Bag-in-a-box: take the hassle out of wine dispensing

Posted on January 17, 2011 by Paul

Marathon bottling sessions a thing of the past?

Ever considered the sheer amount of time it takes to prepare bottles, and then syphon, cork and label? This is especially daunting when you have a 5-gallon / 30 bottle kit ready and need to free up those demijohns or fermenting vessels.

Thankfully, there are a couple of options for serving up your wine, which are quick, convenient, space-saving and enable you to draw off small amounts; a cheeky glass, perhaps, without risking exposing a whole bottle to the air.

The 2 options are polypin, or bag-in-a-box. These are essentially the same method – a flexible vessel to contain your wine, with a serving tap which doesn’t allow any air in when drawing off the wine. In this post we’ll take an in-depth look at how to use a bag-in-a-box to store and serve wine in bulk.

Bag-in-a-box?

1 gallon bag-in-a-box

1 gallon bag-in-a-box sterilised...

So – “bag-in-a-box” – can you guess how this works? The box in question is fairly rigid cardboard, collapsible and re-usable, and comes in three sizes: 5 litre / 1 gallon, 10 litre / 2 gallon, and 20 litre / 4 gallon. Buying the box also gets you a bag. The bag is food grade plastic, flexible and malleable, and is very much like the bladder of grape juice found in Beaverdale, Winexpert or California Connoisseur wine kits.

Each bag also comes with the serving tap. The bag and tap are designed chiefly for single use, so thankfully cost-effective replacement bags are available.

How to use the Bag-in-a-box

... and rinsed

Firstly, we need to sterilise the bag itself. Add 1/2 a teaspoon of steriliser to a few pints of water and pour in. Work around the bag thoroughly, and pop the serving tap in to some sterilising solution for good measure also.

The bag needs to be thoroughly rinsed, as with all sterilising activity, until no trace of steriliser smell can be detected. Don’t worry about drops of water inside the bag after rinsing, we found it almost impossible to drive all of the water out. As long as the steriliser is all rinsed away, a few drops aren’t going to affect your wine at all.

Racking into a bag-in-a-box

Syphoning...

Next we rack the wine into the bag using the usual syphoning process, straight into the bag but taking care to support the weight underneath as it fills, this is particularly important with the larger capacities.

With the 2- or 5-gallon versions you might consider have the bag supported inside the box at this stage, but in our experience this makes it difficult to manipulate the bag if it gets jammed into the box. It’s not a bad idea to have the larger bags safely inside a fermenting bin so that nothing is lost if something slips!

Bladdered

A full bag (not yet in a box)

Before the tap is fitted

Once the bag is full the next task is to drive out as much air as possible. We find it best to do this after the tap is fitted. Ensure that the opening is at the top (you’ll get wet otherwise!) and fit the tap. This is a case of applying pressure to the back of the plastic ring on the bag with the fingers, whilst pressing the tap home with the thumb. If you’ve got your wine right up at the opening at this point it’s hard not to spill, so don’t be precious about expelling all of the air just yet.

Moving the bubbles

Moving the bubbles

With the tap on and closed you will most likely still  have some air in the bag with your wine. We find we can expel this easily by bring the bubbles under the tap, then by opening the tap and applying gentle pressure to the bag. Stop when the wine starts to dribble – think of this as almost like bleeding a radiator!

And relax

And that’s it…The bag can be placed gently in the box and the collar on the opening then slots into the cardboard retainer. The box can then be taped up, if you like, for extra rigidity. White wines can be served straight from the fridge, and reds from the worktop – the cardboard helps to keep the wine insulated and at a steady temperature, and the tap prevents any air getting at the wine in the bag.

Serve

And serve!

All of that wine ready to drink without any of that sterilising of an army of bottles, or scrubbing off old labels, or worrying about whether you have enough corks, and whether that new label is on straight.. Enjoy!

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Warrington Homebrew Customers – Your order delivered to your door for only £2.50!

Posted on January 10, 2011 by elaine

For orders over £20 we can offer a £2.50 delivery service to qualifying Warrington post codes: WA1, WA2, WA3 (4-7), WA4 (1,2,3,5,6), WA5, WA13. We will fill the van with all of the orders for the good people of Warrington, and deliver on Wednesday evenings.

Order online or over the telephone using a credit or debit card before 12 noon on Tuesdays, and we will deliver between 6pm and 8pm on the Wednesday evening. Orders over £65 will be sent free of charge, next working day of course!

It’s as simple as that. If you do have any questions please feel free to drop us a line using the form below or call the shop on 01606 359137.

