Recent content by jthumphries

Will do. Thanks for the tip. I had kept these in a cooler area as I was worried about explosiveness as I was bottling. I'll move them to my warmer zone. Trying another batch tonight that has similar specs but was kept warmer during bottling. It will be interesting to see if that one fizzes up...

~17-18 C or around 66 F

Hi, I'm hoping someone can spot my problem. I've made quite a few batches of cider/ceysers from juice and from fruit but carbonation has been all over the place. I thought I had it dialed for my last batches, but after a completely still ceyser last night, evidently I don't. Jan 15, 2018 - 1...

Not too sure how to do it. That's why I figured I'd throw it out there to see if anyone else has tried. My wife had some strawberry balsamic gelato this summer that was amazing. It was her idea for our next flavor. My worry is that without the creamy background that the ice cream provided...

Thanks for the response. I did some reading up on the two bacterias that you mentioned and came across this: When things go wrong (cider making) http://www.cider.org.uk/part5.htm Seems like a good resource for any others who may have similar issues.

I've seen a few posts about white film on cider in the brewing process, but I've just had two different batches show a white substance floating in the top of the bottle after being bottled for several months. Very simple recipes for both basically just using juice from the store and yeast. No...

Hey everyone. Thinking of trying a strawberry balsamic mead next. Anybody tried this yet? Or have any recommendations for ingredient quantities? I'll most likely be making 1 gallon batches to test it out. Thanks!

That is the stout kit that I used. I think the other posters are correct, that it will get better with age. If I can be patient enough. I might take your advice as I would like to do my next beer a bit more "from scratch" instead of a kit. I'd like to replicate the best milk stout that I have...

Just an update here - I used the contents of the can kit + 2 pounds of dextrose + 1/2 pound of lactose. I tried a bottle this week at 3 weeks post bottling and the carbonation is just about perfect. The flavor has very little complexity, but I'm hoping that a bit more aging in the bottles...

There is really nothing in the bottom at this point. Also, when I bottled the rest of the batch a few months ago, I put in priming sugar at bottling and got nothing, so I'm pretty sure the same will happen this time. I'll try adding the yeast suggested above to jump start at bottling. Any...

I've got one gallon of cider that was made from pressed apples last fall clearing in a carboy where it has been for about 5 months now. Started with 5 gallons and bottled the rest long ago, but wanted to see how aging in the carboy would change the flavor. All of the cider that I previously...

Thanks for all of the replies and advice. This is my first beer attempt but I've been brewing mead and cider. Just was not sure how much fermentation you would actually get from just the malts and hops in the kit and trying to get sugar content right. Probably should just follow instructions...

This is my foray into beer making and I want to make a milk stout. I've got a can kit of Black Rock Miners Stout that I will use as a base this time. It says to add 1kg of sugar to the can contents, but if I want to use lactose to make it a sweeter milk stout, do I sub the 1 pound of lactose...