The essential thing to realise about brewing is the most important and central factor it the yeast. The whole practise of brewing comes down to the matter of providing ideal conditions for the yeast, a living organism, to thrive and multiply.
To do that the yeast must have warmth, it must have oxygen, and it must have a certain amount of nitrogenous matter, vitamins and some acid. The ideal recipe will provide all of those; if one of them is lacking the fermentation may stick, or temporarily stop.
There are numerable varieties of yeast, all with different characteristics. Some are better for beer brewing whilst others are better for the production of wine.
Beer & Cider styles
| Ale yeast | |
 | A true top fermenting yeast with vigorous fermentation characteristics. Promotes rich full-flavoured English style ales with clean, smooth textures. Produces firm heavy sediment, ideal for bottle conditioning. |
| |
| Cider yeast | |
 | This is a special bayanus strain, especially selected for its ability to produce exceptionally crisp and refreshing ciders. |
| |
| Lager yeast | |
 | This strains a true bottom fermenting lager yeast that produces desirable flavour characteristics with quality lager beer. |
Wine Styles
A good wine yeast has a high alcohol tolerance i.e. It will allow the wine to ferment further and be that much stronger before it succumbs. It will form a firmer sediment, making racking much simpler, and will be less prone to imparting off flavours to the wine.
| All Purpose Red | |
 | Produces red wines which are well rounded and full of fruit flavours so will be suitable for any style of red wine.
|
| |
| All Purpose White | |
 | Produces white or blush wines which are exceptionally crisp and clean. |
| |
| Bordeaux Red |
|
 | Improves body and confers beautiful soft fruit flavours to red wines - perfect for Bordeaux style reds. |
| |
| Bordeaux White | |
 | Confers exceptional depth and complexity to white wines and will be perfect for Bordeaux (dry) style whites.
|
| |
| Burgundy Red | |
 | Confers exceptional depth and complexity to red wines is perfect for burgundy style reds. |
| |
| Champagne | |
 | Exceptionally clean and fresh, although selected for champagne, it is also suitable for sparkling wine.
|
| |
| Germanic White | |
 | Confers strong Germanic style flavour to white wines |
| |
| Dessert/High Alcohol | |
 | It has particularly high tolerance to alcohol. |
| |
| Re-Start | |
 | Selected especially for re-starting stuck fermentations. High success rate can be expected where the wine is below 8% abv and within ph range 3.0 - 3.5. |
| |
Are you being affected by ever increasing prices for wine? 
Well maybe now’s the time to make it yourself.
The all-in one Kenridge™ Classic Intro Wine kit makes winemaking easy and convenient. All the equipment and ingredients needed to make and serve 4.5L of great varietal wine are included,
The kit is available in two classic varietals.
Chardonnay - A white wine with aromas of ripe tropical fruit and crisp green apple and a lemony finish. Superb with chicken, turkey, fish and light cream sauce pasta dishes.
Shiraz - A rich Dark, red wine with plum, blackberry and a hint of black pepper. Rich tannins compliment grilled pepper steaks and meals featuring red meat.
These kits cost £24.99 and produce 4.5 litres (6 bottles).
Why not give winemaking a go? Purchase here.
Here we go, first post of the shop's blog!!
And how appropriate it should be on Thursday 23rd April - St George's Day. Today's the day for traditional picking your dandelions.
So here's a recipe for brewing them after you've picked them!
Dandelion Wine - Medium
Ingredients
- Dandelions 3 Quarts
- Sugar 3 Lb
- Lemons 2
- Orange 1
- White Grape Concentrate 1/2 Pint
- Grape Tannin 1 teaspoon
- Water 1 Gallon
- Yeast & Yeast Nutrient
The flowers should be freshly gathered and picked off their stems. A quart of heads weighs approx 1/2 lb or the petals alone 3/4 lb. It's not necessary to pick the petals off as you can use the whole head.
Place flowers into a polythene bucket (at least 1 gallon in size and the plastic should be off food grade), boil the water and pout over the flowers. Leave for two days with the bucket tightly sealed, stir each day.
On the third day pout into a large pan, add the sugar and rinds from the lemons and orange. Boil for ten minutes. Return to bucket along with the juice and pulp from the lemons and orange.
Allow to cool before adding yeast, yeast nutrient and the tannin. Leave for a further three days, covered, in a warm place. Now strain into a demi john and add the grape concentrate.
Leave until fermentation stops, then syphon off the sediment, before bottling and corking.
This wine could be drunk at Christmas but will improve vastly if kept a further 6 months or so.
It's ale and hearty on home-brewing front as DIY kit sales soar
WHILE business is reeling from the recession, shops are shutting left, right, and centre, and we're seeing the worst snowfalls for years. there is some boom among the gloom.
Sellers of home-brewing kits are reporting record sales as tipplers turn to making their own wine and beer — for as little as 25p a pint or 20p for a glass of wine.
Dave Boustead, who runs The Quay Side Easy Brew, in Exeter, said that he has experienced a 30 per cent increase in DIY booze sales, compared to figures from last year.
And he said he had been told by some customers that they have started home- brewing after losing their jobs.
He said: "You probably have to look at the last four months to see a difference really. Since the Credit Crunch, there has been a noticeable increase in interest. In the last four months, compared to the same four months of 2007-08, there has been a 30 per cent increase."
Mr Boustead, whose family have been in the home -brew business for 20 years, said that people were also surprised at the quality of the beer and wine that can be made at home — and that customers had many reasons for turning to DIY brewing.
"Customers will mention — 'my dad does it', 'I've tasted it at a friend's' or 'I've lost my job and can't afford to go to the pub'. We get a complete cross section of people in."
He said that beer and wine seemed equally popular, with students representing about 15 per cent of sales.
"Home-brewing has always been popular with students and in Exeter we have a big university," Mr Boustead said.
Lee Porter, sales manager for Young's Home Brew, the biggest wholesaler for home-brew products in the country, said that sales had doubled, with a surge in first-time buyers purchasing starter kits.
"Our trade over January, was up over 100 per cent," he said. "The increase started last March. I think it's a mixture of things. The Credit Crunch has definitely helped. Before Christmas, the range of starter kits sold was four or five times more than usual."
Mr Porter said that the smoking ban had also led to an increase in the popularity of brewing and drinking at home. And he expected the increase in sales to continue as new home brewers replenished their stocks.
Wendy Knight, landlady at the Railwayman pub, in Pinhoe Road, near Polsloe Bridge, said: "Home- brewing is all very well but everyone knows you can't beat the friendliness, company and general banter of a well run pub. The things you hear off the cuff are wonderful and would make anybody's night. There is more to a pint than its price — there is the warmth of those who drink with you."
