Recent content by Oldnastingham

I've used this yeast many times with great results. Not once have I waited for the package to swell. The secret is not so much following the exact directions regarding smacking and waiting but to get your must 70-75 degrees to activate.

In a follow up: I had some leftover plain juice kicking at room temp in the gallon jug it came in and after a few days of cracking the lid here and there, it developed a pretty sizable yeast cake. Took a reading and it was 1.02 up from 1.06. Fizzy and sweet with that distinct Brett taste I...

Is it possible for Brett to occur naturally? I've made three batches using Wyeast4766 and unfiltered, organic juice. I really enjoy the way it turns out but friend who's sampled the same batches tells me he thinks it is "growing" characteristic claiming it is stronger each time he tastes it...

I made a gallon of this with the added brown sugar(1/2 cup) and NottinGham yeast. It was dry as a bone in 8 days reading 1.01. I racked and back sweetened with AJC to taste and then cold crashed. It got better everyday and was nice and clear. It was pretty winey though but had some good...

A Noob update: after spending much time researching every single thread I had time for and not wanting to "upset" all of the "serious" forum posters with my "stupid questions", this is how things turned out......my first batch of cider sat for 12 days in primary and had an FG of 1.01, I back...

I recently let a carboy sit for two days after racking a cider. I sprayed out what I could, added a little PBW cleaner, filled it with water and let it sit for a few hours. All the gunk was taken care of and I just rinsed well and sanitized with Star San. Awesome products and well worth the...

A question I have on back sweetening: if you are cold crashing in a keg, do you back sweeten first or after the cold crash? Does it make any difference if the keg will remain in the fridge at 32-35 degrees until it is consumed? Or should I let the batch ferment dry, back sweeten and then cold...

Thanks for the clarification on the cold crash. Sorry to be a PITA, I was under the impression this was a forum for questions and answers to offer info for those of us who are here to learn. I figured I'd save some time searching the 1,000 threads. I asked a direct question and got a direct...

Thanks for your kind reply. Will do.

My first batch of cider is fermenting nicely for 2 days now. My question is what is "cold crashing"? I want to put this batch into a corny keg and have a kegerator and all the trimmings. I like bubbles and would like to force carb it if it is at all possible but from what I'm reading it may...