Recent content by ThatChefGuy

Mine is not much over a year old now I recall, I shall dig out a bottle over the weekend!

If you are determined you want a clear cider, perhaps try using some bentonite. Pectolase you should have put through with primary to end with a clear product. As for the colour, you could try a little molases. Some additional tannin would have gone a long way.

Well i should've transferred to secondary a few days ago. It is golden in colour and smells like a wine (Thats a good sign ;)). OG was 1.110, finished at 0.990! Tastes very dry however not as unpleasant as i was expecting, some depth of flavour, just a little like rocket fuel at the minute...

I am no expert,but adding a second yeast would eat up what little of the original nutrients are left as well as takeaway some of the characteristics that the primary yeast added to it. Its unlikely that the yeast tolerance can ferment that amount of sugar with it being an ale yeast, however I'd...

My batch is a week old, not much of a sediment build up at the bottom and seems to be fermenting rather slowly compared to my other mead's. Not that this is an issue, curiosity got the better of me. I have taken readings and added a little nutrient (Not so ancient, my bad!). Before i did this i...

After 7 days the SG has gone to 0.998. That seems like Avery rapid dropto me,fermentation pretty much complete. I used lord Rhys recipe. Should I rack to secondary with more honey? I think I should, it just seems like a very fast fermentation.....

I'm not an expert,but it does like you have a lot of head space. What temp did you pitch? I have a batch going, however I wasskeptical to use bread yeast due to the levels of co2. It does look as though it is working. Do I assume you started this today? Hydrometer readings would be helpful to...

Looks rather nice! If the taste isn't quite right, perhaps some frozen raspberries to secondary next time and maybe a little vanilla?

The flavours of the heather and the lavender are very powerful, I hope to sweeten them and age them both out. They are my first ever meads and need a few more months in secondary, they have potential. Worst case scenario I will make a quick mead to dilute the pair down, perhaps maybe even...

I have started my first batch of chocolate mead this morning. Its a big commitment with the waiting time. I expected fermentation to start around 3 days in, quite surprised to see it kicking off 30 mins in. If only the yeasties could metabolise the oils faster. All goes well I shall do this on a...

I'd personally add dried violets to the primary and rack after a couple months. I have done this with heather and lavender, they are mellowing out nicely and have a great taste and aroma. Another 4 months before I bottle.

You will turn into one of the Wurzel's after a pint of that. Just remember that adding sugar at the start of fermentation increases the potential abv, you shouldn't need to add much sugar for a cider although I am sure you know this by now :P

i can't imagine why not, should be fine in theory providing you don't blow the bottle up with the pressure :P. perhaps some more experienced users can elaborate a bit. As for kegging, the ginger flavour degrades faster than you might expect, tends to become more citrusy the longer it is left i find.

I would assume the sugar break would be the 1 third on the hydrometer (OG to Zero) so around 1.098 should be good. As for the use of acid blends and more information into the sugar breaks I would recommend reading up on Brays one month mead (aka 'the bomm'), some brilliant information in that...

let it settle then rack to another carboy, it shouldnt be a problem once it has been filtered out.