Recent content by waynetempro

Its possible that there was some residual SO2 that knocked out your yeast. You can add a little more yeast to try to jumpstart fermentation. FYI, one packet of yeast is good for 5 gallons, so you only need about 1/4 packet for a 1 gallon batch.

The problem that I have seen with a lot of the “Lite” juice type drinks is that they are watered down. So adding sucralose crap brings some sweetness back to the watered down juice and keeps the sugar content low. You would be much better off with straight apple juice or cider than any “Lite” stuff.

Here’s that I’ve done with good success. 4.8-4.9 gallons in a standard ball lock keg with a spunding valve set at 14psi. I used US05 and had no problems with. Some other yeasts will have a huge krausen and will need a lower fill volume like 4.5 gallons.

Like you, I like to experiment every so often. To save a meh beer I have found a few things that might help you. Dry hop it enough to overpower the off flavors is pretty easy. Sometimes blending with another beer might be all that it takes to take the edge off of whatever you are disliking. And...

I like my hefes to have a strong banana flavor, so I severely underpitch and put it in the warmest spot in the house. It gets done in a couple days and I end up with a banana flavored hefe.

What about using some white 5 gallon buckets as fermenters? You can fill them to about the 4 gallon mark and that would give you plenty of headspace to ferment. If you are making an 8 gallon batch, then split it between two buckets. Grab a couple of the 2 gallon white buckets for anything that...

Maybe if you tell us more about the ingredients in the wine that you have done so far and what you want it to be like when it’s done.

If your wine is dry, you should also fill it closer to the top when using bottle caps to avoid oxidation.

You should dump all of the grain in the mash except for the black malt. Because BM is basically charcoal and is used for coloring, sprinkle it in on top of the mash and do your regular 60 minute mash. That way you get maximum color extraction from BM and none of the charcoal taste as that part...

Have you tried fermenting in a swamp cooler? I used variants of it for a few years and always made great beer. You do need to check on it a few times a day but you only need to do that for the first week, then it can be moved to a dark dry spot to finish.

Have you tried pressure fermenting in a keg. You can get a spunding valve with gauge for under $30 dollars in the US and set it to 12psi. Ferments clean at room temperature.

I use a spacer to move the magnets away from the fan motor. It helps to avoid the problems with Eddy currents. But you need to make sure that it’s properly balanced or it will prematurely wear out the bearings.

Broothru is right on everything. I went the DIY route and learned everything that he said the hard way. If you make your own, here are a couple more tips: if you use a fan as a motor, epoxy a milk jug cap on top of the fan to keep the magnet(s) from interfering with the motor. Or any plastic...

For grape wine, basically add yeast to the juice and let it ferment at a temp below 72F for 2-3 weeks. Usually you will not need to add anything else. But depends by on how it is juiced, adding campden tablet per gallon about a day before pitching the yeast will help to kill wild yeast and...

For my last hefe, I pitched 1/4 packet of WB06 and let it ferment in a warm spot at around 78F. It had The banana flavor that I wanted.