The Golden Gates, Warrington

The Golden Gates, Warrington

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Yeast and Fermentation

Posted on December 30, 2010 by Paul

This post is dedicated to the organism that makes the magic happen, written chiefly in the context of Country Wines, but there is some good general information for the wine-or-beer-kit junkies amongst us!

Yeast is a living organism that can be found naturally occurring on the skins of fruit, however these natural amounts generally aren’t sufficient to ferment your fruit all by itself. As such, most kits or recipes will use a certain type of yeast bought specifically for the job. We’ll profile some later, but first, some technical details….

Aerobic and Anaerobic Fermentation

Aerobic and Anaerobic literally mean “in the presence of air” and “lacking the presence of air” respectively. Yeast converts the sugars in the must to alcohol (producing carbon dioxide as a by-product), and it uses aerobic and anaerobic processes to turn sugary fruit syrup in to a fine country wine.

Aerobic Fermentation

Generally speaking when fermentation starts in a country wine, the aerobic fermentation happens first, so in some recipes the initial fermentation will take place in the fermentation bin, or in a demijohn plugged only with cotton wool. Both of these methods allow the yeast access to oxygen in the air.

In the aerobic process, the yeast reproduces – hence even a surprisingly small amount of yeast will happily multiply into a culture capable of fermenting your large, many-gallon vat of must! The best temparature for this stage of fermentation is around 20-22°C. Anything warmer risks killing the yeast, much cooler than this and the yeast will lie dormant.

Anaerobic Fermentation

The second stage of the fermentation concerns the newly multiplied yeast population settling down to the task of converting those sugars to alcohol. Less reproduction of the yeast culture takes place at this stage.

Generally speaking this stage of fermentation will take place in a demijohn with the airlock fitted, to seal away the oxygen. The air above the liquid in the demijohn is gradually replaced by carbon dioxide from the fermenting sugars, so those recipes where the initial ferment takes place in the bin then are transferred to the demijohn, and airlocked ready for this anaerobic stage. Recipes using the demijohn for the initial ferment will wait for the initial, vigorous, ferment to slow down before fitting the airlock ready for the anaerobic stage.

This stage can take place at a lower temperature, as little as 15-18°C. Again too high a temperature will kill the yeast, and too low will inhibit the fermentation.

The “Stuck Ferment” Nightmare…

At some time, even the most discerning of wine brewers will experience the stuck ferment – that is the premature ceasing of the yeast in converting the sugars to alcohol. This leaves a very sickly sweet wine which is of too high an SG reading (see SG and ABV post).

Fortunately, there are a few tricks you can pull to restart a stuck ferment.

  • Is the temperature to low? Move brew to a warmer place
  • Is the temperature to high? The yeast could have been killed, activate and add some more
  • Too much alcohol already? The yeast could have been killed, this is tougher to solve – blending with another brew is an option

First port of call is to add a little more yeast and nutrient, and leave for a couple of days… If this doesn’t solve then advanced factors such as acidity may come into play.

Readily Available Yeasts

We have plenty of types of yeasts available. Here are some examples that are tried and tested by us at Brew2bottle

  • Gervin No 8 – A good full bodied red-wine yeast for e.g. Damson, Elderberry.
  • Burgundy Yeast – An alternative to the above for Red country wines.
  • Sauterne’s Yeast – a yeast best suited to white wines. We generally use this in Apple wine, or real white grape wine
  • All Purpose Yeast – e.g. Gervin no. 1 – Jack of all and master of none? We generally go for this as an alternative to the Sauterne’s
  • Re-start Yeast – a specialist strain to help overcome the stuck ferment scenario descibed above.

Check out the yeasts section, particularly the Muntons Gervin Yeasts which have great detail on the specific usage of each strain.

Other Fermentation Terms You May Have Come Across

Further to the aerobic and anaerobic fermentation processes described above you might have heard about the following:

Malo-Lactic Fermentation

This is an ancilliary fermentation which can happen after a wine has been bottled, or certainly after the main fermentation is complete. Strictly speaking it’s a undertaken by a bactieria rather than a yeast – but in layman terms this is a process where certain acids (e.g. malic) are converted to certain other acids (e.g. lactic) of a lower strength. It brings about a a slight reduction in the acid “tang” of your wine, and it’s by-products are generally considered beneficial – increasing the maturity and well-rounded taste of your wine.

