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I wish shipping could be done so cheap in Canada. $12 is about what it costs to move a bottle of StarSan into the next area code. Our postal system is commuting suicide.

I really don't know where all the apple flavor goes. My guess is that yeast metabolize some of it, or it evaporates out. If you backsweeten with a little bit of apple concentrate you will get some apple back... Carb time depends on the yeast and temperature. True, it doesn't usually take 3...

As long as you are adding the sugars by weight you will probably be fine. I use a rule of 4-5 oz sugars for 5-gallons. So look at the apple juice concentrate label, it should indicate how many grams of sugar per serving and do the math... So after you've racked into your bottling bucket, add...

:) I was one of those kids who asked "WHY?" way too much and expected real answers. Thankfully my parents were armed with encyclopedias.

I've tried different ways to sweeten in the glass, but I always lose all my carbonation :( Any tips? The best way so far has been to mix a pint of cider with an ounce or two of ginger-ale.

I would add the clarifying agents before racking. Thing about white LEDs - they're not white (usually, unless you spend lots of $$$). The illusion of white is achieved with yellow and blue/violet, which makes looking at colors through a tinted fluid WAY off. Yellow mead-water will filter large...

Would this not simply be aeration, like done to red wines? I have taken to opening my (young) mead and letting it sit in the refrigerator for a day before drinking. Quite a pleasant difference.

The Vinoka concentrates contain sorbate :mad: however it fermented fairly vigorously. Glad to hear I can let it clear! Thanks!

Personally I'm really hands off. I swirl my batch around to degass during primary but I don't remove the airlock ever, much less take samples and stick stuff in it. I swirl my carboys around and the airlocks start bubbling like crazy, I stop when the airlocks really slow down. Takes about a minute.

It's been in secondary now for a week. The instructions say to bottle pretty much right away but... I come from wine where you bottle when it's clear. My question is if I clear it up with time or chemicals, will there be available yeast for bottle carbing?

In Alberta, $18 "Canadian adventure ale" extract from the grocery store :rockin:, plus a pound or two of honey and a pound of dried cranberries. In primary right now. My first attempt at "beer". I haven't the slightest clue what I'm doing. :D But yeah, Canadian alcotax is stupid. Cheapest...

Both are fine. Fermenting is a biological process and as such isn't so sensitive to exact measurements like chemistry. Adding water will reduce gravity (lower alcohol at the end). Adding sugar will increase gravity (higher alcohol at the end). This adding sugar business is actually common...

Just like we breath out CO2 and can't breath it back in, the CO2 is toxic for yeast. Not toxic like anthrax, just that they do better without swimming in their own farts. Basically, the yeasts are carbonating your must to a mild degree. Enough that if you seal some in a bottle and shake it...

I've got a batch of cider that has stopped fermenting but is very hazy. I want to carb it in bottles. Should I wait for it to clear before adding priming sugar and bottling? Should I assist clearing with pectic enzyme or other agents? My thought was to just add pectic enzyme and rack for...

The champagne bottles I have can be capped with standard 29mm crown caps. My hand capper (I think Emily or Red Barron) has reversible plates to switch between 26 and 29mm bottles. It's less authentic feeling, but a 29mm bell and a bunch of caps are cheap.

One thing to note about the berries - seeds. Don't damage them. I think I damaged my Blackberry/raspberry mead because I pureed the berries which cracked at least some of the seeds. It tastes pretty... chemicalish, harsh and weird after 3 months.

I think I read in my mead book that vanilla is something that may be very subtle if added to primary but in secondary is much stronger. Either way, highly recommended addition. As others have said blackberries may provide the desired nutritrients so you may not need raisins or nutrients

I must know your cyser recipe. My very first batch of "what the hell am I doing" turned into poetry. No thermometer, no scale or good measuring, didn't know what the floaty thing was for (gravity meter). Here's the recipe; all numbers are approximate 3L apple juice 5kg local wild honey...

Yikes, those computer sprays sometimes contain lots of weird stuff. Indicated on the label sometimes. Mine is flammable, so certainly not CO2 or nitrogen. You will have loads of CO2 in solution, and the mere act of racking will cause it to degas enough to start your bubbler up for a few...

My apple cinnamon mead: