Home brew wine and fruit beer.

The apples in the orchard are now ready, ive been collecting some early falls which we have had alot of with the high winds .
In the communal plot on the allotments we have a mini orchard with about 9 or 10 small apple trees all different types , ive been collecting and storing the falls to allow them to ripen a little. I managed to gather a couple of buckets full which was quite alot ,    some have been eaten some were too bruised and rotted so i was left with about a bucket full of apples to make something with.

I remembered the first wine i ever made was apple and ginger ,was very good ,which got me hooked on home brewing and i was obsessed with it for a good few years after, so i decided to do something similar. So far it could be a strong beer or wine strength, not adding all the sugar at the beginning gives room for changing the end result and my recipe can be either apple ginger wine or beer/ale/mead it all depends on how much sugar you add , a beer would be ready in a few weeks but the wine might only just be ready for christmas .
some tips i worked out from my own experience are
1 / Add sugar in stages ! I always add sugar in stages not all at once , i found that works better for the yeast and you can push the wine to the limit of the yeasts capability's should you want a really strong alcohol content. Also room to maneuver should you decide to stop it early , i will see how it smells and decide as it evolves.
2 / Some wine making books use the method of making the must ahead of adding yeast , this is the extraction process which can be boiling,cold mashing or squeezing the fruit to extract the flavor and sugars , then they filter off the pulp and add sugar and yeast to a clear must. I usually add yeast at the beginning so it has all the pulp to work on too plus not adding all the sugar so the water is not saturated and has room to dissolve the goodness from the fruit. This does 2 things , one it helps the yeast by giving it more sustenance and 2 after the extraction/mashing time is up (about 6 days) you need to filter the pulp from the must , because you started the yeast too you also remove 6 days worth of dead yeast from the brew . This early removal of the dead yeast improves the final result by a large factor as it isnt sitting on it for the next months. As the first stage of fermentation is aerobic the decomposition of the first yeast to die can taint the brew giving it a slightly fusty horrible smell, this is eliminated and your brew will smell much better all the way through once you get rid of this .  (that is the golden tip you wont find in a book! )

The recipe for 20 ltr
Some apples , washed , cored and chopped (brought to boil in a pan of water , not too long , stop when you see bubbles or you destroy the taste)
for beer/mead
1kg light brown  (demerera sugar)
680g local honey
For wine
2kg light brown  (demerera sugar)
1kg local honey
juice of 2 lemons
one medium sized fresh root ginger , washed and sliced
1 teaspoon of pectolase  
1 teaspoon of yeast nutrient
water

Method
after bringing to the boil the apple pieces mash with a potato masher , add this to a 25ltr brew bin , this filled up to just over 5 ltrs with just the apple pulp.
add the ginger
Then use hot water to dissolve the honey and sugar then add too the bin.
Top  up to 20 ltrs with cold water , check the temperature , if it is under 27c add boiled water till it is over(anywhere between 27c- 40c is good.
Add pectolase,yeast nutrient and stir then add the yeast . Secure the bin lid and leave in a warm place.
Stir the must daily for 6 days.
Strain the must to remove pulp and dead yeast with a strainer and return to the brew bin ,for wine add half of the remaining honey and sugar in solution . add an air lock , 1 week later add the last of the honey and sugar and top the level up to 20ltrs if it is lower.
You should rack the wine at least 2 times in the anaerobic fermentation to keep removing the accumulated dead yeast and any remaining solids . de-gas the wine daily to allow the yeast to use up all the sugar. When the fizzing stops the sugar has gone and the wine is ready, or you can try adding 100g sugar every day until the yeast gives up if you want to push it for the extra ~%.

Try using just honey Lopsum, much nicer than sugar and honey.

its too expensive , the stuff i got was £6 per 340g so its already an expensive do for homebrew. When i get a hive i will be able and willing!

We have 2 hives in the woods every year and our local bee keeper donates plenty to us, mind you I did build his spinning equipment for him.

My friend(working on) keeps bees, we got his honey but not via him, we saw it on a fate stall, had to pay top wack. He has since said the next one will be friend price, but still i dont expect it for free. He will be the one i get a hive off if/when i do. Maybe next year.

Nice to have the bees in your garden for pollination and to help undo their declining numbers.