Carbonation / Sparkling Fermentation / Priming

This is an important one for beers, and sparkling wines (country or kit!) – essentially this is a yeast-driven anaerobic fermentation which takes place in an enviroment capable of holding some pressure. And in English: some leftover yeast will ferment a little added sugar to create a sparkle of dissolved CO2 as longs as you’re sealed in a pressure barrel, or in a wired glass bottle, swingtop, or even a plastic pop bottle!

This creates the fizz in a beer,cider or champers and in all cases requires priming – a relatively small amount of sugar (compared to the initial amount involved in the ferment) is consumed by any remaining yeast – and it’s important to ensure some yeast remains so when doing a sparkling brew it is important to draw a little yeast through to ensure this can happen. Don’t over-do it with yeast, sugar or temperature or there’ll be an explosion. Great results and well worth the effort.

I’m sure we’ll write in more detail about priming and sparkling later, and when we do we’ll link to it from here.

Until then….

C6H12O6 ->  2CO2 + 2C2H5OH

Posted in Brewing Techniques, Country Wines | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

Specific Gravity, and Calculating % Alcohol by Volume

Posted on December 29, 2010 by Paul

This post looks at how you can measure the alcoholic content of your wine, and even target a specific strength during the brewing process. Integral to this process is the measurement of Specific Gravity or SG.

What is SG?

The quick answer is “concentration of sugar in water”. Pure water has an SG value of 1.000, although this may be sometimes expressed as 1000 (dropping the decimal point). The more sugar dissolved in the water, the more viscous (or “syrupy”) the liquid becomes. This in turn gives a higher SG reading.

Around 3lb of sugar in 1 gallon of water will give about 1.100 SG (commonly expressed as 1100). This amount of sugar represents a fairly high SG from which to start fermentation, and has a potential to give a wine of about 13.6% alcohol.

The SG that is achieved after the addition of sugar, but before the fermentation begins, is known as the Original Gravity – this phrase is common in the brewing of beer.

How much sugar to add?

After the infusion stage your fruit will have released some of it’s sugar, giving a measurable SG. In true grape wine the only sugar that is fermented into alcohol is that which is naturally present in the fruit. However in a good old fashioned English country wine (non grape) it’s guaranteed that sugar will need to be added, to raise the SG upto the levels described above.

Depending on the recipe, it may well just say “add 21/2 lb per gallon of water”, and this may well produce a quality wine, however every batch will vary in terms of it’s final sweetness or dryness on account of a varying amount of natural sugar present in the fruit. A more reliable way to produce a consistent wine, is to measure the SG of the fruit sugars alone, and then determine how much additional sugar to add.

Some recipes will contain a phrase such as “make the sugar up to 3lb per gallon”, and that means that the natural sugars must be taken into account. For example, a decent crop of Damsons may well bring the SG up to about 1020 after infusion (this implies that there is 9 oz of sugar per gallon of water that has been provided by the fruit alone). So, in this example, the recipe needs 2lb 7oz of sugar adding per gallon, rather than an additional 3 lb.

In some other recipes, there may be an explicit statement such as “add sugar to raise the SG to 1097″, implying that sugar should be continually added until the liquid attains an Original Gravity of 1097.

Alcohol Potential and Estimating % ABV

The general idea is that the fermentation process will turn all of the sugar into alcohol. This represents a reduction in the SG (remember SG measures concentration of sugar). The amount of reduction in SG therefore represents the amount of conversion to alcohol that has taken place – and can be therefore be used to determine the % ABV.

The alcohol content can be estimated, at it’s most simple, by taking 2 SG readings – The first is the Original Gravity (i.e. just after the addition of sugar), and the second is at bottling. The difference in these 2 readings represents the total drop in SG, and therefore the total amount of sugar converted to alcohol. For example an Original Gravity of 1100, and an SG at bottling of 1000 (implying that all sugar has gone) yields an % ABV of 13.6%

Typically, however, the final SG can be either side of 1000, if the fermentation has ended at 1005, this would represent a sweeter wine that one which ends at an SG of 1000, or even 995. The lower the final SG, the less residual sugars are present, and therefore the dryer the wine. SG readings of below 1000 are common, and this is due to a technicality – alcohol being less dense than water, which affects the reading that a hydrometer will take.

The mathematics involved in the simple calculation are: Take the difference in Original Gravity and final SG, and divide this by the magic number of 7.36

In Summary

  • Sugar is converted to alcohol during the fermentation process
  • The more sugar converted, the higher the final % abv
  • Sugars are present naturally in your fruit, but generally not enough for a decent country wine
  • SG is the concentration of sugar in water
  • Sugar can be added to the must to raise the SG
  • Your recipe will tell you how much to add
  • You may have to take into account the natural fruit sugars, to prevent over sugaring
  • The SG after the sugar is added, and just before fermentation is known as the Original Gravity
  • Fermentation reduces the SG
  • The final SG on bottling can be compared against the Original Gravity to provide a % ABV estimate
  • The magic number is 7.36
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Anyone for Raspberry Wheat Beer?

