Recent content by krecneps

i'm new to the homebrew realm. back in late october, i decided to try a batch of hard cider using pre-bottled organic apple cider [no preservatives/additives]. i heated the juice, pitched a lalvin yeast with some nutrients in a 1 gal. jug and let it ferment for nearly 2 weeks, until it read...

i'm new to the homebrew realm. back in late october, i decided to try a batch of hard cider using a couple half gallon jugs of organic apple cider- no preservatives/additives. just apples. i heated the juice, pitched a lalvin yeast with some nutrients and let it ferment for nearly 2 weeks...

i think my main, most recent concern, was when to stop degassing during the primary. i know when racking, you're supposed to have next to no oxygen contact, so i fgued you would want to stop stirring things around before then. i'll just call it good for now and let it go, probably another couple...

i didnt boil, i used campden tablets. so everything was basically at room temp when i mixed and pitched. it seems going along fine, after i pitched that second wyeast pack, and added some nutrient a few days later. not bubbling rapidly, but steadily every few seconds. by the hydrometer reading...

yeah, it's definitely been a pretty fun and interesting experience so far. i'll probably do a few things a little differently next time, but i think it's moving along okay, and i'm sure it'll turn out pretty good in the long run. part of the appeal is the idea of just closing the lid and letting...

thanks for the tip. i had planned on the long haul from the beginning, and i'm by no means in any hurry. it's just my first run and i had read some stuff on degassing but nothing really on when to stop degassing during the ferment. i just want to make sure i'm treatin it right so it gets the...

just curious... at what point should i stop degassing? it's just about at the mid-point of the ferment now, and i don't really want to upset it too much. wondering when i should stop degassing to just let it ride. thanks.

quick update... i went to my local homebrew shop and grabbed a "mead blend" of nutrients and acids, dissolved it in some warm water and added it to the must. within 2 hours [now] it was bubbling every 15 seconds. should have done this to begin with. i also picked up some nutrient and energizer...

i used 16 lbs of honey: 11 lbs of it was a "light amber, natural bee honey", and 5 lbs of it was a "natural wildflower honey." i bought these before i realized the local homebrew shop actually carried honey. i popped it open last night, and stirred it for few minutes. i was really just...

so it's been bubbling for about 24 hours now, but it is still only about once every 15 to 20 seconds. it seems like it would have picked up a bit by now [48hrs after pitching the 2nd pack of yeast]. is this abnormal, or should i just give it a little more time? if i were to pitch one more pack...

still pretty new to this whole realm, haven't looked into the staggered nutrient method, but i will read up on that. also not sure about degassing, but i will also check into that. temp is at 70 degrees, F. i think that since i have basically zero experience with this process so far, i am going...

oops, make that reading 1.104.

i recently started my first batch of mead. 5 gallons, using the wyeast sweet mead blend. original gravity reading was 1.14 [that's if i'm reading this thing correctly... it was 2 ticks below the 1.100 mark. i'm new ;) ]. nothing happening by 72hrs [last night], so i re-pitched with a wyeast dry...