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So, long story short, I brewed 5 gallons of graf, mixing 1/2 fresh apple juice (with 80 ppm sulfite added by me and left to sit for 48 hours) and 1/2 beer wort (specifically, BierMuncher's Oktoberfast Ale recipe). I used Nottingham yeast, pitched dry; I definitely noticed a rotten egg smell a...

I just harvested two plants and got enough cones for one batch of pale ale, including the dry hopping. I dried my cones in a mesh herb drying bag with a fan on them for 48 hours, and they feel pretty dry (down to about 35-40% of fresh weight). I am using most of them today in a brew, but want to...

I just pressed 5+ gallons of juice from a mix of Gravenstein and mystery apples. The last time I made this cider, it came out amazing, using Wyeast cider yeast and stalling fermentation at around 1.010. I let a gallon dry out to around 1.004, and it tasted good when young, but after about a year...

I just kegged a cider last week (second week of April) that I had been aging in a 3 gallon glass carboy since about November. I observed what I'm fairly certain were signs of malolactic fermentation: although the headspace was minimal, there was a clear pellicle with bubbles that appeared a...

I have a California common in secondary in a mini fridge whose temp is about 39 F plus/minus about 3 degrees or so, which is about as cold as I can get it. Last night I added gelatin (1/2 tsp dissolved in 1/4 cup hot water), and this evening I'm seeing a clear layer about 3" thick, with the rest...

I have a California Common fermented with Imperial Cable Car Yeast (California Common Lager yeast) that is ready to transfer to secondary for lagering. I plan to rack off the yeast to a carboy, then lager around 50 F for around 3 weeks (same as Anchor Steam), then cold crash and gelatin fine...

This bug appeared on my hops last summer, up here in Washington State. Just wondering if anyone has any idea what it is and how harmful it is to the plant.

Purchased new a little over a year ago, but I've upgraded to the dual body regulator and am selling this one. It's been used with a single CO2 tank, tested for leaks and hasn't shown any signs of leakage the entire time I used it. This regulator will work for two kegs, using the same working...

I'm planning a blackberry mead, with a total of around 6 pounds of fruit for a final product of around 2 gallons. I'd like to add half the fruit (3 lbs) in primary and the other half in secondary, to keep some of the flavor from the fruit intact. It seems like a lot of people do this, to get a...

Does anyone have a ballpark estimate for the amount of Fermaid O to use as nutrient per gallon of cider? I realize that a specific measure will depend on the gravity, the nitrogen requirements of the yeast (I'm using Wyeast Cider 4766 FWIW), etc. I have been using it in mead, and there are lots...

Submitted for your disapproval: I have 4 1/2 pint jars (each a different strain) that have been in the back of my fridge for a year, give or take. Each has 1/4 to 1/2 inch layer of yeast on the bottom. I was overbuilding my starters to save this amount, back when I thought I might be able to...

Greetings, semi-experienced brewer & cider maker who recently decided to try his hand at brewing up a mead, here... I seem to have successfully made it through a month-long primary fermentation, with my mead still intact. (Thanks to the wealth of information here and elsewhere, not to mention...

A question for the experienced cider makers: Fourth batch, first time kegging (and pressing my own fruit). I've always just let it ferment out to dry, condition in secondary (for 3+ months), then bottle. This time I'm going for semi-sweet, and I'm considering either 1) fermenting out &...