How to Make Your Own Spirits, Beer or Wine at Home

Quarantine and lockdowns made us all a bit experimental and many of us have discovered an old passion or found a new hobby. Playing with grapes, grain and science to create booze at home is not a new thing, but it’s back in trend again and is becoming more popular than ever.

The distilling and fermentation processes used for making alcohol share a lot, but they begin and end differently. Whether you want to make your own spirits, wine or beer, remember that many steps of these processes overlap, however, they also have unique steps that are specific to each one of them. Here is what you need to know before you opt for distilling spirits, brewing beer or fermenting wine.

Making Your Own Spirits

Temperature and cleanliness are the two most important factors for making your spirits at home, so you need to make sure the equipment you are using is always clean and you have a space where you can maintain a constant temperature. And while it depends on the type of drink you are making, the general rule of thumb in home distilling is to follow the manufacturer’s instructions and be patient.

Homemade Spirits

Source: hgtv.com

After all, the goal is to have fun and get pure alcohol with smaller amounts of impurities and by-products than alcohol produced from commercial sources. Still Spirits Top Shelf flavourings are a great way to create your favourite spirits just the way you like them and enjoy a drink or two with family and friends or by yourself after a long, exhausting day.

The process of making your own spirits involves the controlled manufacture of alcohol from a mix of sugar and yeast, then cleaning the distillate with activated carbon to remove any unwanted flavour and produce a clean, smooth spirit. You can find a wide range of Still Spirits Top Shelf flavourings to reproduce almost any alcohol base drink, whether it’s rum, whiskey, bourbon on gin.

Using them is a great way to make the whole home distilling experience more fun, easier and faster. Make sure to follow the instructions on the product and add the flavouring to your spirit in the prescribed quantity, give it a good mixing and enjoy your drink. Everybody likes a good, quality drink, but the enjoyment is much better when you know you made it with lots of love, attention and care.

Homebrewing

If you are passionate about craft beer, but the pubs are closed, you are left with no choice but to make your own beer. The good news is that you can find quality ingredients and make your favourite beer at home. Even better, you can craft the beer to your own taste! The best thing to do is start out small by getting a beer starter kit and turn your shed or any spare room in the house into a place where the magic happens.

Homebrewed Beer

Source: vinepair.com

Once you have your equipment and ingredients, make sure to follow the instructions and stick to the recipe. Keep in mind that the homebrewing process might take anywhere from seven days to one month. Cleaning and sanitising your instruments, supplies and kettles is essential for the success of your homebrewing experience.

It’s a fun and social activity, challenging, yet rewarding in the end. You can explore various beer styles and enjoy the benefits homebrewing has to offer, from money saving to getting great quality beer and enjoying it with friends and family. You can find many beer basket ideas and suggestions to create the perfect gift for your loved ones, but nothing beats the beer you made with so much love and care.

Fermenting Wine

You can make your own wine enjoying the comforts of your home and discovering all kinds of flavours. Making wine is a simple process, so make sure to enjoy it. Some people say it’s an art as much as it’s a science, so don’t be afraid to mix things up and create the flavours you like. Wine is a matter of taste, so what would taste good for you may not be so good for others and that’s why it’s always a good idea to follow your taste buds and make your wine just as you like it.

Fermenting Wine

Source: science.howstuffworks.com

Choose your winemaking equipment carefully and when selecting your wine kit, keep in mind that the more grape concentrate it contains, the better the quality of wine you will produce. A quality wine kit needs some water added and the yeast pitched to the must to ferment, with no need of sugar. The fermentation process usually takes around 6 weeks, but if you need it sooner, you may look for a kit with specially developed fast-acting yeast.

The best thing about wine kits is that they contain the naturally derived additives needed to kill off the yeast and clear the wine, so it’s ready for bottling. Every wine kit comes with instructions, so make sure to follow every step and get a good quality wine you will enjoy with good food, shared with family and friends.

Making alcohol at home is easy with the right equipment and quality ingredients. However, even if you have the best of the best, the process still requires a lot of attention to detail, making some adjustments if necessary and doing some research before you begin. Whether you’re making spirits, wine or beer, remember that safety comes first and you need to make sure you follow the instructions properly.

Aiden Jones

Aiden Jones is an Australian student and a freelance writer. When not studying, Aiden spends time reading about different industrial equipment, information technology (computers and networking) and sports. With his elegant writing, Aiden enriches readers with his personal perspective and never steers away from the hard truth.