Recent content by Robusto

I smoked a pumpkin (stuffed with sourdough, onion, bacon, chives, and cheese!)

Videojunkie- thanks! I've had good luck with Ec1118 too. Never had any luck with D47, but my fermentation chamber is at 52°, and my house is usually under or over its min/ max temps. Now for instance, most of my house is 68-72, and the garage is 48-53.... so no luck

Rodger that. Thanks!

Thanks! Its funny, when I started making mead 15 or so years ago D47 was everyone's darling now the crowd has been singing the praises of 71b... I just never had good results with them. Do you know what happens if you ferment D47 below 59°? My fermentation chamber runs at 52°f for lagers...

Hey guys, So I'm about to brew up a 20 gallon batch of orange blossom traditional. Going to shoot for 14-15% abv and then going to barrel age it in a once used bourbon barrel. I typically use ec1118 for traditionals and k1v1116 for fruit meads. I settled on these two a while ago after trying...

If you have an active fermentation going on, then I wouldn't worry too much about oxidation unless you are doing something crazy. The Co2 blanket produced should keep most O2 out. During active fermentation, I de-gas twice a day, sometimes more, but I have my must in a carboy with a blow off...

Lalvin says between 50°f and 86°f with optimal temp of 59° to 77°, so Maylar is spot on. I've fermented Ec1118 at 52-54° for years with no ill effects. I do this because is what my lager fermentation chamber is set for. Personally, I like the result of a ferment on the colder side, but I...

Thank you!

Hi all, So I know that the old stand by is 1/4 teaspoon of K metabisulfite per 5 gallons, but does any one know how many grams (fraction of a gram) per gallon? I know that this will vary depending upon Ph, but anyone have a ball park guesstimate? Thanks!

+1 for bentonite. That is all I typically use to clear my meads. Is this a traditional (only honey, water, yeast, and nutrients) or is there fruit, spices, etc?

I would throw in some boiled/ nuked bread yeast or some other nutrients otherwise be very precise with your DAP additions, as too much DAP can burn yeast.

If you haven't tried the Lagavulin 8, its soooo good. Like it better than the 16!

+1 What he said ⬆️

A few dustilleries malt their own barley for part of their production: Bowmore, The Balvenie, Laphroaig, Kilchoman, Highland Park among others. Springbank, i think is the only distillery in Scotland to do 100% of their own malting.

If you can keep it below 60°F then I would pitch some Ec1118 yeast on it. Ec1118 will definitely restart your fermentation and if kept cool will be very neutral and clean- its my go to yeast for any mead without fruit. K1v is another Lavin yeSt strain that is excellent for fruit meads, but...