Recent content by Jeff180

Adding a final follow up in case someone else has the same issue... The floating stuff was white and about a quarter inch thick. It was probably lees that didn't drop. I had degassed in between rackings, and after the final racking I poured the last bit of wine containing the floaters into a...

I was able to get most of it out by racking to a larger carboy. I gave it a few hours to float back up and racked from underneath. That didn't work with the smaller carboy since the stuff was floating in the neck + shoulder, and got disturbed as it moved down to the wider body. I like that...

My RJS White Chocolate White Port is brilliantly clear but has white stuff floating on the surface. I've degassed and added two-part finings as instructed. I tried racking from under it, but the stuff starts to sink down as I siphon, and I'd lose about a gallon if I only took the clear part...

I also get around 3 cups to a pound. DME will last a year or so if you keep it airtight and dry. You can use the leftover to add some sweetness + body to cider (graff), or try out a small batch of beer.

My port had a good amount of body. We felt it was full enough to handle the oak. I think the final sugar after stabilizing helps add to it. I definitely wouldn't say it was watery. You could always start with less water and add more later if needed. It'll lower your final alcohol though...

The water sounds about right. I think the blueberries were around 1/2 gallon in volume. You'll lose some volume when you remove the skins, so I started by adding water to a bit over a gallon. But then my sg was low and needed more sugar. That's how I ended up with 1.3 gallons to start...

Mine was based off Keller's. My blueberries weren't that sweet so I probably used more sugar. 6lbs blueberry 1/2c DME 1.5 lbs corn sugar 1.085 sg EC-1118 About 1.3 gallons at this point, including the fruit skins. I added a pound of sugar on day 5, and another pound on day 7 when I pressed...

But the label straightens out when you take a swig :dg I use Avery 05453 labels for bottles I give away. I can fit a logo and wine name on the front. Then I cut them in half for some text on the back. They remove a little easier than commercial labels, but I still need to soak the bottles...

There are some formulas in the thread below, but about 49% of the sugar by weight will convert to CO2, and the rest to alcohol. http://www.winepress.us/forums/index.php?/topic/41156-how-much-co2-is-produced-during-fermentation/

1) I use mineral oil. You can find it in the pharmacy section as a laxative. 2a) Does yours look like this? http://home.ms.metrocast.net/~thequest/repeat/redcorker4.jpg Undo the 2 screws on top and remove the cover. Lightly lubricate the now-exposed springs and boxes. Also lube the...

To test, you can pour some into your hydrometer's test jar, put your hand over the end and give it a shake. It'll release gas if there is any. You could also push the cork back into the bottle and do the same. Just be careful the cork doesn't blow out. At this point I would say the best...

Red is the baby brother of the Luna Rossa, which is basically an Amarone: The Luna Rossa is a blend and is modeled after the Italian wine, Amarone de Recioto de Valpolicella. It’s made in the north-east of Italy, in the Veneto region. Ripasso-style, it utilises partially rasined grapes of...

I've seen it where the days are cumulative. So a 5-20-40-90 schedule has you bottling on day 90: Rack at day 5, finings at day 20, rack at day 40, bottle at day 90. The schedule comes from this article...

I had that problem with Cellar Craft. They got back to me a week later to say my email was marked as spam. No way to tell if that's your issue, but you could always give them a call.

So you're adding more sugar at this point, right? A pound of sugar per gallon would add 6% alcohol to get you to 20%. You might split that into a few additions since you're going past the normal tolerance of the yeast. Get a few stronger yeasties going to handle the higher levels. I've never...