Rose Blend Wine: Brewing it Our Way

Walkers Rose Blend Red Wine

About Walkers Juice
Walkers hot-pressed red grapes, assures each wine maker that they are getting highest quality wine. Walkers standardizes most of their juice at 21 percent sugar, unless the juice has a naturally higher content.  If you want to know the acid content or pH level they are listed on each container.

We started a Walkers Rose Blend Red Wine in the store! 

Did you know you can start this juice right in the food grade carboy it comes in? Walkers juice comes with everything you need to get the started, all you add is the yeast nutrient and the yeast. Some people just sprinkle the yeast on the juice but we re-hydrated our yeast to give it a jump start. (Walkers recommends this too!) We activated the yeast by adding slightly warmed water to the dry yeast and gave it a few minutes to start. While waiting for the yeast to re-hydrate we sprinkled the yeast nutrient into our juice.  We added this to replenish any of the nutrients that maybe naturally deficient in our juice.  It is not necessary to feed our yeast but we want to give it the best 'working' condition possible! 

As you can see our initial stage was quite violent.  Just look closely at the picture, you can see the gas escaping through the liquid. This can continue for 7 to 14 days but as time goes on, the explosions will be come less frequent and less aggressive. We will be keeping an eye on the bubbler and adding more water if the level drops.  This can be due to the aggressive stage or from simple evaporation.  

Now we just sit back, watch and wait for the next step.  This will be about 3 to 6 months when we will rack, stabilize and finally bottle our wine.  

Would you prefer to use a glass carboy? Many people do.  We carry them in several sizes, plus all the other things you may need like the rubber bung and bubbler.  Yes, it really is that easy to make wine!  Stop in and let us show you how!

Weekly Roundup: Beer Edition

It's been a fun BEER week here at +Make Your Own! We've learned a lot and shared a lot about brewing, cooking with beer and even the surprising health benefits of beer! Let's round up some of our most popular posts from Facebook this week!

Get started brewing beer with supplies and kits from Make Your Own!

 

Beer Bottles

 

Beer Bottle Capper

Corn Sugar

 

Mr. Beer Home Brew Kit

 

(We also blogged about a recipe using your Mr. Beer Home Brew Kit. You can see that recipe here. It's easy to get more out of your Mr. Beer Home Brew kit!)

 

Just getting started with a home brew hobby? These links walk you through the process of brewing!

 

How to Brew Beer

 

The Beginner's Guide to Home Brewing

 



Cooking with beer can be fun! Try out some new, delicious recipes today!

 

Flourless Chocolate Stout Cake

 

Beer Cheese Soup

 

Beer Batter

 

Beer Batter Waffles

 



Finally, some miscellaneous beer posts!

 

Beer Glassware - What type of glass should you use?

 

Beer Can be Healthy!

 

More Beer Health Benefits

 

31 Uses for Beer (Besides Drinking It)



 

We hope you have enjoyed Beer Week here at Make Your Own as much as we have! We've learned so much about beer that we never knew! What did you learn? Make sure to follow us on Facebook to keep updated on all of our posts!

 

Next week....WINE WEEK!!! Stay tuned!

 

Have a safe and happy Memorial Day! 

Getting more out of your Mr. Beer Home Brew Kit

This week is beer week here at +Make Your Own! If you haven't checked out our Facebook page yet, hop on over and see what we've been posting! We're sharing recipes, brewing techniques and even brewing videos this week!

Right now, let's focus on getting more out of your Mr. Beer home brew kit. The Mr. Beer website has tons of great recipes that you can try out. If you haven't read our recent blog posts about the Mr. Beer home brew kit you can check them out using the following links: Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 and Part 4. Each part takes you through the brewing process step-by-step! 

Recently, we made a Raspberry Wheat that turned out amazing and is perfect for warm evenings or an afternoon BBQ! 

This recipe is available on the Mr. Beer website, but we made a couple slight changes from their original recipe. How you brew yours is up to you!

Ingredients:

1 Bavarian Weissbier Refill (You can find that here)

1 Packet Dry Wheat Brewing Yeast (included in refill pack)

13oz Corn Sugar (You can find corn sugar here)
1 Can Red Raspberries in Heavy Syrup
Cleanser (You can find that here)

You Will Need: 
Blender

3 quart stock pot

4 cup glass measuring cup

Instructions:

First, follow instructions for cleaning and sanitizing all of your equipment and any instruments that will be coming into contact with your beer. Cleaning and sanitizing instructions came with your Mr. Beer Home Brew Kit or you can view Part 1 of our Brewing with Mr. Beer series. 

