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So, I made a hard apple cider a while ago. It fermented for a good week, almost week and a half. Racked it to secondary and let it sit for another two or three weeks, then racked it once more and put in from toasted whiskey oak barrel chips for about five days. At some point, I had added a whole...

I currently have a Ginger Beer/Wine going (almost done fermenting), a Cranberry Wine going (almost done fermenting), and a Hazelnut Coffee Wine going (almost done fermenting...decaf, of course). I have about a gallon of the ginger and cranberry, and 4 cups worth of the coffee. I only do real...

Thanks for the replies. After posting this thread, I did manage to run across another thread about using smoking chips for oak flavor. And it told me pretty much what you all have said. I had already boiled some chips, even before starting this thread...I boiled them for about 10-15 minutes...

It's actually just oak chips you would use for smoking...Jack Daniels chips. I assumed oak is what wood would go into pretty much anything...that's what almost all barrels are made of, right?

Sorry if this has been asked before - lots of threads on here. I'm making two drinks - ginger beer and cranberry wine. Can you all tell me how much oak should be added to a gallon of brew, and about how long it should be left in. Thanks Matthew

I just made ginger tea (the base for my ginger beer) and put some Caribbean Jerk Spice in...still working on a good "Pirate Beer". I made 1-1/2 cups worth of the tea...and dumped most of it. Don't try it. It is not good.

I've had some cranberry-cherry wine sitting in the fermentor for a bit now...probably month and a half or more. I let it ferment for about 5 or six days, and pulled it...didn't want it to get too strong (I use Red Star Premier Cuvee and Lalvin ec1118, so possible ABV can get up there). I didn't...

I define a normal wine glass as something that holds 6-8 oz nicely without having to worry about spilling easily. And from what I have read, if you're going to drink red wine once a day for whatever benefits it offers, they typically suggest 6-8oz. Again...thanks for all the replies.

Hey, thanks for all the quick and great replies. BendOrnewbie - you made me chuckle. I could certainly see how the activities associated would be good for you...I can say the same when my wife and I are into jamming season. Strawberries...peaches...blueberries and blackberries...we do...

All of you out there with chemical knowledge... Supposedly a normal-size glass of red wine a day is good for you in many ways. Is homebrew wine good for you? Say, if I made a wine from red grape juice? Or would you actually have to go from a certain type of grape from scratch?

It's 72 in the house...not sure the temp of the drink itself.

So, I made some hard root beer about a month ago. It say in the fermenter for just under two weeks, then I racked it to the secondary. I haven't had time to bottle, so it has been sitting in the secondary. It was only 3/4 of a gallon...and I had tried some, so it was only about 1/2 gallon...

Yes, that helps. I've only made mead once, so far, and I was talking with a friend the other day on the differences between honey and sugar in tea, and it got me thinking about this subject. I was just curious. Thanks.

There seem to be a lot of people on here with access to scientific information, so maybe someone can answer this for me. When you make mead, does the honey keep its enzymes and vitamins and such, or does it lose those in the process? Thanks in advance.

Homemade Cranberry Sauce Wine. Cranberry juice from a bottle...water that had clementine peel boiled in it...some cinnamon and nutmeg, and one "buffing up" with two cups of simple syrup. Finished off with a backsweetening of straight cranberry concentrate. Quite good, if I do say so myself...

I had originally read that around 160F-170F was needed to kill yeast sufficiently. Then I read that yeast dies at 140F. Apparently that was wrong. (hehehehe). I don't actually boil the alcohol. I have several large canning jars left over from canning jam over the last few years. I put the...

Well, I had a bottle bust on me last night - while we were all asleep. I heard it from upstairs (I keep my bottled stuff in the downstairs 1/2 bathroom, on a shelf above the washer and dryer - nice and temperature controlled, and out of the sun). I thought maybe a picture in my daughter's room...

Well, I think putting thyme in my "Caribbean Ginger Beer" would be good - my execution was not so great. I'll have to try it again. Let me say, however...I put in about 1/2 a shot of coconut rum in a nice large glass. It is GREAT. I love the coconut flavor in it.

Just an update: My ginger beer with molasses and cinnamon is ready to drink. It tastes pretty good, and has a descent kick to it. Don't know the ABV...still don't have my hands on a hydrometer yet. I will be trying it out with some thyme in it tonight or tomorrow, and then maybe some coconut...

It depends on how long you steep the ginger in the water. You can get quite a strong ginger bite if you steep it for a good, long time. I think you do lose a bit of the natural sweetness that raw ginger has, maybe a bit of the floral under-flavor...so if you've done it with raw ginger, I would...