Cider Home Brew

Does anyone / has anyone ever made there own Cider/Wine/Beer?
We've just got back from the supermarket and with everything getting so expensive OH suggested giving home brew a go.
I've looked on ebay and found two types of kits. A starter kit containing fermentation bin, Hydrometer, stirrer, Syphon tube, Sterilising powder, plastic re-usable bottles and Cider concentrate which costs £38.50 + £8.99 P&P the other is just the yeast / concentrate at £9.99 + £7.00 P&P which would be the best way to go?
Look forward to reading your comments.

Yep, we've been doing beers for about 5 years, wines for 4. Just done a rhubarb wine, and we're collecting blackberries for a blackberry wine.

If you have a wilkinsons near you, the fermenting bins are about £7, siphoning stuff £3 or £4, yeast is cheap, and their concentrates vary between £8-£15, metabisulphate steriliser about £1.50, and finings are about a pound too. A hydrometer isn't necessary, but is handy.

Thanks Emma, i quite fancy doing a bit of wine for me i'm not a big cider drinker. Can you give me an idea of what to do or point me to a website?

Well for the first time i'd say just buy a kit before trying with fruit. You can get "wine in 15 days" boxes that have everything you need (except water and a demijohn), then just bottle into plastic pop bottles!

Don't really know what websites are good...we just make the recipies up.

Ok i'll pop into Wilco's at the weekend and see what they sell. I'll keep you posted!

Hi Emma,

A few years ago, there was a stall in the inside market that only sold home brew kits and stuff, is that still there?,lol.

Yes Wilkingson shops are probably the cheapest place to get kits from, and if you have a Morrisons near by Hayley, they sometimes have a 3 for 2 offer on home brew kits.

I never drink mine until it's properly mature, it's stored in glass bottles under the stairs in the dark for months....... and it's a powerful brew. When my sons were younger 16 and 18, they got legless on about 5 bottles,lolol.

Derek.

Yep Brewer Bill is still there! We bottle in glass too, and leave the fruit ones for 2-6 months to mature.

Beers only need 2 weeks maturing, but are normally better after about 6 weeks, then after 4 months they start to drop off.