Recent content by clengman

Thanks. Just to be sure I'm clear, I'm fairly certain that the fermentation is done. I haven't checked the gravity in a few weeks, but it was right around 1.00 the last time I checked. I plan to check it one last time before I bottle. I was more concerned with stability for longer term...

I'm getting ready to bottle my first batch of this stuff. I'm going to put about 2/3 of it in plastic minikegs with priming sugar and drink it as soon as it's carbed up. The rest I thought I'd bottle in wine bottles and try to keep it a while to let it mature. Should I add sulfite to the...

Oh and for ginger, I've seen a lot of ginger ale recipes with varying amounts of ginger. The first I tried was Alton Brown's. He uses 1.5 oz grated fresh ginger in a 2L batch plus juice of one lemon or lime plus 6 oz sugar. (I used 5 oz ginger, 18 oz sugar and the juice of two limes in a 6L...

I've been making 1.5 gallon batches of a similar recipe and naturally carbonating in tap-a-draft jugs. I've been using about a 1/2 tsp of EC-1118 champagne yeast.

Are you able to revert to using cartridges after using those fittings or does threading in the 3/4" fitting ruin the cartridge housing?

Nice. I like your labels, too. :) Is that the TAD system that you have? You wouldn't happen to have a CO2 cartridge and some calipers would you? I'd like to know if the neck diameter and length of the TAD cartridges matches that of the Miller home draft system. I noticed there's a pressure...

I have a small batch of cider going in a 3L wine jug. I used my own home-pressed juice, sulfited and added EC-1118 yeast. After about a month of fermentation, I had a SG drop from 1.056 to 1.002. I also had about an inch of trub in the bottom of the jug and thought I would try racking. I only...

Thanks for the nice description of all the parts. I got 3 of the miller home draft mini kegs recently and I've been experimenting with them. Can you tell me if the Miller system and the Tap a Draft system use identical CO2 cartridges? I took a spent cartridge out of one of the miller...

I'm hoping I can manage to choke them down. :) They're 16g cartridges. What brand did you try? I imagine the best way is to use the ones they sell at midwest supply. Leland brand 16g CO2 cartridges, pack of six for $9. I think they carry them at my LHBS. I'm thinking I may try to hook them...

Right, but the tap alone costs close to $40 when you factor in shipping. I got three taps and three bottles ($120 or so of TAD hardware, before tax and shipping) for $60. It's not the end of the world, but it could be the end of a very good deal.

I was looking for a low cost way to keg homemade cider and came across the discussions of the Tap-a-Draft systems and the miller/coors Home Draft thingies (MCHDT). I decided to try to locate a MCHDT, called several distributors in the pittsburgh area and got several replies that they normally...

This thread peaked my curiosity because I have wondered recently about commercial sweet white and pink wines that have a tiny bit of effervescence when opened. It generally seems like a good thing to me. I wondered how that could be accomplished at home.

Got it! Thanks guys. I was indeed thinking about headspace in my carboy if I only carb small batches. I'm still toying with the idea of a couple corny kegs and a CO2 system, but it's good to know the TAD option can work.

I'm just getting in to this cider/wine making hobby I've been trying to read up, but I want to be sure I understand a few things as I plan for some future equipment purchases. I started out simply because I had a surfeit of apples this year and decided to try pressing my own juice. I kept most...

Grapes have a lot of sugar, enough that you really don't need to add any sugar to make a wine. Most other fruit doesn't contain nearly as much natural sugar so if you want a final product with 7 or 8 % or more ABV you need to add sugar. You can start out with juice and measure the specific...