What recipe section will you be posting this ??
Sparkling "Hard" water recipe
- Thread starter LoneTreeFarms
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tnbrewer371
Well-Known Member
Not sure I’m open to suggestions as to where it should go
Thinking specialty recipes area unless you have a better idea. . . . But either way when you do post it let me know where please I wanna give this a shot
sethga
Well-Known Member
Here for starters
tnbrewer371
Well-Known Member
I’ll post a link here as soon as I have time to type up a thread. Sorry for the delay.
so I made a gallon test batch.
1lb of corn sugar
yeast nutrient
1/2 cup lime juice.
Redstar premier classique )because I have a lot of it for cider)
took about 5 days to ferment out.
I think the lime juice slowed things down.
Tasted like seltzer water with a light bitter lime flavor so just like I remember it from the wedding I went to last yr.
got it cold crashing and will gelatin today then transfer to mr. beer bottles for carbing.
I also have a second test batch cold crashing.
only with table sugar alone.
this one fermented hard and fast and stalled at 1.020.
I even added more nutrient and brought the temp up to the low 70's and nothing after a few days.
so it's low ABV (~3.5%) and kind of sweet.
I don't think it's a bad thing and think i'll just add some lemon juice to it and see if that carbs in the bottle.
if not, still will probably be good to drink.
i'm thinking i'll probably just stick to corn sugar since that is what most of the kits being sold now contain.
Also those kits use crystallized citrus for flavor which is basically candied citrus peel ground up into a powder from my research.
1lb of corn sugar
yeast nutrient
1/2 cup lime juice.
Redstar premier classique )because I have a lot of it for cider)
took about 5 days to ferment out.
I think the lime juice slowed things down.
Tasted like seltzer water with a light bitter lime flavor so just like I remember it from the wedding I went to last yr.
got it cold crashing and will gelatin today then transfer to mr. beer bottles for carbing.
I also have a second test batch cold crashing.
only with table sugar alone.
this one fermented hard and fast and stalled at 1.020.
I even added more nutrient and brought the temp up to the low 70's and nothing after a few days.
so it's low ABV (~3.5%) and kind of sweet.
I don't think it's a bad thing and think i'll just add some lemon juice to it and see if that carbs in the bottle.
if not, still will probably be good to drink.
i'm thinking i'll probably just stick to corn sugar since that is what most of the kits being sold now contain.
Also those kits use crystallized citrus for flavor which is basically candied citrus peel ground up into a powder from my research.
Chedda
Member
Man this thread was a good read, so many great ideas. Making the northern brewer hard seltzer kit now. Having trouble, followed instructions to the T. Nothing happened after 3 days, bought another packed of EC1118 figured maybe it got to hot in shipping or w/e. Re-hydrated and repitched on the 5th day. Started bubbling w/in hours, checked it last night after 2 weeks. only went from 1.035 to 1.028. WTH. I swear I'm done with wine yeast, so tricky. I pitched a 3rd packet, now this am its foaming and bubbling away.
Next time around I'm using us-05 or nottingham. so much more reliable. Any ideas why I'm having so much trouble? I used distilled water and did the yeast nutrient steps for the first 3 days as per the instructions. basically 1/2 tsp of some nutrient and an accelerator.
Next time around I'm using us-05 or nottingham. so much more reliable. Any ideas why I'm having so much trouble? I used distilled water and did the yeast nutrient steps for the first 3 days as per the instructions. basically 1/2 tsp of some nutrient and an accelerator.
brownni5
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Forgive me for not reading through 7 pages of threads, but I'm getting ready to keg my first hard seltzer.
I followed recommendations from Mitch E. at Speciation Ales in MI. They've started brewing and selling these, I imagine they're good for what they are.
At any rate, I made a 2.5 gal batch to start with. 2 lbs table sugar into hot water and a bag of frozen mixed berries. I'm told the fruit negates the need for yeast nutrients. So I suppose it's a very watered down wine? At any rate, got to 1.036 and pitched Bootleg Biology Oslo Kveik.
After a week or so, it was only down to 1.020, so I ended up adding Fermaid O and put on heat to maintain 90 deg F. A few days later, its down to 1.000 and my wife liked the taste of the sample.
A couple questions: when kegging, is there merit in adding Campden tablets to ward off oxygenation? At what pressure should I serve? I keep my beer system at about 14 psi - I assume that's too low?
I followed recommendations from Mitch E. at Speciation Ales in MI. They've started brewing and selling these, I imagine they're good for what they are.
