Search results

Yesterday I found an old bottle of cider from one of my first batches 3 years ago. When I was a real newbee ;) It was supposed to be a sparkling-champagne-style, but it was a plastic-cork which probably had leaked co2 so it was completely still. Also - I didn’t do any secondary back then, and...

So - I have run into an issue, and not really sure if I have to ditch about 10 gallons of cider 😳😳 In 3 buckets each with about 3-4 gallons I am now seing a weird gelatinous layer on the surface … looks like a scoby similar to when making kombucha. It is milky in color - very thin but firm...

So - I’ve done cider for 2-3 years, both Wild and commercial yeast; never really had many major issues — also thx to this site :) This year something weird and unfortunate happened — and I don’t really know what to do: My late varieties were a little slow to fully ripen this year, and I also...

I made a fortied apple wine - around 15% ABV and a FG of 1,030. I had it in a small oak barrel for 3 months and just finished bottling it all. Looked awesome - crystal clear. BUT - I didn’t add any campden !?? Is this really a must? Should I empty all bottles and start again with added...

So - just finished pressing my apples for a total of about 15 gallons of juice. This will be the base of my cider-production this season … might have a few late-season apples later on… BUT the thing is … the gravity is quite low this year, only 1,044 ! Usually about 10 points higher. Now I...

A little frustrated b/c I again have a fruit wine that won’t clear… this time a rhubarb-wine. Been in secondary for about 2 months now. I added pectinase during primary. My frustration is - that I never know what causes the cloudiness… so I don’t know what to do about it.!? Last time I had...

Hoping to create a thread here, where everybody can share experiences and discuss clarification methods and use of fining agents. Both red and white wines, ciders, cysers, country-wines, beer, meads and whatever it is… To be honest - I have not had much luck using fining-agents, and time seems...

So - Got my hands on About twenty pounds of honey, which I’m going to use to make my first mead, a traditional mead. Been watching ‘Doin’ the most’ and ‘man made mead’ to get some simple recipes. Doin’ the most adds 8 GRAMS OF TANNIN to a 5 gallon batch. That seems like a CRAZY amount of...

So I finally got myself a small oak-barrel for aging. just 2 gallon-barrel. My question is - how do you rack of an oak barrel? Since I cant see the lees? Do you bottle straight from the barrel or do I have to rack to a demi-john, and let it clear again? First time with a barrel, so hope someone...

So I finally got myself a small oak-barrel for aging. just 2 gallon-barrel. My question is - how do you rack of an oak barrel? Since I cant see the lees? Do you bottle straight from the barrel or do I have to rack to a demi-john, and let it clear again? (I made some ice-cider, had it clearing...

So I have this 2 gallon oak barrel, brand new, for aging some ice cider :) For some odd reason it keeps leaking around the spigot. A have had two replacement spigots already and the issue persists. And yes - it has all been soaked in water for 36+ hours before use. Since I really don’t need...

Maybe someone can confirm or reject this theory…. I had a couple of cider-batches that I KNOW had developed nice carbonation. Was bottled between November last year and January this year … I have had several bottles, all with good carbonation. Now - I have left them alone for a few months...

So - it is always a lottery doing a wild ferment; but the reward can be a very complex, semi-sweet cider - that can be hard to replicate with a commercial yeast. I was wondering … since I have a wild batch from last year that turned out awesome! Can I use a bottle from last years batch, add it...

So I have a bunch of 500ml screw-top glass bottles that used to contain vinegar (white wine vinegar). Would it be ok to give them a good clean, fill them with boiling water, sanitize with star-san and then use them for some ice-cider and some apple-wine that I made? Or would the acetobactor...

So - i know how to use the pearsons square - easy. I am looking for a more advanced method of calculating multiple parameters at once ... hope there are some brew-science people out there with the formulas i am looking for. Say I have a cyser-mead of SG 1,030 and ABV of 12%. I want to fortify...

So, I know that a TA-kits usually (if not always) express the result as Tartaric Acid ... which then should be multiplied by 0,89 to get the 'proper' result for at cider, which is mainly malic acid... Right now, I am in the process of balancing the acids in some carboys ... and came across this...

So i finally got myself a TA test kit — and tested a batch I have in secondary right now. Expecting it to be to low, I also had some Malic acid on hand … Surprise surprise … it tested at 10,5 g/l !!! Then times 0,89 to get it from tartaric to Malic … still 9,5 !! What to do now? I was...

So - my local brewers shop finally has TA-kits back in stock ... unfortunately I have already started fermenting my 5+ batches of cider ... some of them for several weeks already... When measuring the TA (in a useful way) must it be done with the clean unfermented juice ? Or can I do it next...

Just wondering --- maybe someone knows more about this... Say I pitch my juice with a commercial yeast - ie Nottingham. And leave it to ferment a cool/cold place. Say the temperature eventually drops (because winter is coming and my shed is getting colder and colder), and the Notty goes dormant...

So - I am making an ICE CIDER. OG 1,135. With SafCider AS-02. I have done it before - but at room temp. ... needless to say, fermentation was on fire... This time, it put it in the basement of our building. I gave it 24 hours at room temperature first though, and the fermentation was starting...