Puree raspberries in a sanitized blender and set aside. Remove the yeast from under the lid of the Weissbier can and set the can into a bowl with hot tap water. (This helps the syrup in the can melt slightly so it's easier to pour.)

Using your sanitized measuring cup, pour 4 cups of water into your clean stock pot. Slowly, add the corn sugar, stirring to prevent clumps within the water. Bring the water to a boil, stirring frequently. Once a rapid boil occurs, remove from heat and add the can of Weissbier, stirring thoroughly to mix. 

Add 4 quarts of cold tap water to your keg. (Look for the 4 quart mark on the back of the keg.) Pour your mixture (wort) from the pot into the keg and top the keg off with cold water up to the 8.5 quart mark. Add the pureed raspberries and stir thoroughly to combine. Sprinkle the yeast packet in the keg and screw on the lid. 

Store your keg out of direct sunlight and in an area that has a consistent temperature between 68 and 74 degrees. The raspberries in this mixture can cause quite violent fermentation. Make sure to keep the keg out of direct sunlight AND make sure the room temperature is consistent. Place the keg on a rimmed cookie sheet and check it daily for leaking. If it does leak, remove the lid and wipe clean with a paper towel dipped in sanitized solution then replace lid. 

Fermentation should take about 7-14 days. Follow the directions that came with your Mr. Beer Home Brew Kit for bottling or view Part 4 in our blog series. 

The Mr. Beer website describes the Raspberry Wheat in this way:

This framboise style brew combines the tart qualities of both raspberries and wheat to produce a deep red, cloudy, crisp and fruity beer that will make anyone a believer in home brew. A refreshing summer drink that fits well as an after dinner pairing with light tart tasting desserts.  

Have you made any special brews with your Mr. Beer Home Brew kit? If so, let us know! We love to try new recipes out! 

Happy Beer Week!

Weekly Roundup: BBQ Edition

Another great week here in Western NY! Where else can you go that it snows on Monday and it's 80 degrees on Wednesday?

Obviously, I'm exaggerating slightly - we didn't get a ton of snow on Monday, but in May flurries or 6" seem one in the same!


Have you been following us on Facebook? If not, clickie that linkie and 'like' us so you don't miss all the fun! We're trying something new around here - each week we're going to focus on a new theme and then we're going to do a weekly roundup of posts for you on the blog!

This past week was BBQ week - in celebration of BBQ month! We posted some recipes, links to cool BBQ tools that we sell here at Make Your Own, and some tips and tricks for grilling!

BBQ Tools that are available at Make Your Own:

Stainless Steel BBQ Skewers


Marinade Injector

 

Marinade Injector Kit





 

We also have several marinades to choose from along with a wide variety of seasonings and spices.

 

Some of the recipes we featured:

 

Making Beer Can Chicken

 

Bacon Wrapped Pork Loin

 

Grilled Corn on the Cob

 

You can find more recipes on our Pinterest May is BBQ Month board!

 

We started this BBQ week with some Fun Facts about BBQ! Check it out!

 

What have you BBQ'd lately? Do you have a fun, unique recipe? Share it with us!

 

Be sure to follow us on Facebook because next week is Beer week! What ties in better with BBQ? We'll be posting information on making your own beer, recipes for craft beers and also, cooking with beer! Don't miss out!

 

 

Mr. Beer's Bavarian Wessbier Refill Kit

Our second batch of home-brewed beer!

This past weekend we did our first taste test of our second batch of beer.  We used Mr. Beer's Bavarian Weissbier refill kit and this was simply delicious!  We really recommend this one!  Stop in and we will get you started with Mr. Beer.

Check back for our next blog!  We have a special surprise for you!

All about Mom!

Mother's Day is Sunday May 12th! Mother's Day is all about Mom, but do you know the origins of Mother's Day? Read on to get a little history lesson about Mother's Day and a special offer from Make Your Own! Don't forget to follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest! We'll be posting stuff about Mother's Day all week! Crafts, trivia, printables, etc!

The History of Mother's Day


The first North American Mother’s Day was conceptualized with Julia Ward Howe’s Mother’s Day Proclamation in 1870.


Despite having penned The Battle Hymn of the Republic twelve years earlier, Howe had become so distraught by the death and carnage of the Civil War that she called on Mother’s to come together and protest what she saw as the futility of their Sons killing the Sons of other Mothers.


