Recent content by moconno1

Yes, definitely going to buy spring water. I'll take your advice and buy the cheap kit first, Doctor CAD. Appreciate the insight...

Great advice, Doctor CAD... with that being said, in your opinion would it be worth spending the extra $30-$40 to make a better, "fuller" wine using a better kit?

I've decided to take a break from brewing beer (due to issues with my water source) and have decided to try my hand at wine-making. I'm thinking of using one of the "Mosti Mondiale Vinifera Noble" kits, as they're (quite frankly) relatively inexpensive. Has anyone on here used one of the...

It turns out that my strategy of making a big starter (40 oz. of cider PLUS 1/2 cup of sugar) and adding a different type of yeast (Liquid English Ale Yeast) worked quite well. I let the mixture sit for two full days, and then pitched the starter/new yeast into the pre-existing batch. I left...

I ended up making a pretty big starter; 40 oz. of fresh apple cider with 1/2 cup sugar added. My plan is to let the starter sit for 2 days and then add it. Thanks for everyone's help. I'll let you know how it goes.

The sorbated cider I got from the grocery store. I'm thinking of making a starter with yeast nutrient and 24oz or so of FRESH cider. Ideas?

I pitched the yeast last night after I had combined all the ingredients at room temperature... Given that I'm making 5 gallons of cider, how large a starter do you recommend I make? Should I let it sit for 2-3 days and then pitch? Thanks for the help.

I've been brewing beer for about a year but am a new to making hard cider. I followed a simple hard cider recipe I found online that included 2 gallons of apple juice, 3 gallons of apple cider, 2 pounds of brown sugar, and a dry wine yeast. I made a major oversight by not checking the...

Good advice. After a few more days of sitting, the beer seems to settling into itself a lot better, and the flavor has improved significantly (in fact, it's got almost too much of the Apricot flavoring... I'm glad I didn't double it). I think the small additions I made helped curb the off...

Brew-Miesters, I recently brewed an Apricot Ale that was a variation of a Charlie Papizan recipe that included Lager Malt, Wheat, Honey, Halleuter and Simcoe Hops, 1 oz. Apricot Flavoring, 3 Lbs. Apricot Puree (in Secondary), and American Ale Yeast. Because I wanted a nice hop to Apricot...

Thanks for the info. I should have framed my question a little differently; I was curious as to whether or not the Pumpkin you added to the mash changed your water to grain ratio's, and therefore how much total water you added. I'll plan to sparge as usual when I try a variation on this...

This recipe looks awesome!!! How much water did you include in the Mash? Also, what quantity of water did you use to Sparge?

It sounds like it's going to be fine to me. I'm a pretty new brewer (done about 10 all grain batches), but have had similar things happen with no negative repercussions.

What about the proportions? Any suggestions?

I've used Citra before and I thought it was a bit over-powering for what I was going for. Centennial might be a good option, though.