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I started the Apfelwein exactly 2 months ago today and just bottled it last night. Maybe I'll try making some skeeter pee for next summer. I love the options of having an open carboy!

I just bottled up my first ever batch of Apfelwein! How does it look? Does the color look right? I actually didn't even sneak a taste so I'll see how it tastes tomorrow when the bottle I stuck in the fridge cools down. I have the leftover yeast cake still in the carboy with a bung on it. Has...

I just finished my first ever Mead. It was simple but fun to make. I completely forgot to take a reading. I followed the recipe but used Wyeast sweet mead yeast. Does anyone know roughly what the SG with that yeast is?

Has anyone tried using Craisins? How important are the cinnamon sticks? I have everything I need but I dont have any cinnamon sticks at home and I don't feel like making a trip to my homebrew store.

Thanks a lot! The cotton ball idea seems like a good one so I may try that. If I just use a towel, can I just drape it over the bucket with nothing really holding it tight? I'm just so used to making sure everyhing is sanitized and keeping oxygen out.

So I can't use the lid of the bucket with an airlock on it?

One other question I have is regarding the part that says "Cover primary with plastic wrap secured with a large rubber band." Do I really not want to use the lid of the bucket with an airlock? Where the hell am I going to get plastic wrap wide enough to cover the opening of the bucket?

I've never made a one gallon batch of wine. I've been using 6 gallon carboys and I've recently bought 4 one gallon jugs to try out some recipe's before committing to 6 gallons. Anyway, I've been reading through a lot of Jack keller's recipe's and I've noticed that a lot of them say to...

Has anyone ever tried bottling and then starting a new batch right away on top of the yeast cake and just adding another packet of yeast? I'm planning on bottling in a week and I have everything ready to make another batch but I don't really feel like cleaning the carboy if I don't have to.

Nope. I dont have the instructions in front of me but I believe it's basically just the juice and water along with the yeast in primary for 7 days. Then you rack to the carboy and let it sit another 10 days for fermentation to complete. After that you add the k-meta and sulfate and degass...

Well, now that I put all the remaining packets (meta, sorbate, and chitosan) into the carboy, can I still let it age without a problem? Will I have to add something prior to bottling in a few months to clear it again since it probably won't clear now if I let the co2 age out of it?

I'll wait it out and see what happens in a few days. The only other problem is that I already added the chitosan which I believe is what clears the wine. Will the wine now clear if it's not degassed properly before adding the chitosan?

My batch has been sitting for 5 weeks now and although I don't plan to bottle until the 2 month mark, I'm starting to think if there is anything else I'll need to do prior to bottling? Edwort doesn't mention adding anything prior to bottling (K-Meta or Sorbate) and I also don't see mention of...

Will the Meta and Sobate eventually kill the yeast, just not right away? What will I need to do, just wait a day or two and then try again?

I'm still new to winemaking and have been reading everything on here that I possibly can to learn as much as possible. I'm getting the hang of it but I ran into a problem with this wine kit. It's a Vintners Reserve Pinot Noir. I started at 1.096 and I'm down to .994 which is below the...

Now that my mind is at ease, would you suggest leaving it in the carboy for longer than the suggested 10 days before adding the last couple packets (I assume its k-meta and sorbate?) and bottling?

I dont know. I had to leave home on Tuesday which was only day 4. I planned on taking a reading the next day and if it was ready I would transfer but unfortunately I had to leave.

I started a kit of Vintner's Reserve Pinot Noir last Friday and it says to take a reading after 5-7 days and rack it to the carboy when it reached 1.010. My problem is, I had something come up that forced me out of town until this Sunday which will be day #9 of it being in my primary bucket...

Quick question. Do you guys sanitize the area that you brew on? I generally work on a wooden kitchen table and I was wondering if I could spray the whole table down and wipe it up before I put my hydrometer, spoon, etc on it. Would this keep everything pretty well sanitized? Would this ruin the...

Sounds good. Thanks for your help. I'll keep some k-meta near by when I'm ready to bottle just in case I have any apprehension, otherwise I'll just bottle straight from the carboy and bottle age naturally.