Recent content by Confucius

Just my $.02, go with a show mead (that is, water, honey, yeast, nutrient) as melomels age well, but will not last as long as a show mead (I mean, what if you're child doesn't get married until 35?). Personally, I'm not sure if synthetic or cork are better, but I would certainly bulk age it for...

I'd go high alcohol roasted chille peppers and chocolate.

Oh, that makes sense, I was sort of assuming there was threaded posts welded to the keg itself. Another question, that pressure relief valve, I know it can be actuated by hand, but is there a pressure it will release by itself? I've seen 130 psi used as the amount of pressure a corny keg can...

I'm thinking about getting a corny keg for a project completely unrelated to brewing, but was wondering if you unscrew the ports and pull out the dip tube and all that jazz, what sort of fitting remains? Anything special about the threads? Inner diameter? Is there a chamfer where a flared tube...

No need to sorbate. The yeast will be quite overwhelmed.

Once desired carbonation levels have been reached, turn the bottles upside down, freeze the necks, uncap, remove yeast layer and frozen plug, cap, and enjoy. Way to much work, and still pretty risky.

Hmm Hank's looks like a good choice. How much bitterness is that one ounce of hops going to give it?

So, my mother has decided she wants to get into homebrewing. I'd like to pick up the basic equipment for her along with a nice Hefeweizen kit (she loves Pyramid Hefeweizen if it makes a difference). The equipment I have no problem with. I have an excellent winemaking store nearby that I get...

Looks to be a white clover show mead. So just honey, water, yeast, and maybe some nutrients. What is the abv? That would shed quite a bit of light on what yeast to use.

Never had tulip, but buckwheat will way overpower a mead. Most recipes it is a few ounces. If you want a darker mead though, caramelizing the honey is a good option.

See, I figured that might be the case. All the meads and wines I've done, I've either left dry or overwhelmed the yeast.

I've stopped fermentation of cider by cold crashing. Should work with wine. Just make sure not to siphon off any of the yeast cake that forms at the bottom.

If you are really worried about the pasteurization, add campden. Even if you don't set the pectins in the cider by heating, you will lose volatile flavors. But really, you would probably be fine just pitching a good starter and letting it go. Also, let it age longer (Several months) before...

Neither will actually kill the yeast, but Potassium Sorbate will stop it from reproducing. It works quite a bit better with Sulfites present though, so both should be added.

The tart part or the stabilize and backsweeten part? I'm sure you can figure out tartness, so for stabilizing what will need to happen is you add Campden (Potassium Metabasulfate) and Potassium Sorbate after fermentation is complete to prevent further fermentation, and then sweeten to taste.