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Notty is going to take that pretty close to dry if not all the way. An overnight drop from 24 to 18 gravity points also tells you it's still going strong. Racking won't stop fermentation but it will slow it down, for a while at least, eventually it will be dry. I don't think you have...

I have a pretty high octane apple-wine going at the moment and I've noticed that the Montrachet has really started to get stuck once it was around 9.8% abv or so. OG was 1.084 and it has stalled around 1.010/1.009. It still tastes sweet. I know its tolerance is around 13% so I was hoping to push...

I think the DME's impact on the cider would be negligible since it's being decanted and going into 5.5 gallons. If it were me I would go with the DME method because the purpose of a starter is creating more, healthy yeast. Unsurprisingly, ale yeasts likes DME better than apple juice. With...

An auto-siphon is one of the best $9-13 investments you can make in brewing. I'm not sure I fully understand the method you've been using.

Not sure of the batch size or amount of oak you're using, but I doubt a soak in rum/bourbon would impart any additional flavor into your finished product. In fact, it will make the oak flavor less potent as some of it will leach into the spirits, which might actually create a nice oaked rum but...

I use 1 tsp/gallon for DAP with urea.

Nutrient use is a game changer. I've brewed 5 or so batches of cider using a variety of juice types and yeast but always with nutrient (specifically this one: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0064H0MWY/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20). Fermentation is always visible within a day or two of...

Had some leftover yeast from various cider batches so I decided to make some bread. Photos kind of say it all. Turns out really tasty. A bit of sweetness in the baguette, which is nice for breakfast.

Notty has been good to me. Red Star Champ was drier but left a definite yeasty quality to the final product (I was pretty careless with temp however). Started a batch with Moncharet the other day. Keen to see how that turns out.

It's good! Cleared more than I thought after racking, actually has quite a nice look. Spices (clove in particular) are pronounced without being overwhelming. Pumpkin puree definitely added some body. Sort of an obvious comparison, but it's reminiscent of pumpkin-bread. I'll post a photo tonight...

In the spirit of "winging it", I didn't weight out the DME, but added 1.5 cups to 1/2 gallon of water. Then added pumpkin puree, molasses, and spices to the boil. I added pectic enzyme to the pasteurized store-bought cider and let that sit while the wort cooled. After an hour I combined the...

Did a test batch (1 gallon) of pumpkin graff last night using some light DME that I had on hand and some store bought organic unfiltered apple juice. Added around 1/2 a can of pumpkin puree and 3 fl oz molasses to the mash along with minimal clove, cardamom, and all spice at the end of the boil...

Clearing nicely after 1 week in secondary. Happy with the result since I started with an unfiltered juice. J.S.

Whole Foods in the DC-metro area sells a full gallon for $8.45 or something like that (which is pricey as well) so you can get a better deal than $7 for 3 quarts if you look around. J.S.

I haven't used this yeast, but just by reading a few reviews it seems like it smells a little funky if you pitch it without a nutrient (the reviews also say that it goes away after a few days and doesn't linger in the finished product). 48 hours is still early on. Give it another few days...

First one is 1 gallon test batch of Apple-Pomegranate cider that started last night. Second one is 5 gallons of apple cider made from Whole Food unfiltered AJ, right after I moved it over to the secondary. Hope it clears :-/ J.S.

Yeast nutrient can improve the overall "virility" of the yeast so that they can do their asexual business with greater vigor. AJ has a lot of sugar but very little in the way of other things yeast need (vitamins, nitrogen, et al). The nutrient provides these things. You use it before you pitch...

I have an almost identical cider in my secondary right now. Only difference is that I used a yeast nutrient (and pectic enzyme). It finished primary, down to 1.002 from 1.051, in exactly one week, so the nutrient may have sped up the process. The temps in my brewing "corner" tend to be between...

I have a cider that I've recently moved over to a secondary. OG: 1.051 and FG: 1.002 I'm thinking of adding some cinnamon before I prime and bottle. Can I add a stick or two straight in? Should I be concerned about microbes on the cinnamon bark or is there enough alcohol present that it...