Delightful (Home-Made) Drinks

The British Government has made a proposal for minimum unit prices on alcohol. This legislation is not about abstinence but is designed to turn the tide on the reckless drinking culture that exists in some groups of people, for health reasons. Although this regulation is not designed to punish responsible drinkers, a new era of prohibition might persuade more people to try home brewing and start making their own country wines.

I have experimented, with making my own wine, beer and cider for many years; like a young boy with a chemistry set, I relish the alchemy of it all. So, I thought it would be useful to create a simple guide here, to show how easy it is to accomplish and also how entertaining it can be.

Cost-wise, there are obvious clear savings to be made; a basic starter kit is inexpensive and much of it can be found for free or will be available from your local recycling centre / Freecycle site. Always make sure all equipment is Food Safe.

Essential Kit List...

• Large Bucket
• Wooden Spoon
• Funnel
• Siphon tube
• Demijons & Bubblers
• Sugar
• Yeast
• Fruit/leaves etc for flavour

You may want to buy an inexpensive hydrometer, although this is not actually necessary, it does give you more control over the flavour and alcoholic content of your hooch.

A full demijohn will produce one gallon of wine, which amounts to about six bottles. However, as with home baking, producing your own drinks is not only about saving money, I simply enjoy the process. You will be unlikely to create something that tastes exactly the same as what is available in the shops but this is part of the fun. As well as being exciting, wine making is also easy, recipes and advice are readily available all over the internet, I tend to rely on the spirit of adventure as much as heavily stained archaic books.

Your friends and family may playfully mock your endeavours - mine do - but you can guess what I’m going to give them for Xmas!

Always Drink Responsibly J

Some strange and interesting drinks we have made are listed below...

• Plum wine
• Cider
• Perry
• Blackberry wine
• Sloe wine
• Elderberry port
• Apple wine
• Crab apple wine
• Medlar wine
• Beer
• Ginger wine
• Ginger beer
  
• Elderflower Cordial
• Elderflower Champagne
• Vin de Noix
• Walnut Schnapps
• Raspberry liquor
• Sloe Gin
• Sloe Wine
• Cherry brandy

Winter Warmers

Zesty Orange and Lemon

Now that it is starting to feel cold at night, I thought it might be a good idea to start making some Winter Warming Wines. I started off with an old favourite flavour of mine, Ginger. Not much foraging involved with this entry but the spirit is just the same.

Must Get A Lemon Squeezer Geezer

After pealing the zest off two oranges, two lemons the house was soon humming with exotic aromas and this was soon added to by my boiling the bruised and battered ginger in water and Demerara sugar.

Add the Rasins and Zest

I have made ginger wine before and it was very successful but I always feel a little bit mean when I smash the ginger root – I grew one once and it had lovely delicate leaves. I used the Head Chef’s stone pestle to prepare this.

Sorry!

We do not have a lemon squeezer apparently, so I cut the remaining skin off the fruit and sliced them into the mixture, this looked as agreeable as it smelled and I then proceeded to crush the juice out with my bare hands.

Smelling Rather Nice Now

In a dangerous manoeuvre I combined the boiling hot liquid with the fruity juice in a bucket and left it to cool down. When the mixture was luke-warm, I added the previously activated yeast and left it to ferment.

Fermenting Away Nicely

It is now bubbling away like a witches brew in my airing cupboard.

I might also try Rhubarb Wine, if I can collect enough from the garden…