Hello, brewer, that sounded too formal. Hello, friend!
I’m Neil and welcome to Home Brew Answers. I hope that my attempts here will help you out in some small way.
I don’t claim to be the worlds greatest brewer or even the most knowledgeable but I do know that getting into home brewing is sometimes a tricky endeavour full of questions that you just don’t know how to answer (you see what I did there!).
I started out like every other brewer trying to get into the hobby, reading, attempting, drinking, sometimes failing but mainly enjoying myself. Over time I developed my skills and became more knowledgeable up until the point where knocking up a batch of beer at home is second nature.
I developed my skills enough, in fact, to become a professional brewer at a small brewery in Cornwall, England. I now get to brew for a wider audience than I ever imagined and it all started from making up batches on the kitchen stove.
Anyway, thanks for stopping by.
Hi, I have been winemaking for about a year now. I thoroughly enjoy making and drinking it.
I lived in Spain for 3 years and brought back 60 screw top wine bottles in the boot of my car, when I moved back to the UK.
They do the job extremely well but should never be stored on their side. The screw threads abrade over time and will leak. I did not find this out the hard way!
If I want to age a few bottles I wax the threads on the bottles to get a good seal. Most of them are drunk within a few weeks, so it isn’t an issue.
Another trick of mine is to add the wood chips to boiling water and stir, allow to cool and add to the fermenter, the oak taste is much stronger, without being over-powering.
One question you could answer for me please is this: My wine kits have always arrived on the day that they were supposed to, so I sterilise and fill the fermenter with sugar, water and the yeast. Would there be a problem if the delivery of the kit was delayed, and fermentation of the sugar and water only was taking place?
Thank you in anticipation.
Andy
Thanks for the comment, it sounds like you have plenty of winemaking experience.
In reply to your question, the yeast need nutrients when you are making wine so the issue of adding wine yeast to the sugar solution is there is not enough yeast nutrients to support cell growth and reproduction. If you want to get a head start then prepare the sugar solution but wait to pitch the yeast until the rest of the kit arrives. All the best