Recent content by MurphyTexas

Yes. Bottled Real Lemon juice has preservatives. The SP instructions take into account the preservatives. I whip air into the lemon juice and let it sit in an open primary for a couple days to minimize the preservatives. Using a good starter from the left over primary of a racked wine has...

I went to Lowes and bought 6 white food grade 5 gallon buckets for $4 each ( they have a big round sticker on the side that says it is food grade). They stack together when not in use so they have a small storage footprint. I like splitting the primary into 2 buckets because it doesn't weigh a...

The better bottle website discusses cleaning. I haven't had anything really stick to the inside of a better bottle including beer gunk. Like other posts before, I just toss in a white washcloth with some b-brite then seal w a bung cork and swish the washcloth around. Then a quick rinse w...

Hello. I am drinking some right now. We call it Skeeter Pee. You are currently in the Country Wine forum but if you go back to the Main Page you will see another forum called Skeeter Pee. That's where people use lemon juice and sugar to make some outstanding stuff. Lemon juice is hard to get...

The current COSTCO flyer they give you when entering the store has a pom wonderful coupon for $3 off. I used the Langers brand bottle of blueberry pomegranate 100% juice which contains apple and grape juice as well. I used it for skeeter pee starter and it was good. Yesterday I was at ALDI...

Hello. You are asking the same kind of questions I was wondering about a year ago. How do I finish my wine? Here is an excellent article that answers your questions: http://winemaking.jackkeller.net/finishin.asp IF and When the wine is done fermenting on it's own; then add campden and...

The campden tablets offered for sale at both of my local home brew shops are Potassium Metabisulphite (k-meta). I have never seen any sodium bisulphite in a tablet. I like using the 1 pound bag of powder k-meta because it is inexpensive for a sanitizer. I use the k-meta campden tablets...

Brief update. Good Tasting! Added another bottle of Just Black Cherry to 5 gallons of SP. Made half sweet and left half dry. People who prefer dry wine like the dry SP much better. Although this is a clear cherry juice it did create a significant amount of fluffy lees on the bottom. I am...

It all sounds good to me.

Laughing w you not at you. Degassing better bottles just requires a change in thinking. The objective is to get suspended gas to rise to the surface. The better bottle FAQ page indicates using shock waves to degas by tapping / slapping on the side of the bottle. It works especially if you have...

Will be starting potato wine next week and wondering what fruits might I add to the primary to give it some interesting flavor? With Thanksgiving upon us; potatoes are really on sale. I have 25 pounds of Yukon Golds that I will be turning into mashed potatoes etc. Usually I cook the...

We all have the same issue from time to time. Two thoughts. First is to minimize the loss of good wine due to racking. I use an auto-siphon which in my opinion, allows me to get the most wine racked from the carboy with the least amount of waste. If you have never used one of these - it is an...

Not saying it is the best way... My process of back sweetening 5 gallons of SP w seedless preserves or jam. After the SP has finished fermenting and the S air lock bubbles are equal; rack into a clean carboy with 5 crushed campden tabs and 2.5 tsp potassium sorbate. Observe airlock overnight to...

I have use Kroger store brand Black Raspberry Preserves in 18oz jar as a SP starter and back sweetening. Great color, aroma, flavor, etc. Never tried tea but why not!

Has anyone ever used Knudsen's Just Black Cherry juice to back flavor Skeeter Pee? Since making SP is all about trying different things; I decided to Back Flavor Dry rather than Back Sweeten. Today I added a 32 oz bottle of R. W. Knudsen's unsweetened Just Black Cherry to a 5 gallon carboy of...