Recent content by Orerockon

The usual here there and everywhere. I didn't see China which from what I've read can be completely fake. I recycled the jugs already but I think it was US/Canada/Argentina (or Chile?).

I think I figured it out I used Walmart honey in the brown ones and Amazon for the one that looked right. I only bought it because Costco had jacked up their honey by about half and I could run to the store and grab it. So never again, Walmart.

Well yes they were supposed to be the same, the only difference between them is the lsat one was half Walmart and half Amazon honey (don't laugh, I can afford Costco honey anymore it's doubled in a couple years). What's even weirder is the yellow one stopped dead in its tracks last night...

The same, 10 lbs. of honey & 5 gal. water, EC-1111 started with GoFerm, a couple teaspoons of wine tannin and acid blend.

Hello, I just started 20 gallons of mead, I've been making mead for 8 years or so and I haven't seen anything like this. I do it in 5 gallon batches, and did 4 last night. Today 3 are yucky looking, brown like tea and a gray/brown scum cap, something is going on but it isn't fizzy like I...

You will open up a whole new world of flavor pressing your own apples. Getting a balance that you like is something that may take years, but that's years worth of fun. I tweak mine constantly if I have apples to spare and frequently mix in apples from a friend's cider apple trees that he never...

Same with the ceramic flip tops. Since I use a starter for priming now that was the only problem left to fix. You have to make sure every cap seals tightly, and when I open the rare flat bottle I pull off the cap and toss it in a baggie to troubleshoot at the next bottling.

I too have struggled with proper carbonation in both cider and mead. Right up front, carbonation is much easier and much more consistent for my mead. I think that where the cider is at when you bottle has a lot to do with it. Virtually all my ciders finish at 0.994-0.996, but I purposefully...

I started 4 buckets (our apples, mix of table and cider, washed, freshly pressed) with M02 and the yeast rehydration routine from a mead making forum which I've had excellent luck with before. I went with the M02 because I had just enough left over from another batch (2023 expiration date). I've...

Quick as in 3 months to drinking? I let it sit a month after fermentation is over and it's clear. That's pretty short according to the afficionados but I'm impatient and I think it tastes just fine by then. I let it sit for a month after racking off and then bottle. So about 6 weeks total. I'll...

I have no idea about gassing, I add 1/2 c. CS & whatever yeast I used to 5 gal. at bottling. Mostly fizzy but seems to vary by the bottle. I rehydrate first but I don't think I stir it enough at bottling to get even carbonation. I don't like soda carbonation anyway but I really miss it if the...

Out of curiosity how much yeast nutrient & energizer do you add? I've been using 1/2 tsp. per gallon of Fermax but I really don't know if it does anything. My ferment goes really fast (I lew the top off of one bucket but that was out of 40 or so over the centuries). If it helps I use a little...

My first cider was done with a very basic procedure, just like beer with champagne yeast and really no additives (I might have thrown a little CS into it). This was in the wayback when the interwebs were devoid of any solid information on anything except beer brewing. It turned out great. I had...

So I'm on probably my 7th batch of cider (after I started writing it down, probably really the 10th). I've cobbled together and fine tuned recipes over the years to my tastes (moderately high alcohol, perhaps technically Apfelwein), absolutely bone dry finish. This is what I did/plan to do this...

24 gallons, apples from our mini-orchard, last Sunday. It should nicely complement the 24 gals. of melomels I did in Feb. But now I need a couple more cases of 750s :D