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Home Brewed Wines, Beers, etc.,
cAnd Secrets of the Liquor Trade
KHK
INTKODtJCTORT.
A generation or two ago every houae-
v?lfe who prided herself on her cater
ing ability had a choice of home-made
wines and cordials In her cellar, and
she was always able to offer her friends
one or other of her special delicacies.
Of late years, however, the custom
of making wine at home has to a large
extent died out, and to those living in
towns without fruit gardens, and only
a limited amount of space for storage
purposes, the occupation is hardly a
feasible one.
To those with fruit and flower gar
dens, however, the subject is well
worthy of greater attention, and espe
cially when there is a surplus of fruit
to be disposed of, or where wild flowers
and fruit are within easy reach.
Home-made wines are particularly
good and wholesome, and with a rea
sonable amount of care their manufac
ture is not difficult. The secret of suc
cess lies in using good materials, in
measuring accurately, in observing
strict cleanliness in every detail, and
in not trying to hurry the process.
It is safer to boil all water used,
and this shoud be cooled to a lukewarm
temperature if yeast has to be added
to it.
All fruit should be perfectly
sound and gathered on a dry sunny
day.
It should then be picked free
from stalks, and washed or wiped ac
cording to its kind. Flowers too must
be gathered dry, and the sugar used
should be of the pure cane variety, eith
er loaf or granulated.
When brewers' yeast is employed for
the fermenting of the wine, it is not
always easy to state the exact quan
tity required, as it varies somewhat
in strength. If there is any doubt as
to its qu.aiity, it is always safer to use
loss rather than more, or it may go
on working until the wine is sour and
spoiled. In cases where the yeast is
spread on toast, this should be re
moved at the stated time, and before
the wine is poured into the cask. Com
pressed yeast may be used when the
brewers' is not obtainable.
Before putting the Ingredients for
wlne-maklng into a cask it is usual
to give them a preliminary soaking in
another vessel. A wooden tub is the
best for this, and
^rmusf be
strictly avoided,
pje.atcare must be
soluTely°cleL!'''lt should be thorough
ly scalded with boiling water allowed
to cool, and then examined
touV^'^or musfy sm^eli;it shou^^
to i"Ulon ^.ir'water"^ Ir^" the llSI
sulphur in the empty ban el is aHo
recommended for
"ftv, 'griit orM
wYte^r al^d aUowld to soak for a short
" When't°h'e liqu" r i-P-t into the cask
fermentation will be
cask should be filled ^e bung-hole,
n'nH fSQ thp <5cum wotKs out, It snouid
be kept filled up with
®e?w'"
reserved for the purpose. It is well to
put a dish or tray
catch the scum while the wine is
^'oji^nilns vary with regard to stirring
the wine while it is fermenting, but
the majority of brewers seem to recom
mend it, as it prevents a possiWe moldy
crust from forming. On the other hand,
if the wine is not stirred it is usually
clearer in appearance when bottled.
Any stirring should
thin cane inserted in the^ bung-hole.
When brandy or other spirit is used
in the wine-making, it is best to add
it when fermentation has almost sub
sided.
,
.
...
For the further clearing of the wine
a little Isinglass is sometimes used, and
this is also added when fermentation
is over. It may be dissolved in a small
portion of wine, and then poured in atj
the bung-hole very gently so that it
spreads over the surface of the liquid
as much as possible. Or it may be tied
into a muslin bag and attached to the
bung.
As soon as the wine has ceased to
work, the bung-hole should be closed
UP tjghtly. The cask must be kept
lying on its side, and on no account
upright, and it should be raised about