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I know there are Island Mist kits with cherry flavors, but that's about as far as I've gotten. If you wanted to go an alternative route: Now I'm not positive, so don't quote me. But I've been looking into doing some cider batches with cherries added in secondary, and almost every...

Yes. That. I'm gonna blame me being tired when I posted for forgetting that entirely, though I guess I shouldn't, because I deal with it routinely at work (blending two liquefied gasses at different head pressures). You will have some absorption back into the wine, but at 1ATM pressure, you...

What's the temperature like where you're storing the wine? If it dropped even a couple degrees, it could start to suck some of the airlock fluid back in. I always get a little suckback when pulling the 3 piece airlocks just because you're still getting a seal with the bung as you pull it...

I'm about 2 weeks into a WE Chocolate Raspberry and know that the port kits frequently stall out after chaptalization. I really babied this thing: maintained it at a steady 75, gave it some breathing room (oxygen) during the process, and made sure it got a good swirl daily to re suspend the...

Honey is kind of awesome in that it is anhydrous. There is no water in it, and as long as it stays that way, it should never spoil since it will not grow bacteria (if it crystallizes, you can heat it to soften it again). I believe I've read that boiling honey will significantly reduce the flavor...

At one point, I've had 3 beers, 2 ciders, and a mead started on the same day, but only 1 of each were mine. My friends don't have as much space at their apartments, so typically we do one big brew day for each season. I just started wine, but I'm forcing myself to do 1 at a time- only have two 6...

I believe that there should be a product number/code stamped on every item. I don't have anything accessible right now, but if you can't clearly infer/figure it out from what's on there, ask WE customer support to verify the contents based on those part numbers. You may also want to contact LP...

Modifications? Not to go off-topic / hijack the thread, but I just got my kit in yesterday. I know the general consensus is to leave the LE kits alone and follow the instructions... but this is my first barbera, I'm great at second-guessing myself at every turn, and now I'm wondering if I...

Fish are more fragile, but they're also not swimming around in alcohol or a low-pH environment. I believe the body of the heater is glass, but I'm not positive what the other materials are- you may want to double check. Even at that, food grade plastics can be vastly different than industrial...

Maybe I'm just a little used to these conditions from living in the snow belt in northeast Ohio... But we got just over 2 feet of snow in about 12 hours on the 19th. Either way, do your best to stay off the roads, try to keep pathways clear, and have a nice glass of wine in front of a fire...

Bit of a delay, sorry. Definitely cap over the corks- while you won't get bottle bombs (unless you over-primed then capped the bottles), the carbonation stands a very good chance at pushing the corks out. Most corked beers will use a champagne style cork with a wire to hold it in place.

Thanks for the heads up. That money I was planning on saving for a nice dinner just disappeared. My better half will understand, right guys? ...gulp. At least that Barbera should taste nice in a couple years.

I like to use StarSan solution (distilled water helps keep it clear longer... when I use well water it gets cloudy really quickly). Some people use cheap vodka or another liquor of choice. Both of these work to kill anything that could get into the airlock so if you do happen to get suckback...

Depends where you're located... For me, southern homebrew had a nice discount online but then charged over $30 for shipping to Ohio from Florida. I had gotten a kit from California the week before for less, and I routinely get things from Michigan and PA for dirt cheap, usually with free...

The usual: sanitize, sanitize, sanitize, and then make sure everything is sanitized. Which you already mentioned. Also use a hydrometer to make sure that your SG is actually where it is supposed to be. Other than that, gravity is your friend- make sure the one you're filling is below the one...

Glad I saw this thread! I was just thinking of doing the same thing with a Spanish Tempranillo kit. Looking forward to hearing about the results when you finally get the chance to open a bottle! If only we had time machines... Homebrewing would be so much easier.

I just got a Chocolate Raspberry Port kit in and proceeded to pull the trigger on the Black Forest a couple days later. If I fortify, I would probably just use a single bottle of brandy in a 3-gallon batch, and rack onto that until the carboy is topped off. I see a lot of back-and-forth on...

Awesome, thanks. I had the Eclipse Lodi Ranch Cab kit (with skins). I've been monitoring it, and actually it started to subside just a little bit ago. Never seen it before with beer/cider except when I added an oil based flavor extract once. Floated for a little until the alcohol broke it down.

I'm just over 7 days into a kit, hit my target gravity range, and was racking over to secondary per instructions when I noticed an oily sheen on the surface of my wine. It isn't white (only noticeable if you catch the light perfectly) and there's still fermentation going on, but could this be...