Strawberry Ribena Homebrew:
ABV: 5.9%
Date Bottled: 28/03/13
Date Bottled: 28/03/13
Recipe: 300ml Ribena, 3ltrs of supermarket Apple Juice, 200g sugar & wine tannin.
Yeast: Young's Wine Yeast
Presentation (Colour): Nice and fairly clear light red. Very little sediment [7/10]
Aroma: Quite flat, but with a very slight fruity aroma [4/10]
Taste: A strong initial hit of alcohol, with a nice smooth Strawberry tang that stays with you [5/10]
Fizz: Very slight, but acceptable with a brew of this kind. Enough to help distinguish it between a low-alcohol wine and a "turbo" fruit brew. [5/10]
Overall Score: 5.5/10
Verdict: This was a very early attempt at trying to do something different with my brews, and it's not altogether successful. There are, however, some saving graces to the brew. At 5.9%, it's not a HIGH alcohol brew, but it should be successful enough with those that like drinks with with a fruity flavour, or low-alcohol wines.
Verdict: This was a very early attempt at trying to do something different with my brews, and it's not altogether successful. There are, however, some saving graces to the brew. At 5.9%, it's not a HIGH alcohol brew, but it should be successful enough with those that like drinks with with a fruity flavour, or low-alcohol wines.
 |
| Strawberry Ribena Homebrew - 5.9% |
Weapons-Grade VIM Brew
ABV: 6.6%
Date Bottled: 19/03/13
Date Bottled: 19/03/13
Recipe: 19ltrs Tesco Value Apple Juice, 2ltrs Red Grape Juice, 5 Bramley cooking apples, tannin, pectolase, yeast nutrient, Malic Acid, 1kg demerera sugar
Yeast: Nottingham Ale Yeast
Presentation (Colour): Very slightly murkey, light golden colour. On a scrumpy-type brew of this kind and age, this is exactly the sort of colour one would expect. [8/10]
Aroma: Sharp, but not unpleasant appley-aroma [6/10]
Taste: Very similar to supermarket Somerset scrumpy brews, but without the strength or kick of a REAL scrumpy. Goes down very smoothly. [7/10]
Fizz: Low fizz on on this one - an initial "hit" when pouring that leaves a nice smooth froth when pouring over ice. Probaby best consumed from glasses with the ingrained neucleation points to keep the light fizz going for a while. [4/10]
Overall Score: 6.5/10
Verdict: I'm surprised I ended up scoring this one so low, but the memory of it I suspect is better than the brew itself. The blended Bramley apples certainly helped give the brew a more smoother taste though. There appears to be no evidence at all of the red grape juice added, but this in itself may have helped bring out the flavour of the apples, rather than leave any grape flavour within the brew.
Verdict: I'm surprised I ended up scoring this one so low, but the memory of it I suspect is better than the brew itself. The blended Bramley apples certainly helped give the brew a more smoother taste though. There appears to be no evidence at all of the red grape juice added, but this in itself may have helped bring out the flavour of the apples, rather than leave any grape flavour within the brew.
 |
| Weapons-Grade "VIM" Homebrew - 6.6% |
"Turbo Cider 9" Brew
ABV: 3.5%
Date Bottled: 02/05/13
Date Bottled: 02/05/13
Recipe: 4 litres of Lidl "Solevita" Apple Juice, 280g Tesco Every Day Value Apple Sauce, Pectolase, Tannin
Yeast: Young's Wine Yeast
Presentation (Colour): Quite murkey, light golden colour, with a fair amount of residue. This is to be expected with a young brew such as this at only 6 weeks old. [5/10]
Aroma: Hardly any aroma at all on this one, but a slight hint of yeast [4/10]
Taste: Quite sharp initially, but the sharpness is almost immediately devoured by the smoothness from the apple sauce which leaves a not altogether unpleasant and sweet after-taste. [6/10]
Fizz: Again, quite a low fizz on on this one - unlike the "VIM" brew, there is not a frothy head presented in the glass upon pouring over ice. Again, this brew would be best consumed from glasses with the ingrained neucleation points to keep the light fizz going for a while. [4/10]
Overall Score: 4.5/10
Verdict: A very low alcohol brew of this type with its smooth apple sauce after-taste will no doubt go down well with the session drinkers or those "afraid" of initial homebrew drinking. It will, however, definitely benefit from another month or two in storage before drinking.
Verdict: A very low alcohol brew of this type with its smooth apple sauce after-taste will no doubt go down well with the session drinkers or those "afraid" of initial homebrew drinking. It will, however, definitely benefit from another month or two in storage before drinking.
No comments:
Post a Comment