Search results

60 to 72 is the optimum temp range for ale yeast, with 68 being the best. Wine yeast is similar. I'd kick it up 10 or so degrees, if you can. I think, (this is just my opinion) that too many higher alcohols are formed above 75 degrees. steve

I can't say with any degree of authority, but ther rumour I've heard, is that a liquid yeast maker, who makes a 1056 yeast, that is the same strain as US-56 and US-05, complained about US-56's name. So, they had to change it to US-05. Yes, Y-1056 and Safale US-56, (or US-05) are the same...

Yes, honey adds a decent flavour to this recipe! To add notes about my Simply Apple recipe, it is done, but turned out cloudy. (But, I'm not going to complain!) I fermented it out completely, using Nottingham, and it tasted too dry. I sweetened it with a pound of honey, and let the yeast...

If you got champagne yeast, it's gonna get REAL dry. 10 LBS of honey is a mild mead. Your yeast is capable of digesting 15 to 17 pounds of honey. (I'm assuming that you got Lalvin ECV-1118 yeast.) I'd go with Lalvin D-47. It is my favourite yeast for Meads. Oh, a fruited Mead, (in my...

And, yes. You can use Iodophor for testing for conversion. Put a teaspoon of your mash on a saucer, and put a drop of iodophor on it If it is blue-black, you still have starch left. If it is dark brown, you're done. (Oh, don't dump it back in your mash-tun.)(Unless you like the taste of...

Uh, drinking too much will tend to lower one's specific gravity, since lipids are lighter than muscle mass. Now, if you're talking total mass...:D Now back to the original discussion... steve

Get some airlocks on those, or you're gonna have a BIG, NASTY mess to clean up! Glass and sticky apple juice is NOT fun to scrape off the walls! steve

Like Ma2brew said, if you've got stoppers and airlocks, go right ahead. I wouldn't even worry about sanitising them. If the juice wasn't fermenting inside before you openedthem, then the inside was clean. Pour it into the carboy, mixing in your dextrose, (make SURE it is well mixed in) and...

You going to play the tape? :D How'd it taste? I'm not going to need to tape mine, (or tap it) since I'm bottling. steve

Since I use Crockett honey, and they process the he**out of it, I don't boil. But, it costs me about $1.00 a pound. (Yes, I do have 90 pounds, or 6 batches stored.):D steve

Yep, I'd agree. OTOH, I don't like to boil my honey, and I make a LOT of Mead. I just heat up enough water, to thin out the honey, and put it in my carboy. I'd probably add the honey to the wort after the boil, if I was doing a honey beer. steve

Drink it!! Like I used to tell my customers at the LHBS, when I USED to work there, "those taste buds are the determining factor here, the hydrometer is just a helper!" Oh, about autolyzing, if you use Yeast # 1968, you NEED to go to a secondary as soon as you can! That stuff'll autolyze...

I used Nottingham in my batch too, and got a LOT of krausen, as well. I also used cloudy AJ, so I may end up with cloudy AW. Oh well! (Tastes good, though.) I sorbated this batch, and added some honey to back-sweeten, and will see if any of my finings tricks from wine-making will clarify...

You've got plenty enough yeast in suspension, just transfer it over. It'll be just fine. (You have enough yeast when you bottle beer, to condition it, don't you?) steve

I could be wrong, but it is the wheat in hefes that makes them cloudy, not the yeast. At least, that is the way I remember it. Now, with my cloudy apple juice, I'm pretty sure that won't settle out. Oh well, it will still taste good! That Simply Apple, (made by the people that do Simply...

This is the way I'd do it. It is also the same way my LHBS (or me, when I worked there) recommended. Rack to the keg. Fill the bottles with warm, flat beer, on top of the required amount of Munton's carb-tabs. Cap, and wait, until conditioned. Yes, you will get a deposit. Live with it...

I started a batch, using the Simply Apple apple juice, 2 Lbs dextrose and Nottingham yeast. Now, I'm getting some krausen. Must be from the un-filtered juice, or the Nottingham. I only got 18 bottles of the stuff, but it tastes so good, we drank it before we could get it in the carboy...

When I used to work at LHBS, we used contact cement. Fill the keg up, and make sure it doesn't leak (only if you're gluing up the top). Lift up the loose flap, paint on some contact cement, and put some pencils in to hold it open while it drys for the recommended time. Pull out the pencils...

Update, the $5 a case has been approved. If you're interested, the store is American Discount Foods. It is in Mesa, on Extension, just north of Broadway. I've only got one pallet left. The juice is dated to expire on the 12th (I think) of December. Since my walk-in is almost freezing, it...

Guys in the greater Phoenix area, I've got a pretty good line on some apple juice. If you've ever seen the brand of orange juice, in the refrigerated section, called Simply Orange, they also do an apple juice. It is pressed, unfiltered, pasteurised, (but not very hot, since it isn't...