Recent content by Solo1013

Thanks for the reply. I will play around with the spreadsheet before I make any decisions on the mead. After fermentation completes and I campden and k-sorbate, do most people backsweeten with the same honey used for the must?

I'm starting to plan for my first mead. I am planning on using orange blossom honey and Malkore's (AOD) recipe. https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f80/malkores-not-so-ancient-orange-mead-50201/ I plan on using Wyeast 4184 sweet mead yeast. This yeast typically gets to about 11% abv. before...

I am looking at buying a handful of Marquette grape vines to see how they grow for me (central MN). It will be my first try at growing grapes. The research I have done seems to suggest that they should grow well in this area. If it goes well I think I will expand in a couple of years. How...

17,547 + 5 = 17,552 Just bottled and carbed my first 5 gallon batch last night!

Thanks all for the input. I've got one more lead on some choke cherries and if that doesn't pan out I'm going to try vacuum sealing them and forgetting about them in the freezer for a year.

I am working on collecting enough choke cherries for a 5 gallon batch of wine. I am trying to get about 15 lbs of fruit. We had some heavy frost a couple of times in late spring around here so the yield from our wild fruit hasn't been as strong as I would like. I'm considering freezing...

Thanks. I was able to pick up some super cheap marbles on clearance from a local craft store. I really probably should have just bought another carboy but I'm giving this method a shot.

I am getting ready to rack rhubarb wine from my primary into my secondary. Because of my inexperience when buying my supplies, my secondary is a 6 gallon carboy and I am only making 4 gallons of wine. It is my understanding that this is far too much head space in the carboy. What is the...

I added new yeast two days ago but still no fermentation has happened. I'm very confused but it looks like I must have done something wrong. I'm still hoping that it will start up within the next day or so. However, if it doesn't start up, what is the next step that I take. I have no...

I've had my Montrachet yeast in the wine for 3 full days now and the specific gravity started at just over 1.090 and hasn't budged. I don't have an airlock on the carboy as the recipe calls for it to be covered with a towel for the first several days so I haven't been able to tell if any gas...

Thanks so much! How many days does it typically take for the specific gravity to get into the 1.020-1.040 range? Is that the 5 days listed in the primary?

I started a batch of rhubarb wine using YooperBrew's recipe a couple of days ago. I followed the instructions perfectly with one hold up. I added campden along with other ingrediants about 12 hours before adding Montrachet yeast. Will the campden inhibit my yeast from reproducing? If so...