Recent content by SigsNanoBrew

I never don't share any equipment with my beer and pickle/sauerkraut making. There is probably just lacto bacteria in the air my environment. Not much can be done about this, so I just make all my beer batches around 5.5 gallons, then if I want to do a secondary I simply fill the carboy all the...

I have had lactobacillus infections before when I transferred to a secondary that had a gallon of head space. It looks like a spidery web on the surface that is has a powdery texture and can be skimmed from the surface. If caught early, it doesn't ruin the beer but it does impart some funk...

Hello, I'm glad you are interested in this topic. I was successful, using normal priming sugar calculations & assuming there are no residual fermentable sugars in the finished beer. The beer came out fine -- you don't have to worry about bottle bombs if you just prime as usual. However...

So if I had only lagered my Alt for 3 weeks and then bottled it, can I get the same great benefits by just cellaring it for another 3 weeks?

Sounds like you guys may have hard water. Have you tried the same comparison using distilled? After reading the methods recommended by Better Bottle, I use cleaning agents very sparingly, wipe with a thick rag and rinse immediately. I use a mixture of Seventh Generation Oxy Free & Clear...

UPDATE: The residual sugar test showed little to no levels of fermentable sugars remaining so I am going to go ahead and carbonate with a normal amount of priming sugar. One part of the recipe I didn't follow exactly was where it says to "ferment down to about 3° Plato (1.012)". Instead, I...

Thanks, I was thinking along those same lines, only that there may be some residual sugar left because the beer is somewhat sweet (and pretty tasty even at this early stage and flat). I did not rehydrate the yeast in my test bottles, and only used a few dry grains. I am planning to use a bit...

Brewers Best Conditioning Tabs are cheap. $4.99 at my Brew 'n' Grow. Enough to condition over 60 bottles @ 4 tabs each. That's only 8 cents per bottle. I think you can afford that. It's a good option for your first batch if you are adverse to racking. This time. Next time you should do it right.

I brewed a Kulmbacher Reichelbrau Eisbock clone using the methods and recipe provided here: http://byo.com/stories/beer-styles/item/593-eisbock-brew-the-beer-money-cant-buy I removed about 10% of the volume as ice. Estimated ABV is about 11.5% after ice removal. My starting gravity was 1.090...

Yes, pasteurization is an effective method of stopping the fermentation early that is easy to do. The drawback of pasteurization is that it may effect some of the subtle flavors. Other methods of making a sweet cider/wine without resorting to sulfites or sorbates include: 1. Fermenting to...

If the level of sulfites is "not detectable" i.e, less than 1 ppm then for all practical purposes of you or I or anyone else consuming it then it is "sulfite free", since less than 10 ppm of sulfites or "very low sulfite levels", generally do not pose a risk, even for people with sulfite...

Neither of these statements is necessarily true. I have purchased wines certified with no detectable sulfite levels. The Coturri Winery in Sonoma adds no sulfites to any of their wines and in addition their 2007 Cabernet Sauvignon, 2005 Côte des Cailloux, 2005 Chateau d' O, 2003 Merlot, and...

"Sulfites are commonly introduced to arrest fermentation at a desired time, [and may also be added to wine as preservatives to prevent spoilage and oxidation at several stages of the winemaking]." numerous sources: http://cameochemicals.noaa.gov/react/74...

6000, 8000 whatever. The point is people made wine for a very very long time without adding sulfites. And their shorter lifespan had nothing to do with whether or not they put preservatives in wine. Our longer average lifespan is mainly because of medical advances, particularly hygienics and...

Wines were made without added sulfites for 8000 years. It's a consequence of mass commerce that they are added, primarily to insure consistency, shelf life and avoid off tastes. There is a company called Frey Organic Wines that makes a line of organic wines with no added sulfites. Their wines...