Recent content by trbig

So how's it looking? How much yeast did you put in with it?

I make this quite a bit, but have tweeked it a bit. I use 2 cans of juice per gallon, but for a dry wine, I use 1.75 lbs of sugar. For a medium wine, use 2 lbs sugar and a desert wine, 2.25 lbs. But this left a bit of a thin mouthfeel wine to me, so I started making it with the 1.75 lbs of sugar...

LOL.. Yeah, I've had a few tested and they are usually in the 19-20% alc range if I haven't added additional water, so right up there with 1118 Champagne yeast as far as alcohol tolerance. That's one of the reasons I'm aging last years' batch.. good flavor with a jet fuel kick. I'm hoping aging...

Yes, if you are at a temp the yeast will work in. But even in the 30's degree F temps of my garage, it doesn't slow it down much, and I think the enzymes not at all. I get a lot of conversion to liquid in the first 48 hours, and for the next few days after that, the rice is actually delicious...

In reading a lot of these, I think everyone is overthinking things. Steamed rice, boiled rice, brand of Koji used, water amounts, etc... I don't think anything is as important as the temp. Above 60F it's going to be sour and be nasty to drink (In my opinion.) The closer I can get my batches to...

OK, it's been a while since I posted here, but I have learned a few things. I make the rice wine both with and without the red yeast rice. For traditional wine according to some Chinese friends, you use: 10 lbs long grain sweet rice One 12 oz package of red yeast rice One yeast ball per pound of...

I've read a lot of this thread, but my question is: I picked up a high dollar side by side fridge cheap. It's a Sub-Zero and worth many thousands of dollars. It's currently out in the garage and is my beer fridge. I'm wanting to start kegging/carbonating with CO2, but I don't want to cut...

The question really is... Why would you try to take all the time and effort of making a drinkable wine, only to try to be cheap over a less than $2 can of juice? Many use 2 cans per gallon, but I use them as the can's instructions, with 3 cans of water for each juice. 1 lb of sugar with my...

Just thought I'd post my final product. After bulk aging the rest of the mead, I finally bottled after 9 months. I've sampled it along the way and can't believe the taste differences as it goes through whatever process it's doing. After close to a year, it's still got a bit too much of an...

No, not just degassing. The couple bottles I've pulled off of there have had to have the corks released a lot over the same time while in the fridge. Also, if it was just degassing, it would have started to clear by now and drop the solids out. The cool atmosphere has slowed the yeast down...

I started this last 10lb batch on Jan 30th, let it go over a month to March 5th before harvesting and got @ 2 1/2 gallons from 10 lbs of sweet rice. I stuck it out in the garage to cold crash where it was staying in the high 30's to low 40's temp-wise... and it just kept on...

1118 yeast is pretty much the "Kick a$$ and take no prisoners" in the world of yeasts, so I wouldn't be too concerned. Like most things in brewing... Patience Grasshopper! : )

I like to get the rice raft floating on top down into the liquid myself. The times I didn't stir mine, at the end of a month, I still had a big rice cake on top. It wasn't as bad when I did smaller one gallon batches, but the larger I started making them, the more it became a problem.

Betting you'll never be able to tell the difference. This is concord wine. You'll never get a $25 bottle out of any concord grapes, no matter the source. BUT... if you're the type that tries to only eat organic things, then by all means, spend the extra for it.

You need to have something that breaks down the rice starch into sugars that the yeast can then eat. Rice with just yeast will produce absolutely nothing. There's no sugar there for it to eat. Chinese yeast balls and those like it are the only way you'll ever make rice wine... except for things...