Recent content by tf2

These all sound great, thanks! How long do I leave the list on the fruit? And is it normal for the crabapples to be bleached out (no color)? I assume it’s like cooking, the color comes out of the ingredient and goes into the liquid.

Fantastic. Thanks! The books I have (mostly ancient, from when I was last actively brewing 20 years ago, or before) all talk about peptic enzyme being a must with crabapples, if they mention them at all. True? And if I’m combining bought (but local) cider and honey with these crabapples, do I...

I was at an orchard this weekend, and in among the regular trees was a single crabapple tree absolutely bursting with ripe red fruit. I tasted one, and it was sour and astringent but tasty. They sold apples by the bag, and those crabapples filled the gaps between the larger ones nicely. I...

An update on my yeast/cider experiment: I still have all three one-gallon batches in secondary (the original, Aug. 20 using a Lalvin wine years; and the two simultaneous batches, one using hefeweizen and the other Nottingham). All three, of course, started with the same brand of unfiltered...

Hm. I've had a batch going since Aug. 20, racked once, and it's still going, albeit very slowly, and hasn't cleared. Should I be worried? (It's 1 gallon, unfiltered, pasteurized, Lalvin 71B-1122 yeast.) My other two have only been going about a month, same juice with hefeweizen in one and...

Yooper has far more experience than I, but I'd have to agree: Relax, don't rush, and don't worry. For my first (and so far only complete) batch of mead, after racking to secondary, I literally drove it 4 hours (talk about anxiety with it sloshing around, buckled into the front passenger...

Not once, but twice, on two different batches of cranberry melomel/cyser (different recipes, one adds the fruit in primary, the other has more apple juice and adds the cranberries in secondary). Anyway, without having the original gravity, am I going to have trouble figuring out when this is...

I don't think a month is a long time. I've had a batch going since Aug. 20 or so, and it's still fermenting a little (pushing a bubble out of the fermentation lock at least a couple times a day). Depending on the yeast you used and your original gravity, you may have a ways to go yet. if you...

Well, no one seems to have much experience with added-fruit cysers, so I decided to wing it with an assortment of advice from local brewers who've made meads, wines and ciders. Here's what I've done so far: 1/2 gal Hazel Creek Orchards Apple Cider (pasteurized, from concentrate), Mt. Airy...

The only caveat I'd add to David_42's comment is that you might well get a krauesen with ale yeast, and from what I've myself and read here, and you should definitely be ready for a healthy one if you use hefeweizen yeast, even without added sugar.

I'm sure you've seen the data sheet for Nottingham (http://www.danstaryeast.com/nottingham.html). I'm still in the midst of my first cider/yeast experiment (all using varieties that should ferment out fairly dry), so no first-hand experience here. But what about an ale yeast from a style...

I can't speak to all your points, but I've been wrestling with your #2 for a week or so now as I plot a batch of cranberry cyser (see my post in the mead forum). After perusing these forums and other pages, talking to the well informed LHBS folks, and consulting a few of the mead-specialists...

I am poised to start my second batch of mead ever. My first was a traditional mead (no fruit, spices) and turned out pretty well, but I think I want to try something drier, with fruit. After perusing many recipes and talking to some more experienced meadsters locally, here is my tentative...

I've never done it, but as I understand it, back-sweetening means sweetening with Splenda (or both), usually after fermenting to completion and then killing the yeast with a preservative. An alternative is to kill the yeast with a preservative before completion, leaving some residual sugars for...

You've got a great name for your cider, anyway.