I started my homebrewing hobby after I left for college. I said, "Hey, I'm in college. What sets college kids apart? Their infatuation with alcohol. But I don't go out and party. All I do is sit in my room and study." You see, I had made this promise to my parents before I left that until I turned 21 I would not drink unless I was with them. I did keep true to this promise. Since I wasn't 21 I couldn't go out and buy alcohol, but I could place an order and have the supplies to make some sent to me.
I called Evergreen Supply and The Cellar, both out of Oregon, and placed my order. My supplies arrived a short while later and my adventure began. I ordered a can of Blackberry concentrate and set up my first five gallon batch. It really wasn't that hard. I just started my yeast culture and then mixed the concentrate with water, sugar, and the additives that Evergreen reccommended. The yeast does all the work. The only thing I have to do is transfer the brew from one jug to the next at set intervals and measure its progress.
The Blackberry wine is finished and is exceptional.
All this was
going on at home during my weekend visits. In the meantime I needed
something to do at school. So, I started a batch of mead from a recipe I
found in the school library. All it took was 4 lbs. of honey, water to
make a gallon, and household baker's yeast. This brew should be finished,
but I am waiting for a special occassion to give it a try. I am anxious to
see how it turned out. (Oops! I left it all at home. I guess I'll have
to keep waiting.)
My second batch, white zinfandel blush, was started on January 24, 1999
and bottled almost eight months later on August 18, 1999. It's about
13% alcohol, which should let it keep pretty well. I think this batch
tastes very good, but I'm no connesiuer yet. The family preferred it 8-1
over a purchased bottle at our Thanksgiving dinner.
I am working on another batch - this time Liebfraumilch. The name is
German for "Milk of the Virgin." Right now I know the taste of neither
the wine nor the translation. The must started out looking like some kind
of orange juice, but has cleared tremendously to a transparent yellow, and
looks delicious. It was started shortly after school began and is
currently awaiting bottling. I need to start drinking some more so I have
enough bottles to put this brew to bed.
One more example of my non-traditional student behavior.
I found a nifty little homebrew shop in Overland Park called Homebrew Pro Shop. It's just down the street from my sister's place, so I should be stopping by there a lot for supplies. I bought a batch of juice from them to make Liebfraumilch a German wine that means "Milk of the Virgin." When I started it in August 1999, it looked like a five gallon jug of orange juice, but after a couple rackings, it was clear with a light amber yellow color. I left it in the jug until after graduation and bottled it in mid-May of 2000. From first tastings, I think it goes down like grape juice with a slight kick. I have yet to crack open a bottle, but will fill you in after the first one's gone.
Here's a few of my favorite links to various wine related sites.
Some of these pages have links to other good pages.
Let's get back to Matthew's page.