Recent content by tkmorgan

Oh, you can overdo it. Alcohol is toxic to yeasts, in high concentration. You can't "brew" whiskey, for example, because no yeast could survive long enough to get up to 40% alcohol. (Whiskey is distilled, which is illegal, and we would incur the wrath of the admins if we discussed it any...

Just tossing this out, but several people who apply for disability wait over a year for the paperwork to get processed. VA paperwork is even more backed up. Then, those people on normal disability often get "back pay" to cover the time between when the application was filled out and when the...

Oops, I should have said oxydation...

No. Wine bottles have a narrow neck to minimize contact with oxygen. Mason jars would have too much risk of contamination.

A reduction is a cooking term. The gist is that you take the juice and simmer it, letting the liquid evaporate. If you simmer the cherry juice until only half of it remains, it could leave you with a much stronger and more sugary liquid that you may be able to use for backsweetening. Of course...

Maybe you can use it to backsweeten the wine you do make? Especially if you make a reduction. Of course it may not be worth the trouble.

I've never done it, but LHBSes sell wood chips and spirals that can be added to a standard carboy for oaking. When I first started, I also watched a how to video from midwest brewer, I think. They made it a point to mention that they sell chips, spirals, and oak barrels.

So why do you wait 3 days?

So, when did water become a fermented substance?

I'm sorry. I got that wrong. I was thinking about this quote from Jack Kellar, regarding potassium sorbate: (source http://winemaking.jackkeller.net/finishin.asp )

The island mist kit is meant to be used within a years time. I have a couple of bottles that are 15 months old, and they seem ok, but it uses bentonite, and iirc, bentonite produces off flavors after a while.

It also seems like we should be telling you what we like. I like semi-sweet or sweet wines. I have only tried one kit; wineexperts green apple reisling, but it was pretty good. My only complaint was that the alcohol content is low (about 5 or 6 percent). Being a newbie, at the time, I just...

Thanks. Wal mart sells them in restaurant sized containers. At ones time I considered getting a can and making peach cobbler, while using the syrup to help them wine.

Thank for the response, Al. I did find some artificial peach flavoring at a small business supply store. I am still leaning toward making a peach syrup, because I've never had artificial flavoring that tasted like the item depicted on the label. That does give me a thought, though. I really...

I am making a 6 gallon batch of peach wine for swmbo. Whenever we are west of Knoxville, I take her to a winery in Crossville, Tn, because she loves the smell of their peach wine. The batch I am making doesn't seem to have as much "peachiness" as the Crossville wine, and I am looking for a...