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jimbeekeeper

Queen Bee
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Any one else starting any now?

I am collecting apples for my usual cider, and might venture into pear cider as it looks like a bumper year for them.

Plums are collected and frozen ready for thawing for some brewing attempt later in the year or next.
 
I have a neighber who is from Rumania,he uses his plums for pálinka.
Have you tried it ?

I have some mead from 2 years ago that I should get on and rack/bottle.
 
Never heard of it before

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pálinka

But given my proffession (Chartered Chemical Engineer) and my speicality of fraction distilation...combine this with my hobby of home brewing, leads nicley on to a trip into our labs stores for some small scale distilation equipment:sifone::coolgleamA:
 
Damn did you read the end of the first paragraph in that link,it says it is often made from Honey !

I need to have a chat with him methinks ;)
 
Only small scale distilation Jim,why not burco boiler size.lol
Don't drink the first out of the still though,poison so i'm told.
 
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What's this James? A distillery? You'll be getting a visit from the customer and exercise gang next.....

Is this 'quick-fit' or flasks and bungs?

I wonder if Liebig was a tea-totaller?

Regards, RAB
 
Any one else starting any now?

I am collecting apples for my usual cider, and might venture into pear cider as it looks like a bumper year for them.

Plums are collected and frozen ready for thawing for some brewing attempt later in the year or next.
I have noticed advertising for pear cider lately on tv, would that be the same as used to be called perry?.

John Wilkinson
 
i do lots of hedgerow home brew its where i got the nick name from, i dont do kits just country wines we are off soon to do an apple scrump at a friends house hope to get several hundred weight in aples mixed
I have been interested in making various beers and wines out of nettles and dandelions etc.

How do you know how much yeast to use in these things and what 'type' of yeast as such?? I can never find amounts.
 
I have noticed advertising for pear cider lately on tv, would that be the same as used to be called perry?.

John Wilkinson

Same thing John, Just dumbed down for Joe Blogs to simpley pear cider!

Actually pear cider is exactly that, it is cider flavored with pears, perry is just made from pears, as you both say pear cider "as seen on TV" is the dumbed down name given to perry, and it has no twigs or finger ends in it, so it must be rubbish.
 
Actually pear cider is exactly that, it is cider flavored with pears, perry is just made from pears, as you both say pear cider "as seen on TV" is the dumbed down name given to perry, and it has no twigs or finger ends in it, so it must be rubbish.

I'm glad you said that......it really bugs me that they use the term "pear cider" :toetap05::toetap05:

The Malvern 3 Counties Showground has the National Perry Pear collection planted round the perimeter as well as a small ancient Perry Pear orchard within the showground (it used to be the caravan park) One year I was given permission to collect the pears and I made Perry, half of it was then sold at the Autumn Show, I've still got a couple of bottles left.

Frisbee
 
I was told that there weren't enough perry pear trees in the UK to support commercial perry production but I met someone last month who' planting an orchard right now. Doesn't expect to get a return for 25 years.
 
At our local beer festival we always run-out of cider and perry, thanks to all the bulmers rubbish on TV the sales have gone mad in recent years, the last two years we have had to double our order each year and we still sold out, this year we had about 600ltrs on tap plus all the beers and foreign beers, it all went in less than two and a half days, still, it's better than being stood around waiting for customers.
 
I was told that there weren't enough perry pear trees in the UK to support commercial perry production but I met someone last month who' planting an orchard right now. Doesn't expect to get a return for 25 years.

Probably not, but there are still a lot of large single trees around and people don't realise the value of the crop.

3 useless facts about pears:-

Pears always rot from the inside.
The hard bits in them, more noticable in a Williams or similar are called stones.
Pears contain unfermentable sugars which is why perry is always sweeter than cider and rarely gets above 4%.

Frisbee
 
Back to question from the naked beekeeper.

Does it really matter how much yeast? As long as it gets going it will reproduce, and grow, and cause fermentation, and die when the alcohol level kills it off.

Type of yeast? No idea at all. I think you try some and find one, or more, that you find gives good results.

Regards, RAB
 
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it has no twigs or finger ends in it, so it must be rubbish.

This reminds be of my time in the fifties in Melksham:cheers2:.
After passing out from the Raf school of electronics, I and a few buddies went into Melksham for a celibratory drink, There were 2 pubs The George was the first one, we ordered a round of scrumpy, (looked like lentil soup), downed it and asked for another round . "No lads , you're not local , you can have beer but no more scrumpy!!", we had a few pints a game of darts and then decided to move to the next pub,(name escapes me). We ordered a round of scrumpy , downed that and asked for more ,same reaction from mine=host.
wending our way back to camp we had to pass the guard room, one of my oppos was a little worse for wear :), we surrounded him I stuffed my fist in his mouth and we safely got passed the guard room, fine . Suddenly to little so and so dashed back towards the guard room, I, tried to head him off by running behind a cookhouse under refurbishment, I tripped over some pipework and boy, as the ground hit me so did the scrumpy, I was ill for 4 days. Upside was I only spent 2s6d all evening (the scrumpy was 4d a pint . Those were the days.

John Wilkinson.

There is a sequel to the story but for another time :laughing-smiley-014
 
I have been interested in making various beers and wines out of nettles and dandelions etc.

How do you know how much yeast to use in these things and what 'type' of yeast as such?? I can never find amounts.

You can buy the correct type of yeast for the brew you wish to make, don't use wine yeast or bakers, but a proper brewers yeast. There are two types, top fermenting for light ale, bitter and brown and bottom fermenting for largers. The top fermenting produces a skin of sediment on top which can be skimmed off, bottom fermenters as the name suggests produces sediment at the bottom which is what you rack the liquid off from, bottom fermenting also will ferment at a lower temperature. You will also probably need to add yeast nutrient and hops would be good in a nettle beer to add astringency. Amount.....if you're buying I think 1 sachet is for up to 5 galls, if you were making 100 galls you wouldn't want 20 sachets, but if you did say 10 - 15, 2 would be enough.

Frisbee
 
The commercial brewers guard their own strains of yeast zealously :). there is an old law entitling Johnny Public to ask for and receive a portion of yeast at any brewery .
Failing that you can always buy a bottle of bottle finished beer, pour off the contents carefully and use the lees to make a starter culture :cheers2:.

John Wilkinson
 

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