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Hey everyone! So, I have been making beer, meads and ciders for a few years now - close to 10. However, I had some personal revelations recently, and want to learn a lot more about traditional wine-making (from grapes). I figured the easiest way to kick things off is the same way I got started...

Hey everyone! I am trying to calculate the viability of a package of Lalvin 71B yeast, and unlike most yeast packages it doesn't seem to have a "packaged on" date, only an expiration date. Here's the embossed label: 0222874N BBD-12-2015 Any idea if there is a way to figure out when this...

Just curious about this one. Our local HBS seems to never have certain hops in stock, and a recipe I'm working on requires several of them. I was considering ordering them online, but I've always been told that hops need to be more or less constantly refrigerated. What has everyone's experience...

Hey everyone. I am working on a recipe now for a pumpkin braggot, and have been reviewing it with a couple of BJCP's. A big concern is that the honey is going to get swallowed up nearly immediately by the yeast thanks to all of the simple sugars, instead of the malt, which is very valid...

So, I am playing around with beersmith, and I happened over to the starter tab. My jaw dropped. I started plugging in all of my self-developed recipes and I noticed a trend: I have underpitched on nearly every single batch of beer I have ever brewed. Even kits from the homebrew store. To be...

Hey everyone! I've decided to play around, and create a big pumpkin braggot. This is the first time I've used beersmith, so bear with me. It's an extract beer based on an english barleywine. Day before: 1/8tsp potassium metabisulfite (better honey brews through modern chemistry!) 6lb...

Pretty simple question. I have two meads, both habe aged 11 months to a year. The 11 month tastes perfect, and I'm strongly considering bottling it this weekend. Now, this is for a wedding which is 6 months away. Am I jumping the gun? Should I just wait and bottle immediately beforehand? Just...

I am in a habit of brewing a 1 gallon batch of wort/wine/mead every month. About 4 months ago I put together a melomel (heck if I remember what the fruits were) and ended up spicing it with a cinnamon stick, 1 whole clove, and 2 whole cloves of star anise. Well, the anise was not the smartest...

Used 1/4 tsp of p-meta by accident for a 1 gallon batch. I usually make 1.25 cup of boiled water and add the 1/4 tsp, but SWMBO and I were frantically working in the kitchen and I accidentally threw in all the water I had boiled, instead of just 1/5th of it. Absentmindedness screwed me over on...

Hey everyone! We ended up picking around 40 lbs of peaches this past weekend. After pickling/preserving/buttering/jamming, we had around 4lbs of peach puree left. Since I have a gallon of honey sitting on top of my fridge, I figured I would put together a gallon batch peach melomel. Recipe...

Hey everyone! Last year I planted a cascade hop rhizome on a whim, and it produced 3 bines, yielding a bit over 2 ounces of dry hops. I was told this was really spectacular for a first year yield. I just took this photo a minute ago while I was tending the garden. What grew 3 bines last year...

I began a batch of cider back in september of last year, 5 gallons worth of locally sourced apple cider. I added 2 lbs of brown sugar, and used champagne yeast to give it a pleasant tart taste (lalvin ec-1118). Around december I moved it over to a secondary (6.5g carboy) and added a gallon of...

Hey folks, I am in the process of getting ready for a 1 gal batch and was hoping to get some feedback. I'm making this out of items I have on hand because I feel like brewing, so i'm not expecting perfection. Ingredients: 1/2 pack Lalvin D47 2lbs pure wildflower honey 32oz pure 100%...

I haven't really found much information on this, so I was hoping I could get some folks insight. I have a mead which is sitting in a carboy as I wait for it to stop dropping lees. It was racked off primary into a secondary along with medium toast hungarian oak chips which have lived together...

Hey everyone! I'm midway through brewing my very first cider. I happened by our local orchard the day that they were pressing apples and couldn't help myself. I brought home 5 gallons, added ~1.5 lb of dark brown sugar, and 1/4 tsp of potassium metabisulfite and let it sit for 24 hours. Then...

Hey everyone! I just picked up a 1 gallon jug, and 1lb of blueberry honey with the express purpose of making a mead to be turned into vinegar. So much documentation is out there on how to keep your wines and means sanitary and keep out bad bugs, I can't find much on purposefully converting it...

Hey everyone. I started brewing a double IPA a little over a week ago. I accidentally rehydrated the yeast too long (about an hour and a half, double what you're supposed to do). However everything appears to have fermented fine. There were about 2 days of vigorous fermentation and then nothing...

So, I finally put together my first batch of mead. Here is the recipe I used: 1 gallon orange blossom honey 5 lbs of wildflower honey 1/4 tsp potassium metabisulfite 1 lb raisins soaked in water to rehydrate fresh orange peel from 1/2 a medium naval orange 5.5 tbsp bee pollen 2...

Hey everyone, i have posted this question on other forums but haven't really gotten a great answer. If I am attempting to create a sweet mead and want to avoid backsweetening or killing fermentation at a certain point, can I use a lower alcohol tolerance yeast? Based on my calculated OG (this...

Hey everyone. SWMBO and I have disagreements about the temperature to keep our house at. In summer I prefer cool temperatures, whereas shell put on a sweater at 80 degrees. Pair that with high power bills lately, and our house has been positively roasting. I can turn the ac up while I'm home...