Recent content by Petebrewer

Please take a look at the Home Wine Program which can be used to design recipes for wine, or evaluate and perhaps tweak an existing recipe. Up to 11 ingredients can be used in each recipe from a total choice of more than 90. There's an option to use and store your own composition data. The...

Bernardsmith the fact that both sugar and alcohol will refract light is the basis for the method devised by Rogerson and Symington. They are makers of Port and published their method of estimating the alcohol content of a wine or must by using measurements from a hydrometer and sugar...

I recently discovered a published method to measure the abv of a wine using hydrometer and refractometer readings. With this method you can measure the abv of a finished wine without knowing the original gravity. I used the method this year to measure the abv of a shop bought Tawny Port and a...

Thanks for your tips on brewing a high level of alcohol. I can understand why you did that, and intend doing the same. My main concern is getting a steady temperature, so think I'll use a thermostatically controlled convector heater to keep the shed from getting too cold overnight.

Your experience is very interesting and I'm grateful to you for sharing it with me. I'll let you know how I get on (good or bad). I'll be using using the following recipe for 4 Imp gallons (about 5 US gal) :- 2kg (4lb 6oz) Elderberries 1kg (1lb 3oz) blackberries 1.8kg (4lb) Sloes 1l Red...

Thanks. I'd be interested to know why you didn't add all the sugar at the start. Would that be likely to result in a stuck fermentation?

I want to produce 4 gallons of a Port style wine without going to the expense of adding brandy. I have some high alcohol tolerant yeast (GV 4) but would appreciate any tips on fermenting up to 18% alcohol. I'm fermenting in an outside building and have a:) Thorne Electrim heater pad and a...