Recent content by RoastedOak

before you think about using one of these plastic jugs as a secondary take a very close look at the insides to see where the old yeast and possible bacteria might have started growing.

Hey guys... I've been making wine exclusively for about a year and a couple of weeks ago I bought a Mr. Beer kit. I had a hard time refusing the 40%-off sale so I put together a couple of batches (2 gallons each) but this thing is really a toy.. anyways, I went out and bought a can of...

Kicking myself for not picking up some green candy canes... something about a green wine just seems so damned cool :)

I've used them as primary fermenters a few times but never reuse them because the yeast will settle on every ridge (which most plastic jugs have.) It's just a big pain the butt to be sure that they're totally clean/sanitized after one use. I use glass jugs (5 litres each) these days for small...

Well... I'm a little miffed about what the acronym ETOH means. I actually didn't take any readings on this batch... really winging it this time around. My guestimates say the ABV should be around 14% or a bit a less. I racked it yesterday and took out a small sample for tasting..... this...

ec-1118... but now that you mention it. Hmmm, maybe I'll pick up a few packets of rc-212 tomorrow.... I have enough candy canes and jugs to experiment.

Well... put together a batch a few minutes ago. Don't really have a clue if this will turn out okay but I have 12 packages of candy canes ($1.10/each at walmart... made in canada.) Melted 32 canes into 3.5 litres of water (each cane was 13 grams of sugar) and then I added 960 grams of...

Bought some candy cane sticks today and I'm getting ready to do this... except the recipes I've seen so far make no mention of adding (nutrient or energizer, which I will be doing) and acid adjustments... I'm guessing since candy canes are almost pure sugar they won't affect the acid level...

looks normal to me... I think that stuff ends up there because of all the bubbling on the top surface of the wine. each popping bubble sprays a little bit and that stuff accumulates on the inside glass. I could be way off though. when do you plan on topping that wine off ? check the SG lately?

I understand the point Asimov is making in his article but I feel his conclusion about a cheapening effect is misguided. It's not just the producers of wine that are dealing with the realities of the economy it's the consumers as well and their tastes for superb wines can change just as fast...

making it in a milk jug is a recipe for disaster IMHO. I've seen those milk jugs growing some very interesting molds after sitting for a while.. I remember the old days when milk was delivered in a truck with the old wooden slats.... those trucks STUNK. I dont' really care that you're 17...

I would think so too but like in this youtube video YouTube - An Ingenious Way To Degas Your Wine he mentions the carboy has been sitting on the shelf all winter and then starts degassing.... lots and lots of CO2 still trapped inside of the wine

you're planning to degas it right ?

I just bought a refurbished foodsaver off ebay for $15.. didn't have the mason jar attachment but a friend had the hose for the vacuum port which I cut in half and installed a check valve. Made a mistake the the first time I tried it.. the bubbles rose up all the way to the bung and into the...

Just started a carboy with blueberry from frozen concentrate (15 cans of Fruitopia concentrate) Smells great right now but we'll see about the taste :)