Hello everyone,
I am not, strictly speaking, a "new" brewer. I've made a few 5-gallon batches in my Poland Spring water jugs, and had to leave them alone for a while for school. Now that I'm looking to restart, I'd like to put some of my practices under this forum's scrutiny to refine my process, which I have become rusty at.
1. My airlock is a clear plastic tube sealed onto the top of the Poland Spring glass bottle. I then clamp the end of this tube into a pot of water, so that it should only allow CO2 to escape without letting air in. Besides the fact that this is not a properly manufactured airlock - is there anything wrong with this setup? Is there any other easily jerry-rigged airlock that could do better? And yes, I understand that my bottles will leak minute amounts of oxygen into my drink - I've come to terms with this
2. To cut down on costs, I use several 5-lb bottles of honey from the local low-grade supermarket per batch. They are store-brand. My understanding has consistently been to boil the hell out of this honey (while stirring to prevent caramelization) to scum off waxes and preservatives and chemicals and etc... With honey of this sort, would there be any advantage to NOT boiling the hell out of it? Does anyone know of a different, cheap source of higher-quality honey in NYC?
3. I only use recipes for water-honey ratios, as well as to generally understand how much of a particular ingredient might be appropriate in a 5-gallon batch. I've generally experimented with a wide array of different spices, putting no less than 10 of my choice into any batch I make. I've lately started noticing that mead (and wine recipes in general) ask for a rather simple blend of spices, asking for no more than 3 or 4 different types. Is there a disadvantage to using a broader mix? Chemical interactions I should avoid?
4. I am intrigued by the thought of experimenting with fruit-flavored meads, but do not understand the recipe/portion ratios behind them. By how much should I decrease the amount of honey in my wort if I am adding fruit sugars? Should I peel them? How much fruit should I add? What if the fruit is not the sweetest? I read in one place that freezing a fruit to break up its cell walls may improve the taste in the final product, but also that exposing the juices in the fruit to oxygen too early will oxidize the juices. I am stoopid at chemistry, and so I cannot make a judgment on my own in this case.
Thank you very much, everyone! I am looking to get back into brewing, and want to start on a better foot, as I am aware that my current setup is sub-par. I will improve it when my money allows me to.
I am not, strictly speaking, a "new" brewer. I've made a few 5-gallon batches in my Poland Spring water jugs, and had to leave them alone for a while for school. Now that I'm looking to restart, I'd like to put some of my practices under this forum's scrutiny to refine my process, which I have become rusty at.
1. My airlock is a clear plastic tube sealed onto the top of the Poland Spring glass bottle. I then clamp the end of this tube into a pot of water, so that it should only allow CO2 to escape without letting air in. Besides the fact that this is not a properly manufactured airlock - is there anything wrong with this setup? Is there any other easily jerry-rigged airlock that could do better? And yes, I understand that my bottles will leak minute amounts of oxygen into my drink - I've come to terms with this
2. To cut down on costs, I use several 5-lb bottles of honey from the local low-grade supermarket per batch. They are store-brand. My understanding has consistently been to boil the hell out of this honey (while stirring to prevent caramelization) to scum off waxes and preservatives and chemicals and etc... With honey of this sort, would there be any advantage to NOT boiling the hell out of it? Does anyone know of a different, cheap source of higher-quality honey in NYC?
3. I only use recipes for water-honey ratios, as well as to generally understand how much of a particular ingredient might be appropriate in a 5-gallon batch. I've generally experimented with a wide array of different spices, putting no less than 10 of my choice into any batch I make. I've lately started noticing that mead (and wine recipes in general) ask for a rather simple blend of spices, asking for no more than 3 or 4 different types. Is there a disadvantage to using a broader mix? Chemical interactions I should avoid?
4. I am intrigued by the thought of experimenting with fruit-flavored meads, but do not understand the recipe/portion ratios behind them. By how much should I decrease the amount of honey in my wort if I am adding fruit sugars? Should I peel them? How much fruit should I add? What if the fruit is not the sweetest? I read in one place that freezing a fruit to break up its cell walls may improve the taste in the final product, but also that exposing the juices in the fruit to oxygen too early will oxidize the juices. I am stoopid at chemistry, and so I cannot make a judgment on my own in this case.
Thank you very much, everyone! I am looking to get back into brewing, and want to start on a better foot, as I am aware that my current setup is sub-par. I will improve it when my money allows me to.
