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I'm thinking that airlocks really don't do much. The let CO2 out, without letting breezes in. But once fermentation starts, the gas is going only one way. And once fermentation slows, and the carboy cools, outside air gets drawn through the airlock any way. A clean cloth or a loose plastic...

Escaping CO2 is not the problem, it's only intaking of contaminated air that causes grief. My guess is that you are using a bucket with a small hole in the lid, and a grommet in the hole? My bucket has a 1" or bigger hole, and uses a rubber plug (bung) with a hole through it. In case of leaks...

Is the use of the burner illegal, or is the pot of hot oil that bursts into flame when spilled the illegal part?

There is enough co2 in the beer that O2 is not a problem. The CO2 is heavier than air, so as the CO2 comes out of the beer it pushes the lighter air out the air lock first. Winemakers do seem more paranoid about headspace than beer brewers. I suspect it is important in a de-gassed wine, in...

Yooper, I took it to mean that he has a baggy over the usual air lock. Looks like that in the pic. My limited home brew experience includes yeastie smell/tastes that goes away with some aging. Your Welches may not be drinkable for Christmas. Don't be afraid to taste it all the qway along- right...

I used my beer capper. Worked fine with used corks. Could be questionable, but probably as good as putting 5 liters at a time into the plastic bag from a wine box. Now that my lathe is working, I guess I'll turn a 'funnel' to force new corks through and into the bottles?

3,000 rpm on a 4" cylinder makes 50g. Ought to separate red wine into white wine, don't you think? But from my reading, all the yeasties will be spun to the outside, where they die from nausea. I think I have all the components to do it- stainless tube for shaft, pillow blocks, 12" length of...

Oh, and a question re: wine vs beer Beer wort has all of the sugars dissolved. whereas wine must hast lots of goop still stuck to the peels at initial fermentation. My wines have tended to just enough too much alcohol, when sugar is added to make 25 brix to start. That is similar to grape...

I'm on my 4th batch of fruit wines, the only kind I've done. I use free fruit, or brew when something is on sale for 50¢/lb. LowQuat (free)was an awesome white wine. Plum was/is excellent, still got 4 bottles. Sugar added per recipe. You do feel the alcohol in your nose hairs after a sip...

I think it is harmless and will go away as fermentation progresses. Most of mine do that, but the finished beer hasn't smelled fruity yet. Maybe it's a trait of Nottingham yeast?

I've never purchased an pre-milled grain. But I don't think you can tell by looking at the bag after shipping has settled all the 'flour' to the bottom, since hulls are supposed to remain intact. Everything I've read about milling says you have to catch the grains as they exit the mill, and...

How did you rack from primary to secondary to bottling bucket? If you used cornies all the time, their dip tubes would have picked up the sediment at each racking, so basically your brew has been picking up excess yeast flavors for long time?

I mash in an un-modified rectangular cooler, then scoop/poor it into my bottling bucket with a mesh bag and ss braid. No special equipment need be purchased to go AG. The five gallon bottling bucket barely holds 15#, enough for a 7 1/2g batch. My mashing got better once I put some of the hot...

3# per gallon sound like a heck of a lot of grain. Are you intending to make rocket fuel? I think 20 pounds will make a Dubbel.

My guess is a secondary problem. You need to let any brew stay in the secondary until all the 'ex lax' settles out, then bottle/keg. Loquats work better than an apple a day. Yet copious quantities of the wine caused no ill effects.

Boiling does not break down sugars. That is not your problem. You did good by adding the additional sugar, then boiling for 20 minutes-just to sterilize it. Residual sugar is from the malt, and also the yeast is a factor. I'd say it is time to move away from kits, and buy components. You can...

I think the white stuff is a different stage of yeast growth. My most severe incident was to use a warm weather yeast in the coolest part of the year. Had a bit of off flavor when new, but it aged out to be very good. I just did a 1 1/2 batch, in two fermenters. One secondary got some bits of...

Yeast 'foods' are not necessary in beers. The grains provide enough trace stuff. At least AG. All extract might have too much stuff filtered out? That all said, I've been using cheap Mexican yellow sugar for priming, starters, and booster. Still has a bit of molasses in it. Molasses is full...

Or DWWO, just use a bucket to throw the used water on the lawn. Or save it in a trash barrel for the even days.

You can use a woodworkers spade bit or a Forstner bit, in a drill press, to drill a bigger hole. Or a brace and bit, with a back up block. About 1 inch. Or 1 1/4. Then purchase a bung and throw the grommet away. Cheap ass kits. Make the bung hole big enough for the syphon gismo, and also to...