Recent content by Bill W

Re: Smell Yep, used a little energizer. Can that cause this kind of smell?

I setup and then yeasted a batch of apple cider (4.5 gal) last Sat/Sun and now its smelling kind of funky. Starting SG was 1.100 and I used a Lavin yeast. The cider said "No Preservatives" and pasteurized. Is it possible that they are sorbating it anyway? Is there any hope of rescuing this or...

Re: JAOM After 2 months I finished up my gallon today. It had stopped bubbling, was clear as glass and the raisins had been doing this funky up and down in the liquid dance for a couple weeks now. Gotta say this was most difficult racking I've had yet. I wound up pouring it into a sanitized...

I'm already looking at my next batch as I'm setting up to bottle the strawberry. I'm looking for a nice apple spice wine that I can mildly backsweeten, that would make a real nice autumn kind of wine, that we can drink next year. Wade, got any winners?

Re: Mead Longevity Sorry Malkore, was just stating what I had read in a few places. Six years did seem like a long time to reach its peak. Have you tasted any of the 10 year old Mead you have? How was it?

Does anyone use a commercial strawberry syrup to do their backsweetening? I don't think I'm going to need to add a lot of syrup and it seems like it would be easier. I know it will take longer to clear, but this is my first effort and I don't expect anything close to the primo results ya'll real...

How long could a bottle of Mead stay drinkable? I know red wines can stay viable for a long, long time, but I was wondering if anyone knew how long a mead can last? I know it reaches its peak in about 6 years, but what about after that?

Re: Post fermentation I just did a splashy racking into my bucket before adding sulfite and sorbate. Yes, the SG is .990. How do I tell when to do the additional racking before bottling? (Appreciate your help on this Tom)

Re: Post fermentation Yes, I am planning on doing the f-pac and backsweetening ever so slightly. This is supposed to end up a light strawberry table wine. My recipe (from my notes)...

Re: Post fermentation Nope, haven't added any clearing agents. I have bentonite, but wasn't sure if I should be using that yet.

Ok, I'm doing a strawberry wine. I made sure it was done fermenting for 3days, just sulfited and sorbated it. Its still a little cloudy and still has some yeasty smell to it. Do I keep it under water lock even though it doesn't seem to be off gassing anymore (is it still safe that way and for...

I'm making 3 gals of Strawberry wine. The fermentation had slowed down a lot in the last couple of days (2weeks total, primary and seconday) and thought maybe the fermentation was stuck. When I took my hydrometer reading it was clear that its not. I started with 1.080 and now its .990. Just to...

Re: Yeast viability Thanks Luc, really appreciate the information.

How long is Wyeast Sweet Mead Yeast #4184 good for, refrigerated?

Hi, I have my first batch (strawberry) fermenting and for the first day I've just kept it covered with a clean towel. The batch is at the 4gal line in a 6.5 gal pail (I'm making 3 gallons). Do I need to worry about this amount of headspace in the primary? Would it be better to cover it loosely...