Recent content by brpruett

Jota, use search feature if you are looking for info. Recluse, I agree with your findings about the impact of aging. I have some Aepfelwein (about 20G) fermenting on the 6th generation of lees. I do add a percentage of cranberry juice to some of my carboys because I like the somewhat...

Doc: I get that. Hope I didn't offend. You are clearly knowledgeable. My concern is that someone who was unwilling to use the search function to find answers will also be unwilling to fully inform themselves of the dangers of pasteurizing at home and the need for diligence that were clearly...

Doc: I either misunderstand you or I understand and disagree. AFAIK you cannot safely bottle condition and still retain sweetness, esp. if you are a noobrewer working at home. You'd have to be sure that each bottle has the same dosage and you'd need to know when to pasteurize to get the level...

Not really sure what urine tastes like... Shouldn't have been a big difference one week to the next. Funkiness no es bueno. Did you introduce some harmful microbes perhaps?If it doesn't clear up in a week or two I think that you may have contaminated the Stoeffche. Did you use tap water...

Never had a batch of Aepfelwein stay cloudy for more than 5 weeks. Did you boil the Musselmann's or did it have sorbates added? All my bottles look like the one on the right.

There is no difference between wine and hard cider. Despite the current trend for American wines to have a high ABV (14%+), many wines have had much lower ABV. German Rieslings frequently have an ABV rating of around 7%. Hard cider is simply apple juice (also called apple cider...

Just wonderin': Who here has smelled a rhino fart? I mean literally. H2S used to be identified by the term "rotten egg smell". Are there people out there thinking "hmmm, this might be rhino fart or this could be wildebeest fart. I just DON"T KNOW!"?

Interesting question about oxidation. Apple juice does contain tannins, although probably on par with a white wine. My biggest concern with the poster who enjoys shaking his applewine carboy was the increased probability of introducing harmful microorganisms. We can't forget that oxidation...

I am bottling a 6.5 gallon carboy of Aepfelwein which has spent 6 months and one week on its lees. No questions or anything... just wanted to make you jealous.

When you shake the carboy you end up compressing the headspace. CO2 is released through the airlock. If your Stoeffche is still fermenting then more CO2 will release from it into the headspace so you are OK. That is true even if the ferment is over as long as the liquid contains dissolved...

At a month and a week I would suspect your fermentation may've stopped. Your concoction may just be degassing. Not sure as that is a heck of a lot of sugar. With that abv your yeast is going to be tuckered out. Throwing another round of sugar at them may cause them to give off funky flavors...

19321+ 36 =19357

I used Montrachet, EC-1118, and Pasteur Red on different batches and no smell. H2S is indeed a sign of struggling yeast... so I wonder if I hit on something with my conjecture that the smell is produced by old, improperly stored yeast. A touch of YAN when pitching the yeast may help in...

All very interesting regarding smell. I ferment 3 x 6.5g carboys at a time in my office. The dimensions are roughly 12x12x8. Don't think that room size makes a difference. Just a pleasant apple odor the entire time. My temps have approached 80f for a few batches. I've used YAN with some...

Not actually 100% correct; lack of proper sanitation can allow natural yeasts to infect the batch and result in the production of H2S. H2S will dissipate or you can treat it with copper to facilitate dissipation. I've used EC-1118, Montrachet and Pasteur Red to make batches and never a whiff...