Recent content by dcarter

The first photo shows year three growth of Glacier hops and the second is year 3 cascade hops. Hoping for at least a pound from each this year.

I am humbled by being a part of this. Thanks Austin!

I would lose about 18-20 def F if I just dump on the grains but if you warm it up with a gallon of boiling water, you can use 165 deg f to mash in at 150-152 deg F. As for the drip system, it worked well if you move your water through a 1/2 in hose and keep everything level. I haven't used...

You should not drink that. Send it to me and I will dispose if it properly for you.

Thanks for the Pic!

Great idea with the 1/2 in drill! I'm not sure why I hadn't thought of that!

Madscientist, the fruit chopper does the trick. I tried to manually crush the first batch but that was not a pleasant experience. I did not age the pears beyond picking them when they were ripe. If did three batches over three weeks and found the last two batches to be more productive as for...

Phug, I will definitely try that. The sulfur smell is dissipating rather quickly now and the flavor is more crisp. I had originally figured that this would be good to drink around Thanksgiving and that seems to be fairly accurate. It tastes like a chardonnay with slight sulfur undertones at...

Well, It's been about 2 months and I have the Perry in kegs and carbed. It still has a fairly noticeable sulfur smell but the taste is crisp. The smell definitely makes it undrinkable so I hope it continues to mellow. I kind of expected it to matu re around Thanksgiving.

I didn't even use a bag WVMJ, I just pressed them just as you would apples. With the amount of pears that I had to process, efficiency wasn't an issue but I will probably try your trick next year just to see what happens. I also didn't sweeten the juice prior to pitching so my cider will...

If it really is overcarbed, just shake the keg like a big beer can and vent it a couple of times to flatten it a bit. Usually, the first beer that I pull has a lot of head because of the temp differential in my tower line. Since its warmer than the refrigerator, the temp change foams the beer...

That smell is completely normal and will dissipate in a couple of days in the fermenter. You just bottled way too early. Cider usually stays in the primary for about a month and secondary for a couple of months to mature.

I have made about 25 gallons of perry this year and still have fruit on the trees. It's very easy to do if you have the right equipment. The crusher and press together were about 400 dollars but that is the extent of the investment. Excluding that cost, you can make perry for about $2.00 per...

Here's a close up of the fruit after it has been pressed.

Juice ready to become PERRY!