Recent content by Thromgar

Here in Sacramento CA, we are lucky to have access to cider from a great local brewer. The Two Rivers Cider company has some great products for the local market, and it is sitting up the hill in prime apple growing real estate. Sadly you have to be from this area to get it, as it has only been...

Sorry this was a silly post. So I deleted it.

Yes indeed, the big five pound can is a great way to start a lighter batch. My mead is bubbling along today, so the yeast has been working overtime, now to watch and wait.

Well, I finally did it. Got a batch of mead into the carboy. This is a low alcohol, low SG mead that I hope will be ready fairly quickly. I am trying for something that I can drink fairly quickly (read a couple of months) so my next batch can take a bit longer and mature while this one is...

I have a book called Successful Winemaking at Home that was written by H.E. Bravery. It is really old, and I ma not sure how the batches will turn out, but he has several recipes that use fresh black currents. Two of the recipes for a port style, one for a claret and one for what he calls a...

Seems to me that you should figure out the maximum alcohol tolerance of the yeast, and then formulate your batch based on that. If you calculate where you want your final gravity to end up, and then figure out how much honey to use to get your mead there with the Nottingham yeast, it should...

I work at a Coffee Shop and we don't sell any of the flavored beans, as they will contaminate a grinder and make ever coffee ground through them taste like whatever the additive was. Usually the flavored beans are a great profit margin because you can roast any cheap bean you want and add...

Personally I would probably grind some fresh coffee and steep it in the secondary in some sort of bag. The essence of the coffee would hopefully infuse the mead with flavor.

I would say if you are looking for traditional Aztec or Mayan flavors you should consider spiced chocolate. Traditional flavors would be things like peppers, ginger or cinnamon. Cocoa powder would be moderately hard to work with, but the nibs might not give you the same kind of flavor profile...

I think it is a cool idea to work some more of the morels into the recipe. Adding them into the secondary could be just the thing. If adding a dried morel to each bottle would look like a tiny brain, you could call it "Zombie Mead" and serve it for Halloween.

Add another 5 gallons 12,394 + 5 = 12,399

I think you should totally go for it. Mushroom Mead...how could it go wrong?

I second the blowoff tube idea for the future. Anytime you get a really vigorous fermentation it is worth going to.

New to the forum, but not a total brewing noob...just close to a total brewing noob. I originally started brewing in 1998, and stopped after I moved and found out I couldn't drink anymore. Now however I have discovered that I can drink again. I have a little experience with beer and mead...