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Again, I don't have a lot of great experience at making wines. In college I was fortunate to get into a wine class, where we spent 3 hours a week sniffing samples of various wines. I've done "vertical" tastings privately, where we sample the same wine from the same vineyard, produced in...

I do not have any acid testing equipment, so I did not test beforehand either. I recently started another thread about having too much acid in my Norton from last year, so I'm inclined to believe you about this grape having acid to spare. Though I've drank Norton wines from many wineries in...

I'm no master brewer or anything, but I guess I'll chip in my two cents since no one else has replied. With grape wines, I don't really think in terms of "recipes". Buy the juice of your choice, pour it into a sanitized carboy, add some yeast, and let 'er rip. You can check the specific...

As luck would have it, I had 5 gallons in one carboy, and then 2 one gallon jugs. I bottled the one gallon jugs already, so I can try putting some of those in the fridge for a while & see if anything precipitates out. The 5 gallon jug may have to wait until the weather cools down though...

Last year I tried making some Norton wine with grapes from a local vineyard. I think the grapes could have used some more time on the vine; they were only like 22* Brix (if I'm remembering my notes correctly). Fermentation went fine, and I racked a couple times, and let it bulk age for the...

I pitched the yeast on 90 pounds of Nortons last night, myself. This morning they smelled heavenly- like some kind of pastry. They were 25* Brix, so they can and do get enough sugars, even though I would have preferred to let them ripen just a bit longer. Nortons are known for having very...

Yes, the above idea would have to assume that a person is OK with the sorbate taste. Myself, I don't have kegging equipment, or care for the taste of splenda or most other artificial sweeteners, so I was looking for another route. Haven't ever tried lactose (is that the one?) to know one way or...

So, if we want to make a cider that's both carbonated and sweet, it sounds like the main/popular methods use a yeast that will die in the bottle before using up the available sugar, use kegging equipment to charge it with CO2 after stopping fermentation with our preferred method (or back...

I'm really enjoying my latest batch of cider right now. I had one batch go bad on me, though. Still haven't figured that one out. Janx- It always seems my biggest problem is bottling. Since I work for a farm supply company, we get busy again (after harvest) just about the same time I...

Wow. Thanks for the quick and detailed reply, Janx. Your descriptions of their different "personalities" is exactly the kind of info I was hoping for! I owe ya, man. I'm actually printing out a copy of their list, and marking the ones you suggested for further study in the futuer. Thanks...

Well, I just checked out the website of a nearby liquor store I visit now and then. Turns out they have several Belgian beers in their lineup. In the past I've focused on their wine and spirits, so I don't know if they actually keep all these beers in inventory or just coordinate the orders...

Hi there, guys. It's always fun to experiment. Let me know how it turns out for ya. I'll throw in a couple thoughts about your situation, but please don't take it as criticism. If you are looking to add sweetness to your wine, you only have to add some kind of sugar (table sugar...

Well, I'm not very experienced at it yet myself, but always enjoy sharing ideas. What kind of wine are you making? The other night I opened a bottle of my latest batch of apple wine. It was actually supposed to be hard cider, but I was too busy at work when it was time to bottle it, so...

richanne- No, please do get started! I have only been exposed to just a couple Belgians and would love to try more. I have a lot to learn about them. If you want to wax poetic on the subject, please feel free. Are there sub categories within this genre? Those names you mentioned- are...

Thanks for the reply, Truckster. I remember the brand I was looking for- It's one of Lindeman's Alambic ales. Last night after browsing here for a while, I was naturally thinking about good beverages and decided to check out a small local store. I had never seen any Belgians there before...

I had always heard wonderful things about Belgian ale, and finally got to try my first one not long ago. I was instantly hooked. I haven't gotten to try very many kinds yet, but that will change as soon as I can find some more. A very good friend, who loves wines, etc., has been raving...

I've got some apple wine brewing in the garage now, and I'm starting to notice off aromas from one of the jugs, when earlier it smelled like apples and fresh bread. I still have no idea what I'm doing wrong, as I sterilized and scrubbed everything with a big bottle brush, and sterilized the...

Can't really help much on the beer bottle question- I bottle mine in empty soda bottles. I haven't experimented enough on when to bottle; the last batch I did at 1 degree Brix and it still produced enough carbonation I was worried about explosion. (nice thing about soda bottles is ya can...

Greetings, everyone. (well, all three of you anyway) I drank a bit of my second batch of mead last weekend at a party, and it was tolerable, but nothing special. I used lalvin EC-1118 yeast, which can tolerate pretty stiff alcohol levels. The first batch ended up around 17 or 18%, but was a...