At any rate, I made a 2.5 gal batch to start with. 2 lbs table sugar into hot water and a bag of frozen mixed berries. I'm told the fruit negates the need for yeast nutrients. So I suppose it's a very watered down wine? At any rate, got to 1.036 and pitched Bootleg Biology Oslo Kveik.
After a week or so, it was only down to 1.020, so I ended up adding Fermaid O and put on heat to maintain 90 deg F. A few days later, its down to 1.000 and my wife liked the taste of the sample.
A couple questions: when kegging, is there merit in adding Campden tablets to ward off oxygenation? At what pressure should I serve? I keep my beer system at about 14 psi - I assume that's too low?
OP
OP
LoneTreeFarms
Well-Known Member
I did not add Campden to my keg, I've got it set at the same pressure as my beer, simply because I cannot do two different pressures. the wife loves it.
So if I'm using this correctly, for 5 gallons of 1.036 seltzer using Fermaid O and EC-1118, I'd need
5 grams of yeast
1.7 grams of Fermaid O each at 24, 48 and 72 hours after pitch then when gravity gets to 1.024.
Would I still use some Wyeast beer nutrient at pitch? And would you still recommend rehydrating now that most dry yeast manufacturers recommend direct pitching?
RPh_Guy
Bringing Sour Back
The consensus is that with such a low starting gravity it's better to add all the nutrient at the beginning.
Don't forget the Go-Ferm.
- Go-Ferm needed: 6.3 grams
- Water to dilute Go-Ferm: 126mL
- Yeast needed: 5 grams
- TOTAL NUTRIENT NEEDED: 7.1 grams
RPh_Guy
Bringing Sour Back
I unsubscribed from this thread because it's repetitive.
The yeast need proper nutrients. Use the TOSNA calculator to figure out how much Go-Ferm and Fermaid O is required. Add it at the beginning. Follow proper rehydration procedure if you're using dry yeast. Aerate properly and bonus points for degassing.
That makes sense. Or maybe even just two additions. Half at pitch and half around 1.020 since it seems a lot of people stale out there.
I normally don't rehydrate dry yeast so I was going to skip go-ferm and go with wyeast nutrient and direct pitch. I've never used wine or champagne yeast so maybe they are different. Cheap enough to give it a shot.
Was just reading about degassing. I assume seltzer isn't nearly as susceptible to oxidation as beer.
You get best results from just carbonating water and adding vodka and flavoring to it.
We keep a keg of eater on tap. Add 2 oz vodka and a splash of juice (lime, pineapple/mango, etc) then fill with carbonated water. Tastes great and low calories.
There’s no reason to ferment this...
Haha, maybe i would if it tasted as good for same price and could put in my kegerator!
For me, a better analogy is using a 3 tier brew system (aka rube Goldberg machine) when is way easier to just BIAB. Only you will get a superior product by mixing vodka, juice, and juice.
danimal92sport
Undefeated at naps
Yeah that’s not the point.
You can get kegs of commercial beer for your kegerator
Let's look at this logically...
7.75 gallon keg of Lagunitas IPA is $116, 5 gallons would be about $75. Brewing that at home would cost about $35. That is a 215% more to buy commercial.
5 gallons of vodka with seltzer water would take 2.5L of vodka to dilute to 5% ABV. 2.5L of Tito's costs $50 (forget about any fruit and assume you use tap water). To brew seltzer, it will cost about $20. That's 250% more to buy vodka. So your first statement doesn't go along with your logic of why you buy vodka.
To me, vodka, soda and fruit is not the same as hard seltzer brewed. The taste is completely different. If you like vodka better, that is absolutely fine. But others don't and they want to brew their own. Coming onto a brewing forum and saying there is no reason to ferment this is pretty silly.
yep.
the cost to run two kegs of my favorite flavors of this stuff for summer time drinking doesn't make sense.
even using the cheapest vodka i can still brew up multiple of kegs cheaper.
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Yeah, we keep cranberry, lime, pineapple mango juice on hand, which are all good. Also have LorAnn oils from amazon for flavoring. We drink it with and without vodka, so i just have the carbonated water on tap. I have tried some artificial water flavorings (e.g. mio), but i don’t know like those as much.
It’s way easier and way more versatile than trying to ferment sugar water. You get multiple kinds of drinks from 1 keg that you can enjoy even when you don’t feel like getting buzzed.
err, i guess i wasn't too clear.
I was disagreeing with you.
the cost of buying a couple litres of vodka to throw in a keg to carb up with water doesn't make sense when I can brew up my own for far far cheaper.
