Search results

Interesting. I've not tried using Spent grains for baking. A nice added touch of fiber I suppose to your bread. This caramel apple mead sounds intriguing, but I am shooting for some similar flavors to that in a brandy or even a bourbon, so the sweet raisin/prune flavors from a dark crystal...

+1 (or 2) on the vaccuum if you're really concerned about it. I can use a drill and a whip all day long and still have some CO2, though not to any great detriment. Get as much as you can out within a few minutes and don't worry about the rest.

Lately I've been interested in making some strong dessert type wines and the thought crossed my mind that I might be able to use some specialty grains such as crystal 80 or 120 to add some interesting character to such wines. Has anyone here ever tried this with any success? I thought I'd...

Haha. Yes, willow for sure would not be good. Willow bark has been used for centuries as a pain killer and does indeed contain salicin. There are lots of woods that contain oils and other compounds that I'm sure would be detrimental and even hazardous. Cocobolo, for instance, contains an oil...

Oaking? Suuure, but what about cherrying, appling, birching, walnutting, etc. I've got a piece of juniper that smells amazing and I'm considering chipping it up and adding it to some different wines for aging There are lots of woods that have wonderful aromatic properties that could impart...

Well, my local laws are very loose about many things the federal government frowns upon, and state and federal laws are often in conflict, so it is illegal anywhere in the US to distill without a license according to federal laws, so I guess that'd be the bottom line no matter what state and...

Actually, where I live (good ol' Montana), distilling for personal use is not illegal. In fact, my local brew shop sells distilling equipment and supplies. There are many states where distilling is in fact quite legal, but most of the residents of those states, it seems, don't know that...

I hope you didn't use the kind of trash bag that has scent to mask the garbage odor. I've done similar things with good success, though. I used to put sterile water in food safe, heat safe plastic jugs and freeze it. Then before using, I'd sanitize the jugs in iodophor solution and put it in...

Not only does appearance affect the overall appeal like yooper said, but also affects the perceived flavor. Much of what we taste, or think we taste, is in our head, which is why the processed foods all contain dyes. For example, we expect a cherry to be red, so any time a candy company makes...

I went and used the whole pack of the K1-V, rehydrated per Lalvin's recommendation. It's now about 15 hours since I pitched and there is no sign of activity, but I'll wait a couple days and see what happens. If after another week the gravity reading is the same, I might start another batch and...

Thanks for the replies. The yeast I used was Red Star Premier Cuvee, and the yeast energizer I used contains DAP, yeast hulls, b vitamins, etc, so there should be enough nutrients. I will certainly use the adding sugars in increments method on the next one to help prevent stressing the yeast...

Hello all. A while back I got this wild idea that I wanted to make a very high gravity apple wine that would have a good bit of alcohol warmth and still maintain some residual sweetness like a dessert wine. I used 4 cans of frozen concentrate, 22 oz brown sugar, and topped up to a gallon with...

I used 50 grams of cane sugar for my 2.2 gallon batch, original gravity 1.065, final gravity before adding the sugar was 1.011. I havnt measured it since adding the priming sugar but I can taste the sugar in it...maybe my yeast went on a low-carb diet. After all, they had just come off a binge.

I also thought it would carb just fine at 5 degrees lower than the recommended 70F, just taking a little longer, however, its now been three months and there is still very little carbonation. As far as bottle pressure, I mean that while the yeasties are chomping down on the sugar and producing...

Another noob here with a basic question that I couldn't seem to find answers to in other threads... My most recent brew is substantially undercarbed and Im curious if the combination of fairly low temperature and the slight increase in pressure in the bottles could've halted the yeast. I used...