Recent content by palecricket1

I disagree. I've seen many recipes involving flour, albeit not solely flour. Example: http://www.geocities.com/NapaValley/6670/reckvas.htm http://www.russiansabroad.com/cuisine/Recipes.asp?TemaID=5&TopicID=164 Wikipedia says it's made from any vegetal product. Kvass is a pretty generic...

I'm wanting to make a batch of kvass, and I have wheat flour that already contains malted barley flour in it. My question is this: since there is malt in this, if I were to mash this like I would regular grain (taking into account the fact that this is exponentially finer than grain), would I...

a few suggestions for your mead: 1) use less fruit than you'd normally use in a melomel 2) consider using a yeast that will metabolize some of the acid (71B is a great choice) or consider adding a little calcium hydroxide to eat up some of that acid. don't use baking soda, as the resulting...

I once had a phenomenal wine and I'll be darned if I can find out what it was. A friend of mine served it on a road trip once, but I never caught the name of it. It was a reisling, german I believe. It wasn't oaked (or at least I'm pretty sure it wasn't). It had a very distinct...

Does anyone have a good link to instructions for a full mash? I've searched high and low on google and I can't find complete instructions anywhere. Much appreciated in advance.

Wait when you make port aren't you suposed to ferment it only to around the 1/3 sugar break, then fortify it so it is still sweet?

put the carboy in a fridge or freezer (if it will fit) for a few hours to put the yeast to sleep. Add sorbate. Depending on the yeast strain, you may wish to simply let it go and age it on the lees (sur lie) stirring once a month for 3-6 months. If you want to bottle it right away or are not...

I am currently brewing a batch of cider. I had started the batch in a PETE (Polyethylene terephthalate) carboy, but a few days later I found it had acquired a strange smell and taste. I felt kind of stoned when i tasted some, and it had a strange aftertaste that I can't quite put. It's...

yep. but mass market's all I can get a hold of. **sigh** if only I had the luxory of being able to buy the good stuff. Even the farmer's market doesn't have much better of a selection, and they usually have the best selection around.

one thing I forgot to add: when you are adding the honey to the hot water, it's 80 degrees Celcius. Very important because at 80 farenheit, you won't kill off foreign bacteria and yeasts. 80*C=180*F Can you really use sodium benzoate in mead? I always found it lended a distinctly...

K not quite sure whether this fits in the cider or the mead forum... Trying to get some cyser in so I'll have a stash for Christmas time :D When I buy a commerical hard cider, it's clear. Sparkling cider, clear. However, whenever I got regular, soft cider, it's cloudy. The cloudiness, I...

sparkling mead isn't quite what I would call "beginner's" material. But if you want to give it a try, go for it. A basic recipe is 1 part water to 4 parts honey, and if you want 1 part fruit. A good place to start is with an orange melomel. Make sure to use either fresh squeezed orange juice...