again.

There are tons of items to choose from when selecting home brew supplies. The fermenting storage utensils and the ingredient mixing tools; this all goes into making the perfect beer that suits your tastes exactly. We are all aware that the right beer plays a large part in making the evening after the work day more relaxing. And, when you drink home brew beer you created, it can make your evening that much better.

Drinking a great home brew beer is comparable to eating a delicious meal you cooked yourself. The feeling of drinking beer you made is indescribable. Now, when you start looking for home brew supplies online, you can spend quite a lot of time searching. But, if you find the right supplies needed for your home brew beer, you will be able to do three things. First, save tons of cash. Second, take your beer brew to a brand new level. And third, have beer the way you want it, when you want it.

No matter what it takes, you should spend the time to search for the right home brew supplies. You will get an awful lot from brewing beer at home in order for you and other people to partake in. The more you practice, the more adept you will become. And, when your friends get a load of your home brew beer, they will want to learn how to make it themselves too. With one sample, they could become willing and eager helpers.

If you’re looking for some more information about home beer brewing then check it out homebrewingsecrets.net.

Article Source:http://www.articlesbase.com/wines-and-spirits-articles/brewing-beer-at-home-and-why-it-is-so-special-1382999.html

Beer lovers all have different taste and brand preferences. The most well-known beers have a certain taste and quality to them that make them instantly recognizable to beer aficionados all over the world. However, there are tons of beer drinkers who feel that there is something missing from commercial brands of beer. The complaint made by many is that these beers are close to tasteless, sometimes comparable to water. Therefore, this is why those people become interested in brewing beer at home.

When brewing beer at home, it is quite possible to make beer that tastes very similar to the kinds sold on store’s shelves. But, you probably want a beer that has a different taste, and there is a large variety to choose from. If you use certain ingredients, there is an infinite amount of home brewed beer you can make. That doesn’t always mean that even though you can make a certain flavor that you should. Sometimes, a flavored brew can turn out to be disgusting. When you brew a flavored beer, use your imagination, but keep it under control.

Here’s an example. You can make a home brewed beer that has a caramel flavor. Yes, a caramel flavored brew could be quite delicious, but some people can take it a little too far. They study the recipe and decided that adding more caramel than is called for would be a good idea. When the beer has finished brewing, they take a sip and immediately spit it out because it taste like a caramel soup gone bad. There are powders that taste like caramel available for purchase that will not overwhelm your taste buds.

Using good judgment when making flavored home brew beer is imperative to success; that doesn’t mean that brewing beer at home can’t be a blast. There are so many options. You could brew a cheese beer, but the outcome would not be favorable. Or, you could add a certain ingredient to your beer, but the beer might not always taste like that ingredient. This is why an imitation flavoring works better more often than the ingredient itself.

In other words, even though you love caramel and you certainly love beer, making home brewed caramel beer could turn out to be one of the nastiest drinks you ever put to your lips. This is not meant to deter you from tweaking and experimenting. You should just concentrate on finding the right combination and strengths of flavors. Fruit is always a good flavor choice. However, just because fruit is organic, you should not put it into your beer unrefined. Instead, put in a fruit extract. No, you are not cheating the home brew beer process; you are trying to make a home brewed beer that tastes good. Even with all of the options available, make sure to brew within the limits.

If you’re looking for some more information about home beer brewing then check it out homebrewingsecrets.net.

Article Source:http://www.articlesbase.com/wines-and-spirits-articles/flavored-home-brew-beer-its-time-for-a-change-1383001.html

Well first off I want to tell you I usually don’t do all this online eBook stuff. I always think of it to be scams and rip offs but my friend convinced me so much to give this one a shot I thought why not. After tasting his beer I wanted to try it out for myself!

The eBook goes into great detail about every aspect of what you need to know. It goes into ingredients, good environments to make beer in and even shows you why usual homemade beer tastes so bad. The secret way to store your beer and stop it from spoiling has been a “beer saver” for me, allowing me to make vast quantities of beer at a time and not worry about having to drink them all before they spoil. The eBook goes into detail about proper storage and drinking responsibly as well.

If you’re sick of going to the pub and paying sometimes up to $8 for a pint then this guide is for you. For very little money you can start making your own beer, in turn saving you money. For mere pennies you’ll have your own brewery in your garage, shed or even your main house.

Like I said at the beginning I was skeptical buying this guide but I am so glad that I did. It taught me everything I needed to know and tells of closely guarded secrets I’d never have even imagined before for getting the best possible taste and colour.

So if there is anyone out there sick of high prices for lager and wishing to start making their own, this is definitely the right guide for you. Whether you want to make a few pints worth a month or a few kegs a month this guide will tell you everything you need to know.

If you’re looking for some more information about home beer brewing then check it out homebrewingsecrets.net.

Article Source:http://www.articlesbase.com/wines-and-spirits-articles/home-beer-brewing-secrets-honest-review-1383007.html

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