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Hi Guys, Are there any beer brewers among you? I of course make make wine and have benefited from very good advice from members of this forum. I'm now making my own beer and wonder if beer can be racked to, say, a carboy and left for a few weeks without spoiling. I barrel my beer - I...

Hi, Has anyone tried the California Connoisseur wine kits? I normally buy the Kenridge Classic kits - which I find superb! However, I'm open to exploring other options. Many thanks, David.

Hello, I generally make wine, but bought a beer kit and have started the primary stage of the beer. I'm using a 23L plastic bucket/pail with a snap on lid and fitted it with an airlock half filled with water - the beer kit instructions said to do this. I pitched the yeast yesterday afternoon...

Hello, I am making a blackcurrant dessert wine. Tasted some of it yesterday, and it is delicious! The wine has been racked 3 times and is now in two 1 gallon demijohns. The wine has been fermenting for 2 months now. The sugar content is/was high at 6.5 pounds. The demijohns are fitted...

Hello, My kit wine has reached its target gravity of 0.995. The lowest I have got from these particular kits has been 0.994. I have to go away for the weekend. Is it worth me leaving the heating belt switched on? The belt is not thermostatic, so is always on. Thanks in advance.

Hello, My Kenridge Classic Shiraz went into the second stage of fermentation 2 days ago. So, 2 days after racking to the carboy I have noticed that fermentation is slower than usual. I have just done a hydrometer test and the reading is 0.995 - which is the actual target gravity. This...

Hi, I have been given about 5.5lbs of frozen blueberries. I would like to, as an experiment, to try and make a high alcohol wine (1 Imp Gallon). I was thinking of adding 4.5lbs of sugar to the must. I'm looking for an ABV of 14% or over. Is this a bad idea to try and achieve a higher than...

Hi, I got an electric guitar (stratocaster) and amp as an early Christmas present and have put in quiet a bit of practising so far. Have seen some tutorials on Youtube and the net in general. I feel I need something for a complete newbie - starting from scratch. Could any guitar players...

Hello, I was thinking of trying this recipe that I have put together (having amended it from an online source). I'm very much a newbie and would appreciate any feedback. Please feel free to comment. 5 Gallons (UK) of Blackberry Wine: 20 lbs. blackberries 10 lbs caster sugar 5 Campden tablets...

I have about 6 bottles worth of blackberry wine approaching the second stage of fermentation in a fermentation bin (bucket). I only have a 25 litre carboy available for the second stage. Will this be okay? Just a bit concerned about the amount of surface area. Many thanks.

Hi, I have 5.5 lbs of blackberries and want to make 6 bottles of wine. How much water do I need to add please? I did a previous batch, using 3lbs of blackberrys adding 1 gallon (imperial) of water, so I figure I need to add less water this time, but not sure how much less. I'm not working...

Hi, I'm a newbie winemaker and have only used kits so far. I'm about to start my first batch of wine made from fruit. I'm planning to make 6 bottles of either blackberry or blueberry wine. Please have a look at the recipe in the link below and comment if you feel the recipe could be enhanced...

Hi, After degassing, added Kieselsol stirred that in and about 20 minutes later added Chitosan. Will things be okay? The kit's instructions basically say to add the Chitosan 2 days later, but they instructing to paddle stir the batch several times a day for the 2 days. I have already fully...

Hi, I currently degas my wine kit made wine for 20 minutes, using an improvised wine whip made from a white plastic coat hanger – which resembles the shape of a tick mark. I attach this wine whip to a cordless power drill and degas for the above-mentioned 20 minutes. I degas my wine in a...

On my 3rd 30 bottle wine Kenridge Classic wine kit, I did a Shiraz to begin with followed by a Vieux Chateau Du Roi. Both turned out to be excellent - especially the latter mentioned. I'm soon to complete another Shiraz, which I hope will be as good as the other! I have a few questions that I...

Hi, I'm making a Kenridge Classic Vieux Chateau Du Roi. The kit contains elderberries. Yesterday, I racked off to a carboy and the flow of siphoning started to slow very quickly. I had to restart the siphoning 5 times. I quickly discovered that the 'culprits' were the elderberries that were...

Hi everyone, I have a small hand-held steam cleaner. Just wondered if this would be any good to sterilize wine bottles, and if it would be as effective as the chemical sterilizers? Many thanks, David.

Hi, Finished my first 30 bottle wine kit about a week ago. I did a Kenridge Classic shiraz. I'm very pleased with the end product. I tried a bottle yesterday and it was very acceptable! I shall lay down a few bottles for 3 and 6 months to see how they improve. Many thanks to everyone that gave...

Hi everybody, I currently have a Kenridge Classic 30 bottle batch brewing. I've been following the instructions on this brew. The temperature has been a constant 22-23 Celsius. The starting SG was 1.080. The instructions said to do this primary ferment for about 7days with it going down to...

Hello, everyone. I have just started a Kenridge 'classic' 30 bottle Shiraz kit – which is in primary fermentation in a plastic bucket fitted with a loose fitting lid. The kit's instructions have me a little confused, in that, 3 rackings will be carried out. The first of course, will be...