Posted on December 13, 2010 by elaine

Milestone raspberry wheat beerI am currently brewing my first beer kit (I’m more into the wine and cider, personally); and it is to be the next beer on taster in the shop.  So if you fancy trying Milestones Raspberry Wheat beer then pop along in the New Year and ask to try some.

The instructions in the box were really easy to follow and the brew is currently fermenting nicely, all wrapped up in a fleecy blanket to keep the cold out. One point to note – the enclosed instructions don’t tell you when to add the raspberry flavouring but the instructions are on the box too and it tells you on there.

Raspberry wheat beer in the making

Raspberry wheat beer in the making

At the time of writing you won’t find this on our website however we will be happy to stock it once we know if there is demand for it. If you have tried this before or if you come and sample it in the shop and like it then we can order in and have it within a week.

Please feel free to share your thoughts/experiences here on the ‘leave a reply’ section of this post.

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Brewing Books available from Brew2bottle

Posted on December 5, 2010 by elaine

If you are looking for a stocking filler for a home brewer or someone who is considering taking up home brewing a good place to start may be with a book. With prices from £5.95 you can even treat yourself!

We currently have 8 titles in stock, below are more details about a few of the more popular books.

Homebrewed Beers and Stouts Book – C.J.J. Berry 6.99

This book contains full instructions for all types of beers, stouts and lagers.

Homebrewed Beers & Stouts

Originally published in 1963, this was the first modern book on home brewing. Since then the book has gone through several editions and to date has sold 700,000 copies.
This latest edition contains all you need to know to brew palatable beers and stouts of authentic flavour and — if you wish – fearsome strength!
From palest lager to blackest ‘extra stout’ they will be brews of which you can be proud.

C J J Berry is the author of several books on winemaking and home brewing, about which he is an acknowledged expert. He was co-founder of the first Winemakers Circle, President of the National Association and former editor-publisher of the monthly magazine ‘The Amateur Winemaker.’

Cider Making on a Small Scale – M. Pooley and J Lomax £5.99

Cider Making On A Small ScaleCider is a quite delicious drink which has been known for thousands of years. This new practical book on the craft of cidermaking explores both traditional and modern approaches, and has been designed to enable the enthusiast using any type of apples to make real cider with skill and confidence.

There are additional chapters on a range of fascinating topics related to cider. Techniques for preserving apple juice for drinking, cider-based recipes, cider vinegar and the making of perry from pears are just some of the subjects dealt with. The book also includes a set of superb scaled plans for building an inexpensive robust cider press using hardwood or good quality softwood.

Michael Pooley and John Lomax have been cidermakers for more than twenty years. During this time, their teaching courses and demonstrations of the craft at venues throughout the UK have acquired a national reputation.
In this comprehensive book on the subject, they have combined their experience and expertise to produce a clear, accessible text for both the amateur and the would-be professional cidermaker.

Brewing Beers Like Those You Buy – Dave Line £6.99

Quite simply, this book tells you how to brew beers like those you buy. Real draught ale, Brewing Beers Like Those You Buybottled and keg beers, lagers and stouts are included in the 107 recipes collected from around the world. Home brewing is now a competent hobby backed by a mature industry that provides all the necessary ingredients as used by the commercial brewers.

With the information contained in this fully revised and updated book you will be able to successfully emulate your favourite commercial brew for a fraction of the pub price. Bishops Tipple, Old Peculier, Wee Willie, Tiger Lager, Lion Ale are just a few of the recipes included and as some have been adapted from information given by the breweries themselves about their particular beers first-class results are virtually assured.
With complete instructions for beginners, you will soon get to know your Fuggles from your Bullions and be ‘sparging your wort’ in no time at all.
Cheers!

Big Book of Brewing – Dave line £7.99

Big Book Of BrewingThe ‘Big Book of Brewing’ brings to beginners and experts alike a simple method of ‘mashing’ for producing the finest flavoured beers, ales, stouts and lagers from grain. It is the most advanced and comprehensive book on the subject of brewing.

Dave Line makes the concept of brewing beer from mash, understandable and explains the necessary equipment and ingredients.

If you are ready to move on from making beer kits, or you just want to know about the whole brewing process, then this book is for you.

