Recent content by ARittner

I'm going to try this for the first time. In spite of having a bigger dandelion bloom than I've seen in years, my hands are cramping from the plucking and I've got about 300 grams. So I figure I'll do the original 1 gallon batch recipe. All my equipment is 5 gallons or larger though. So I'm...

Thanks! I did know about wanting to get the fruit out, so I pulled it last night. The fermentation and pectic enzyme did an amazing job of reducing the fruit. 26 pounds of strawberries reduced down to the size of a couple grapefruit. So I ended up with more must than I was planning. I racked to...

Hello! I've been making beer for about 6 years, and gotten pretty decent at it. However, between work and kids, I don't have as much time anymore. It seemed like wine might have a shorter brew day, and I'd still get to make use of the investment I have in equipment. So I decided to take a whack...

Just got the Ward Lab report back for my well water. Of course, it came at 6PM on July 3rd, and I'm brewing tomorrow on the 4th when I won't be able to get anything to modify the water. Up until now, I've used either this water or bottled and had no issues, but I've also done partial mash, and...

Yeah, the guy I bought the house from restored classic cars, so I've got a couple spots rigged for engine lifts, a mechanic's pit, and outlets prewired for large air compressors and welders. Aside from using the pit when I do oil changes, this is the first time I've taken advantage of any of it...

I've been using the 5 gallon paint bags, but just got a 15 gallon kettle with straining basket. It's 19" wide, so the little bags I've been using don't even come close to reaching the edges. If I do what you laid out above, and instead of using the cord, clip the edges to the strainer basket...

I tried, but I couldn't get it to show up well enough. The layers were very distinct, like mixing oil and water, and they were like that for almost a month. No idea what happened.

Just to update... I cold-crashed the batch for almost 2 weeks at 33*. No result. The mead was in 3 layers. The top 4 inches perfectly clear, a 1 inch hazy layer, and the remainder was totally opaque, even to a 100 watt bulb. Last night I decided to rack it again, lacking any other options. It...

I'll keep that in mind too. Will all this messing around (cold crash, Sparkolloid, maybe bentonite) have any effect on the flavor, aside from removing the yeast that I didn't want anyway? When I do beers, they always turn out good, or good enough, even if I screw something up. And I'm OK with...

I'll give cold crashing a shot. I have the technology. If that doesn't do it, any suggestions for Plan C?

My first mead has been sitting around for a year now. 3 months in primary, then 9 months in secondary, in a temp-controlled 65 degree freezer. I've been very patient, and haven't messed with it at all. Now that I'm ready to bottle, I did a FG and drank some of the sample. It tastes wonderful...

Thanks! Although I'm not so concerned about the method right now, as I am about knowing what the whiskey adds to the beer, flavor-wise. I'm hearing a lot of vanilla, some spice, etc. Those all sound good. I'm not looking for the beer to just taste like I dropped a shot of whiskey into it.

I'm going to glom onto this thread, since it isn't that old yet. I'm looking at doing the Austin Home Brew Whiskey Barrel Porter for this winter. After a summer of brewing pale, easy-drinking beer, I'm in the mood for something bigger. I don't have the instructions yet, but just from reading...

I've heard/read from a lot of people I trust that the no-heat method is fine. I know that it probably is. I'd just hate to be in that minority that gets some bug in the mead, and not really be able to find out for a year if it was infected or not. Does it hurt anything to pasteurize it, as long...

I'm about to start my first batch of mead, after brewing beer for a couple years. Because of the time it'll take before I know if it's any good I'm trying to collect all the advice I can starting out, since a year is a long time to wait to find out I made a headslap mistake. One thing I've...