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I think he meant big in the sense of high gravity, not batch size.

I was mostly logging the TA readings for future reference, but if it doesn't correlate... one less thing to do. Still, I'd be interested in at least knowing what this other method is, just because it's nice to have some numbers to go along with your subjective tasting notes. In any case, I'll...

That's interesting, though he says "White ... devised a new method of measuring TA in honey that bypassed the reaction." Any info on what that method might be?

Since you're using Schramm, try his titration method, page 68. It takes a bit more effort but it's not hard, I don't even bother converting it, just log how much NaOH it takes, 5.5-6.5 mL is typical for me though I've had a few that took less. Much better than trying to read a litmus strip.

Is that 5 pounds of honey in one gallon? Yeah, that's way too much sugar concentration. Think the highest I've ever gone is 3.5 pounds/gallon and that was kinda sluggish, plus it's into cider. Do you have a specific gravity reading? I'd dilute it down to 1.5-2 gallons, pitch more yeast if it...

So this is just kind of a crazy experiment, since I've been reading about kvas lately, which is a soft drink made with bread :drunk:. Asked about it on the soda forum and was pointed to a blog that talks about some hard kvas/beer hybrids, so then I had the idea to try it with a mead. Right...

Has anyone here ever made kvas? I'm thinking of trying it, though I've never done any sodas before. Looking for any tips or interesting additions; raisins, berries, and mint seem to be the common ones.

So I'm 24 hours into my second batch now. This time I milled my own grain and got 1.124, so my efficiency isn't too bad now, could have gone slightly finer though. Also, got rye malt instead of flaked this time, roasted by stirring in a wok with a hot plate since the grains were too small for...

2nd batch: roasting rye in a wok

2nd batch: 24 hours, lost a gallon in blowoff

Use a ~1/4" drill bit and put it onto the rollers until they're all torn up, took me about about 10 minutes. If you hold it at the right angle the rollers will spin around. You should end up with a sizable pile of metal shavings. See this thread for more info.

mill with bucket cover and temporary hopper

roller close-up, first attempt using sanding drum

roller close-up, roughed up with 1/4" drill bit

Cool project, I have an Imperia machine that I've only used a couple times so figured why not try to get some use out of it. Here's what it looks like so far just using materials I already had on hand. The 2L bottle hopper is just temporary. Took it apart and roughed up the rollers using...

Grain mill made from Imperia pasta machine

Yeah, I need to either get a 10 gallon bucket or setup up a return system like that. It's calmed down a bit now, but I lost close to half a gallon using a 6.5 carboy.

I also keep a 5 gallon bucket of Star San. Every once in a while I rack it into a carboy and dump the fuzzy crap left on the bottom. :D When the level drops I add 1/4 oz and 1 gallon water, which is a little extra just to make sure the pH stays up.

I also use a dipstick. Even calibrated it for thermal expansion, reading it at boiling measures room temp amount, ~1/4 gal difference @ 5 gal in my pot.

I just took my first try at this one, though a 5 gallon batch. Didn't have roasted rye available so I got a pound of flaked rye (plus I had a half pound of leftover roast barley) and stuck it in my drum coffee roaster. A couple ounces fall into the chafe tray and didn't roast, could have been a...