Recent content by mikeg77

I'm about to brew my first hefeweizen and by all accounts a triple Decoction is the way to go for the mash. I've been reading up on it and have a few questions...My Mash Schedule look like this: Acid Rest: Add 6.00 gal of water at 97.9 F 95.0 F 45 min - Protein Rest Decoct: 1.65 gal of...

Good point... So really I would need almost 3 gallons of pure juice to make 6 gallons of this port so it's not ultra diluted?

I've used them and them and they work pretty well. Capping by hand is harder than it looks though and my palm was very sore afterwards..

cool thanks.. So how long should I wait after adding the camden to pitch the new strain of yeast?

This is the only one I could find. winemaking: Requested Recipe (Port Wine) If you have another, then I would be open to that too..

I saw an online recipe for making port that calls for 1 gallon of grape juice. I just so happen to have an extra gallon of juice that has already fermented for a week or so. Can I use that instead?

I was just guessing at the cellar temp when I said 65 degrees. It might be a bit cooler than that, but certainly not as cold as the refrigerator I plan to use. Thanks for the input.

Just wondering if anyone had thoughts as to when to cold stabilize a wine(if at all). My MLF is done and I was going to rack it and put it in the fridge for two weeks to hopefully encourage the formation of tartrate crystals so I can filter them out. My question is if now is a good time...

If not, I would go with the Catawba. Why because I have had some decent Catawba wines and never tried sour cherry.

I added my MLF culture at about 3 brix while still in primary. I then pressed and racked. So far I have seen no indication that MLF has begun. Should I see something(like bubbles from the airlock) or something? I have heard that this process can take a long time, but how long should it be...

Just and Update. I pressed by hand using a mesh bag and a bucket. I'm sure it wasn't ideal, but I got more than enough juice so I'm happy.

That makes sense.. Any other ideas how to press without a press?

I'm about to press the grapes and was wondering if anyone had a good technique on how to do this. It is a relatively small batch and I don't have a press. I intended to do it by hand but was wondering if a juicer wouldn't actually be more efficient. Any done this before or see a reason why it...

Thanks. I think I'll just leave the nutrients I already added then. I'm making a cabernet Franc and am kind of winging the recipe.. Trying to keep it pretty simple..

I have added yeast nutrient to the must before fermentation while the Potassium Metabisulfite was doing its work. Should I also add while it is fermenting? It has been a few days a fermentation is starting to slow down. Just wondering if this will give it a boost to help finish the job or if...