Recent content by etisdale

My last two batches of Star San have started clear, then gone cloudy. From the posts above, I guess my water has recently increased in hardness. That, or perhaps alkalinity--or a combination of the foregoing.

15,221+5=15,226

If 13% ABV is the norm, then I suppose 12.3% ABV is not such a mystery. Incidentally, this is where I read that the tolerance of Montrachet was 15%: http://www.homebrewit.com/wineyeasts.php Perhaps Montrachet can give a 15% ABV using certain techniques, for example, feed then starve then...

Hi, All. Just bottled some pear wine I made using pear juice concentrate. Based upon the original specific gravity (1.112 at about 72 °F), I should have ended with a pear wine having an ABV of 14.9%; instead, I have a wine that is 12.3% ABV (final gravity of 1.020 at 72 °F). The montrachet...

Thanks for the reply. I just jostled the carboy a bit and a bunch of bubbles released. Likely a sign of off-gassing as you suggest. I suppose transferring the beer to a bottling bucket and getting the beer off the hops will stop the off-gassing activity so I can prime and bottle. Or should I...

Hi, All. I am currently dry hopping (w/ oak chips) a beer and have noticed an increase in "activity." Not sure what that "activity" is as I had pretty much hit my final gravity (1.014) by the time I transferred to the secondary fermenter. For the first week or so, there was some bubbling, but...

Hi, All. I bottled some Apfelwein a couple of weeks ago and just cracked open a mildly carbonated bottle around noon. ;) Just wanted to see how it was progressing as it is my first batch. Anyway, the Apfelwein definitely has a sulfurous nose, garlic, I think--which is also present in the...

Just an update. Unfortunately, this technique did not work for me. I used some gelatin (100 bloom type B) I picked up from my local brew store. I followed the instructions on the package, which called for dissolving 1 tbsp gelatin in 1 cup of water. I heated the solution to about 175 F, and...

I hope I can achieve the same results. Was that 2 tsp or 2 tbsp gelatin?

Hi, All. I've had this batch of beer going for about a month now (still in primary). http://i37.tinypic.com/2uo50rt.jpg I was planning on bottling this weekend, but, as you can see, there is a little problem with clarity. This is my third batch of beer recently, and I have not yet had...

BTW, would solid stoppers be better than the setup I have in the picture above?

As above, I am think of bottling in both beer bottles (carbonated) and wine bottles (still). I am still pretty new to all this stuff, so, I am wondering, is there any harm in adding Campden? I read somewhere that 10% ABV is sort of the minimum recommended ABV for storing a wine. At 8.5%...

Thanks for the tip! I just ordered some pear juice concentrate so I can make Birnenwein in accordance with EdWort's Apfelwein recipe. I read on the site that most of Nature’s Flavors fruit juice concentrates can be diluted at approximately 1 part fruit juice concentrate to 3 parts water. As...

13,926 + 5 = 13,931 https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f25/man-i-love-apfelwein-14860/index547.html#post1573405

Just got a batch of Apfelwein going myself. Followed the original recipe except I added crushed Campden tablets (5) in with the dextrose and let the resultant must sit for about 24 hours before pitching rehydrated Montrachet. I rehydrated the yeast with Go Ferm, and I have made two 1/2 tsp...