I toss a bag of sugar in a carboy, some wine yeast, and some nutrient once a day for a few days.
then let it do it's thing before dumping into a keg with some lime juice or madarine orange flavoring.
even better, I can brew it twice as strong then split it up between kegs.
stickyfinger
Well-Known Member
the way i see it you can either add a ton of calcium and magnesium and then carbonate it or put it into the freezer after carbonating it. yes, it’s a bad joke.
I am on my 2nd batch of hard seltzer now and ec1118 yeast failed both times. 05 yeast is working magic. This round we do not have it on climate control and it is still doing well. We used tap water and dechlorinated it. It turns out nice and dry, not sugary and very similar to whitexlaw. Less flavoring is better than more so far... but I like dry wines and champagnes, not super sweet drinks.
You can follow along in my journey and catch up with the great comments there if you like. I did not think to look up hard water when i started my thread.
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/threads/having-trouble-with-1st-try-at-hard-seltzer.676956/
V8 Sonoma GT
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Read this whole thread. Wondering about reusing yeast. I finished my five gal of black currant, kegged it. Its good. Dangerously boozy. I reclaimed some yeast, wondering if anyone has tried using it again?
What do y'all carbonate these to?
I did not have success with .05 yeast. It stalls beyond saving and at well above .1 gravity. Ec-118 yeast and tap water plus minerals tastes good (kinda citrus-y) but smells like sulphur.
Best so far and one I will continue forward with is BrewWater (yeast and mineral packet) from BrewChatter. It's clean, clear, finishes in about a week, and does not stink.
BrewWater -from BrewChatter
Currently my seltzer is at 12 psi of co2. We are still experimenting because it seems to gas out during the pour and lose its carbonation. The non-alcoholic seltzer water tap works well, is at 26-28 psi with a smaller diameter line.. We are going to reduce the line on the way up for my hard seltzer and then see about getting another splitter or seperate regulator to isolate the beer tap... I'll get specific diameter of the line we are using and the results to post here.
Best so far and one I will continue forward with is BrewWater (yeast and mineral packet) from BrewChatter. It's clean, clear, finishes in about a week, and does not stink.
BrewWater -from BrewChatter
Currently my seltzer is at 12 psi of co2. We are still experimenting because it seems to gas out during the pour and lose its carbonation. The non-alcoholic seltzer water tap works well, is at 26-28 psi with a smaller diameter line.. We are going to reduce the line on the way up for my hard seltzer and then see about getting another splitter or seperate regulator to isolate the beer tap... I'll get specific diameter of the line we are using and the results to post here.
I had so many problems with that nutrient mix from Northern Brewer. It's not you.. its the mix. I had stopped using it all together and was using my husband's nutrient blend for his beer with EC-118 yeast. It tastes citrus-y but it smells like sulphur. It takes 2 weeks to complete at right around .10 gravity. Also the .05 yeast stalls (every time).
Last 3 batches I have used BrewWater from BrewChatter with Distilled Water. It has the yeast inside and all nutrients you need from start to finish. Finishes in 1 week at .09 gravity. Hope it helps!
BrewWater -from BrewChatter
my latest batch is just tap water with 8lbs of table sugar fermented with red star premier Classique and fermax yeast nutrient.
mine stalled big-time with 4lbs of sugar and had that rhino fart smell.
I think my kitchen floor was just too cold.
so I moved it up onto the counter, added another 4lb bag of sugar, another yeast packet and more fermax and it warmed up and bubbled away and the bad smell is mostly gone a week after fermentation stopped.
it still has a slight off-smell but tastes like a dry wine which is expected.
FG was very close to 0.00
I'll just split the 5 gallons up between kegs and this yr i'm trying crystalized orange and lime for flavoring.
I'm all out of premier now and have a bunch of EC-118 so i'll use that for the next batch.
I'll want backup kegs.
mine stalled big-time with 4lbs of sugar and had that rhino fart smell.
I think my kitchen floor was just too cold.
so I moved it up onto the counter, added another 4lb bag of sugar, another yeast packet and more fermax and it warmed up and bubbled away and the bad smell is mostly gone a week after fermentation stopped.
it still has a slight off-smell but tastes like a dry wine which is expected.
FG was very close to 0.00
I'll just split the 5 gallons up between kegs and this yr i'm trying crystalized orange and lime for flavoring.
I'm all out of premier now and have a bunch of EC-118 so i'll use that for the next batch.
I'll want backup kegs.
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