August 20, 2015
If you're a wine or beer aficionado, you know the taste of quality.
What if you could make your own brew or grape-infused beverage that tastes just as good as the stuff you buy at the store? You can, and making it can be just as fun as drinking it (well, maybe).
Check out these local spots to do some booze-making of your own.
At The Wine Room in Cherry Hill, guests use professional winery equipment to make and bottle wine with personalized labels.
Winemaking at The Wine Room is especially good for groups who choose from half or full barrels of more than 25 varieties of wine. The average total cost for making a half barrel of wine is $1,250 and $2,400 for a full barrel. Since each barrel yields 20 cases (240 bottles), that breaks down to around $10 per bottle. Individuals or those who do not want 60 or more bottles of wine can also consider joining the Winemaking Club.
The winemaking process at The Wine Room. (The Wine Room/thewineroom.com)
Brew Your Own Bottle on Haddon Avenue in Westmont, Camden County, offers home brewing supplies and beer making lessons ranging from beginner to advanced.
Brewing courses can be taken on an individual or group basis, with a maximum of five people per session. Each brewing class produces about 48 12-ounce bottles of beer. Prices are determined by the type of beer brewed.
Lancaster Homebrew in Lancaster offers in-store wine workshops to guide guests in making wine they can call their own.
There are more than 40 varieties of wine from all over the world to choose from, and workshops range from $175 to $250 for 29 bottles of wine. Each package includes the use of equipment, wine kit, bottles, personalized labels for wine bottles and instruction. Each session (three total) is 30 to 60 minutes. Bottling takes place approximately 30 to 40 days from when the wine is first started.
Bacchus Winemaking Club in Toms River, Ocean County, offers courses that are broken into four one-hour sessions.
Winemaking starts in September once the grapes are harvested from the California wine regions. The club walks guests through every step of the process, from crushing the grapes, pressing the grapes, bottling the wine and even making custom wine labels.
If you're interested in bringing the booze-making home, Keystone Homebrew Supply would be a good place to get all the necessary equipment.
Keystone offers quality beer and wine making supplies and expert advice at two locations: Montgomeryville and Bethlehem. Classes are also offered in beer brewing, winemaking and even cheesemaking.
Supplies at Keystone Homebrew Supply in Montgomeryville. (Keystone Homebrew Supply/Facebook)
You can also buy quality equipment locally at Home Sweet Homebrew, Philly Homebrew Outlet and Malt House Limited.
Happy booze-making! (And drinking.)
