Recent content by SmokeMonkey

dont open the grill constantly. when you smoke you should leave it closed unless you're mopping the meat or something else that needs to be done. in other words no peeking! every time you open it you release heat and it slows the cooking process even more. also use your hand as a guide to...

i have read about doing some fruit in the first and then some in the secondary fermenter. this sounds like a decent enough idea i think. too soon and the flavor gets lost, do it all later and it might be too powerful/not mellow enough i would think some now and some later would be a good...

i like plain cheesecake and a bottle of sam adams cherry wheat. they go together pretty well IMO.

nice to know i;m not alone. right now i only have what i've listed but i plan on doing more in the future. i may also do grapes, more raspberries and blueberries, probably some blackberries and maybe some straw berries. i dont have room for all of them as i am also growing hazelnuts so i may...

i want it dry to cut down on some sugar since i'm diabetic. partly why i want a yeast that will have a high alcohol tolerance and ferment more of the sugars than a sweet mead type yeast.

i would say taste it and if you like it bottle it. if not, wait a little longer. that's what i would do.

i'm gonna piggy back on this thread rather than making my own thread about this. i hope you dont mind. i want to make mead, one just plain, a small batch (maybe 1 gallon), just honey and water, nothing fancy. the second i want to use blueberries i'll be growing myself. again just water and...

i'm not for sure but it doesnt seem to matter if it sits in a bottle or a bucket or a carboy. the only thing that seems top be consistent with mead making is time. time tends to mellow out the raw alcohol flavor, things like that. from what i've read it shouldnt matter if its bottled or not...

just wondering since i planted 2 raspberry and 4 blueberry bushes this year for the express purpose of using them in meads. the raspberries are heritage variety and the blueberries are 2 chippewa and 2 elliott. when they're fully grown i should get lots of berries from them 20-30 "struck"...

i just dont like the idea of taking the lid off a bucket and having this big opening for who knows what to get in there when i transfer to a second bucket/carboy/bottle. it'll be a little while before i actually make anything anway. i'll probably get a racking cane, they dont cost that...

tubing isnt an issue, i have some. vinyl ok? its clear vinyl i got at lowes.

i'm interested in making beer mead and maybe even wine so ive done some reading checked out some forums and joined this one as my first "brewing forum" lets see....stuff about me: i live in kentucky, i like beer (mostly belgian ales), i am interested in mead (melomels) and i like wine...