1st Steps In Wine Making – C.J.J. Berry £5.95

Widely renowned as the “bible of home winemaking”. Full of technical detail, but in a friendly prose, suitable for the total beginner with no knowledge at all.

Complete with 100s of recipes for all occasions, from traditional country wines, to mead, to ale, brews for every occasion all year round.

Essential reading.

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Introducing Brupak’s Premium Ales

Posted on December 2, 2010 by Paul

Continuing our highlighting of several of our home brew beer and traditional ale kits, this article takes a look at some of the Brupak’s Microbrewery range. These are well-presented traditional ale kits with a regional flair (“The Pride of Yorkshire” no less), all of which produce 40 pints of ale, with no need for any additional sugar as they are a premium kit with 3kg of “Concentrated Brewers Wort” in every pack.

Production follows traditional brewhouse procedures using only the finest quality 2-row malting barley and the choicest hops. The grist (crushed grains) is ‘mashed’ with water at 65°C for around one hour, to convert the starch into malt sugar. The resultant liquid (wort) is strained into a boiling vessel where hops are added for bitterness. After boiling extra hops are added for flavour and aroma.

These kits come with a choice of brewing processes: basic for those who want to trust the expertise of the Brewpak method and achieve a classy premium brew with the minimum of fuss; or an advanced method giving a little more variation and control to you, the premium brewmaster!

Brupak’s Fixby Gold

Brupaks Pride of Yorkshire Fixby Gold

Fixby Gold

The Fixby Gold kit produces is beautiful golden ale with a soft hop flavour, malty sweetness and well balanced grain character.

Typical strength between 4.0% and 4.3% abv.

This is a very popular premium kit, comparable to the Woodforde’s range, or the Munton’s Premium Range.

Incredible quality and value, at £22.99 for 40 pints.

Colne Valley Bitter

Brupak's Colne Valley

Colne Valley

Brupak’s have followed their usual tradition of using pure malt, finest hops and genuine brewer’s yeast to product this wonderful connoisseurs’ bitter with distinct hoppy character.

This ale places more emphasis on the hop finish, whereas the Fixby has the malt notes to the fore – enabling the brewer to choose from 2 fine draughts of indivual character.  Colne Valley is also £22.99 for a 40 pint sugar inclusive kit.

Special Lager

Brupak's Special Lager

Brupak's Special Lager

Last but by no means least, Brupak turn their meticulous hand to a premium lager kit.

In this case, a pale golden, full bodied lager with a soft hop character and a strength between 4.0% and 4.3% abv.

Serve primed, bottled and chilled to show off this superb lager at its best. £23.50 for 40 pints, and a rare premium range treat for lager lovers.

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2 New Additions to the California Connoisseur Wine Range

Posted on November 30, 2010 by elaine

We now have a further 2 flavours in the California Connoisseur range to tempt you with.

Cabernet Sauvignon 30 bottle wine kit. £41.99

California Connoisseur Cabernet SauvignonDeep Ruby Red with a blackcurrant and cedar ‘nose’. A full bodied wine with a decided tannin edge when young.

Made from the finest grape concentrates California has to offer, California Connoisseur has become synonymous with outstanding wines of distinctive character, worthy of being served to all who appreciate the proud heritage of the vintner’s art.
This kit produces 23litres of quality wine in as little as 28 days.

Pinot Grigio 30 bottle wine kit. £41.99

A refreshing, light bodied wine with flavours of citrus, apple and melon. Enjoy as a sipping wine, or serve with lighter meals and cheeses.

This is a complete kit requiring NO additional sugar. The kit makes up to 30 bottles (23l) of white wine in as little as 28 days.

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The Drinkers Den – Issue 2 – November 2010

Posted on November 27, 2010 by Paul

The second issue of our newsletter can be found here

http://www.brew2bottle.co.uk/media/newsletters/201011/drinkers-den-issue2.html

We also have a PDF version here

http://www.brew2bottle.co.uk/media/newsletters/201011/drinkers-den-issue2.pdf

Remember if you wish to subscribe to our newsletter you can do so by registering on the site, or dropping us an email to info@brew2bottle.co.uk

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Mulled Wine and Mince Pies 18th December 2010

Posted on November 21, 2010 by elaine

Mince PiesWe are having a mulled wine & mince pie day at the shop on Saturday 18th December, 11am until close. We will be making the mulled wine from Beaverdale Merlot and the mulled wine spice mix that we are stocking in the shop so, if you fancy a free tipple and a pie we would love to see you on the 18th.

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