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So I found this online (haven't seen one in person), and it looks like it might be a cheap way in for some who are looking for a starter brew rig. Would need some tweaking but might be a decent way into grain brews for relatively cheap. Anyone actually seen these in person and know if they are...

So after a bit of a brewing hiatus (been moving too much the past 2 years), I think I am at a point where I can do a mead batch again. I have a line on avocado or orange blossom honeys and was wondering if anyone has any experience with similar things. I was planning to do straight mead, with...

Even scarier number; from pressing (with just a small press, so not the most efficient) we get about 1gal/18lbs of apples so 15,548 x 18 = 279,864lbs of apples.

I guess I'll add my overall total... All fresh pressed, with no sugar added, but basically the same. 15,492 + 56 = 15,548

Never done a citrus mead so cant speak to the recipe but the blood oranges will make for a neat color. I grew up on citrus groves and I definitely miss having those available. As for the orange blossom honey, I got some when I was down there last month and would say its way too tasty for mead...

I use 2/3 cup raw blond cane sugar for 5 gal batches and just work it out from there for larger or smaller batches. Stir into just enough boiling water to dissolve the sugar then add to the bottling bucket and rack into it.

Smells somewhat sulfuric/rotten egg-like? Probably "rhino farts" as they are called which is perfectly normal (albeit unpleasant) for cider. It should go away with time.

I wouldn't recommend putting the bag into the carboy as it will be a pain to get out. Also you will want to rack from your bucket into that carboy so don't feel bad about having it. Having a 6.5 gal around is nice, they always come in handy anyways.

Just bottled batch 4 of 6 of this years hard cider and found 2 yellow jackets that snuck in when we were pressing the cider. The cider did have a somewhat funky smell but nothing atypical of a young cider. I usually try pretty hard to avoid letting them in but I guess these guys were just...

My recipe was as follows for a 5.5gal batch: 2lb 4oz Blueberries 12lb Clover Honey 3tsp Yeast Nutrient Red Star Pasteur Red yeast I crushed the blueberries before they went in, then funneled them into the carboy, put the airlock on and let it sit. Didn't touch it for over a year (with the...

I would say backsweetening with honey would be the safest bet. It isn't easy to "overwhelm" the yeast unless you want super-high ABV (18+% depending on the yeast, also yeast in mead is more tolerant to higher ABV). Also the yeast will sometimes "reawaken" after you think they are done (that...

If you leave a lot of airspace in the top of the bucket, it can take along time to build up enough positive pressure to bubble the airlock. If you take a peak inside, ciders usually get a good foam going on top when they are fermenting happily so that could at least help reassure you that it is...

Once you pitch the yeast put an airlock on it right away to avoid letting any more bacteria and oxygen into your brew. Rack it when the hydrometer reading stabilizes over a period of a few days (my ciders usually finish anywhere from 1.005 to 0.990, sometimes lower). Depending on the temperature...

I used Red Star Champagne (which I generally have the best luck with) and Premiere Cuvee, Cote De Blancs, and another which I can't remember right now (I'm on a rig right now so don't have my brew info with me)... Maybe pasteur red?

you can write with dry erase pens on the sides of the carboys and just wipe it off when you are done. its about as easy as it gets.

Here's 20 gallons of it: Some of them turn a very pale color when the yeast is pitched.

I would say there are literally tens of thousands of pounds of good apples that go to waste every fall in this town (people don't spray their trees, and then get turned off by the worm holes and don't realize that they don't matter) so she should go out and get some... I can even make her a map...

I suppose you could, though I haven't ever tried. I would suspect you would have a higher likelihood of bottle bombs since F.G. of ciders can be quite variable. I have had ciders finish anywhere from .990 to 1.010.

Let it go to completion (so that gravity stabilizes for a week or more) then prime it by adding sugar just before bottling. I think there are threads out there that say how much of what types of sugar to use as I don't recall that off the top of my head.