Recent content by Mutant

I haven't used my Z2 for almost four years. I think it is time to just send it off for recycling.

Be careful with excessive use of hops. I have met a few people who claim to have developed an allergic reaction to hops. No idea how they figured this out.

I used to push myself to brew the most challenging beers - a Light American Lager and an Eisbock (primarily for competition), but I'd drink the Light American Lager. I also liked brewing Strong English Ales or something easy to drink to share at social events. I eventually grew tired of brewing...

I brew an Eisbock that has won multiple Gold medals. It is 'Goddess Morana' - a pagan goddess associated with seasonal rites based on the idea of death and rebirth of nature.

I see your "In pursuit of the perfect cider." statement. A year ago, I purchased 900 pounds of Golden Bosc pears for $200. I made eight different experiments and learned a ton about working with pears. My best ("Gingered Pear" cider) was submitted to the California State Fair, where it received...

I'm not pickling cucumbers, but I am pickling rings of 'Sport' pepper and also 'Sugar Rush Stripey' pepper. These are two of my favorites for pickling peppers, and I grow lots of peppers.

The name is "William Thomas Jr." for a 20% mead using 'Black Sage' and 'Coastal Buckwheat' honeys. You'll have to figure out what the name means.

Bohemia Cerveza

Even though it is an old thread, it is helping. I somehow ended up with a 1.131 mead starting gravity. I was aiming for 1.120 (also pretty high). I've been feeding daily and adding oxygen for the first 3 or 4 days (I'm only on day 2). I may need to start adding some purified H2O to help reduce...

Good question. I plan on dropping my two machines off to be recycled at the dump in the next month or so.

Moving a Korean Mint (aka Banga) Kilju to secondary later today. It can be called 'Banga Kill You'.

The issue with taxes is that they are infinitely cascading. You can start at any point in the process, and this is just a basic example. The manufacturer or importer includes all the taxes (property, business, fuel, utility, ...) that they pay on with the price of their product. The wholesaler...

I have a good relationship with a local farmer and his son. I get 900 pounds of pears for $200. The secrets come down to selecting an appropriate pear, developing a personal acid blend (malic, citric, ascorbic) that then needs a ratio of this blend to liters of cider, use a blanc tannin...

Even though this is an old thread, I thought I'd add to this. For fermentation of table pears (not perry pears), I use about 1/2 ml of 88% lactic acid per gallon of juice (aiming for a pH of ~3.5). I think the lactic acid provides a smoothness in the final product. For post-fermentation, I...

Thanksgiving I roasted a duck. The leftovers became duck soup. Then a week ago, I bought six pounds of beef short ribs to make soup. Yesterday I cooked a whole chicken just for chicken stock and chicken soup. Duck soup is far better than chicken soup. I'm considering the addition of some duck...