At one point Howe even proposed converting July 4th into Mother’s Day, in order to dedicate the nation’s anniversary to peace. Eventually, however, June 2nd was designated for the celebration.


In 1873 women’s groups in 18 North American cities observed this new Mother’s holiday. Howe initially funded many of these celebrations, but most of them died out once she stopped footing the bill. The city of Boston, however, would continue celebrating Howe’s holiday for 10 more years.


Despite the decided failure of her holiday, Howe had nevertheless planted the seed that would blossom into what we know as Mother’s Day today. A West Virginia women’s group led by Anna Reeves Jarvis began to celebrate an adaptation of Howe’s holiday. In order to re-unite families and neighbors that had been divided between the Union and Confederate sides of the Civil War, the group held a Mother’s Friendship Day.


After Anna Reeves Jarvis died, her daughter Anna M. Jarvis campaigned for the creation of an official Mother’s Day in remembrance of her mother and in honor of peace.


In 1908, Anna petitioned the superintendent of the church where her Mother had spent over 20 years teaching Sunday School. Her request was honored, and on May 10, 1908, the first official Mother's Day celebration took place at Andrew's Methodist Church in Grafton, West Virginia and a church in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The West Virginia event drew a congregation of 407 and Anna Jarvis arranged for white carnations — her Mother’s favorite flower — to adorn the patrons. Two carnations were given to every Mother in attendance.


Today, white carnations are used to honor deceased Mothers, while pink or red carnations pay tribute to Mothers who are still alive.


In 1908 a U.S. Senator from Nebraska, Elmer Burkett, proposed making Mother's Day a national holiday at the request of the Young Men's Christian Association (YMCA). The proposal was defeated, but by 1909 forty-six states were holding Mother's Day services as well as parts of Canada and Mexico.


Anna Jarvis quit working and devoted herself full time to the creation of Mother's Day, endlessly petitioning state governments, business leaders, women groups, churches and other institutions and organizations. She finally convinced the World's Sunday School Association to back her, a key influence over state legislators and congress. In 1912 West Virginia became the first state to officially recognize Mother's Day, and in 1914 Woodrow Wilson signed it into national observance, declaring the second Sunday in May as Mother's Day.


The holiday flourished in the United States. Flowers, especially white carnations, became a very popular part of the celebration. One business journal, Florists Review, went so far as to print, “This was a holiday that could be exploited.” But the budding commercialization of Mother's Day greatly disturbed Jarvis, who vociferously opposed what she perceived as a misuse of the holiday.


In 1923 Jarvis sued to stop a Mother’s Day event. In the 1930's she was arrested for disturbing the peace at the American War Mothers group: She was protesting their sale of flowers. Jarvis also petitioned against a postage stamp featuring her Mother with a vase of white carnations and the word “Mother’s Day.” Jarvis was able to have the words “Mother’s Day” removed ... but the flowers remained.


In 1938, Time Magazine ran an article about Jarvis's fight to copyright Mother's Day, but by then it was already too late to change the commercial trend.


In opposition to the flower industry’s exploitation of the holiday, Jarvis wrote, “What will you do to route charlatans, bandits, pirates, racketeers, kidnappers and other termites that would undermine with their greed one of the finest, noblest and truest movements and celebrations?” Despite her efforts, flower sales on Mother's Day continued to grow. Florist's Review wrote, “Miss Jarvis was completely squelched.”


Anna Jarvis died in 1948, blind, poor and childless. Jarvis would never know that it was, ironically, The Florist's Exchange that had anonymously paid for her care.



More Mother's Day history can be found here



Mother's Day Special at Make Your Own


When you stop into Make Your Own before 5/11/13 and purchase any Make Your Own branded kit you will get a FREE $5 gift card to Make Your Own! Keep the gift card for yourself or add it to Mom's gift so she can purchase more supplies!

 Make Your Own branded kits include:
 Make Your Own Root Beer
Make Your Own Soda Pop
Make Your Own Hot Sauce
Make Your Own Mustard
Make Your Own Vinegar
Make Your Own Yogurt
Make Your Own Bubble Gum
Make Your Own Spa Bath
Make Your Own Soap
Make Your Own Lip Balm

 Supplies are limited so hurry in! No coupon necessary!

Offer valid only at Make Your Own retail location in Lockport, NY. Sorry, not available on our website. One offer per customer. Not valid on sale prices. Expires 5/11/13

To all the Mom's out there - we hope you have a spectacular Mother's Day!