I am building a vacuum racking/degassing system and have a question about the strength of pump I need. I found a pump on e-bay that has the following specs:
OIL FREE THOMAS COMPRESSOR VACUUM PUMP:
Model Number 100
115V, 60HZ, 4.0A 3.5 cfm
FREE FLOW MAX: 6.6 CFM / 187 LITERS/MIN
MAX...
Zinns can sometimes have a little residual sugar, depending on where the starting SG level. A dry Zinn will be about .998 so 1.000 sounds like it will be "jammy". I like my zinns that way.
If it is still that SG when you bottle, be sure and stabilize it. I have seen a sweet zin referment in...
The bugs and raisins are fine. I leave them in. All wine has earwigs and spiders in it. Seriously, all that stuff settles out when it clears. I wouldn't bother with the pectic enzyme in a red wine. The yeast and alcohol will break it all down effectively.
I looked at my notes and forgot to add that around 10-12 brix it started to smell a little sulphur-y so I added 2 teaspoons DAP and stirred it a bit to get some oxygen in there and the smell went away the next day and stayed away. I pressed when it hit 1-2 brix after 5 days. It fermented down...
One of my first wines was a Napa Syrah from fresh grapes and it practically made itself. If you let it sit for a day, and can't sulphite it, be sure and keep it cold (below 60) to keep it from starting fermentation with the wild yeast. Sanitize ice packs or frozen 2 liter soda bottles and...
I added oak cubes to my mead and they floated for a little while but when I checked on it today, the cubes are sitting on the bottom of the carboy. How does that work? They are wood, right?
I am planning on making mead with the pomace from my Zinn this year. Has anyone else done this? Does anyone have any recommendations on a good honey flavor to use? I am thinking either wildflower or orange blossom.
Speaking of messes, while bottling a Syrah out of a 3Gallon Better Bottle, I didn't take into consideration that plastic is way lighter than glass and when there was about 1-2 liters left, the bottle tipped over and dumped the wine on my back!
I want to use some prunes for mouth-feel and noticed after buying them that they are preserved with Potassium Sorbate. Will boiling the plums lower the content of K-Sorb?
Also, I have a plum tree, but the plums do not seperate from the pits. How important is it that they be pitted? I was...
OK. I added 1 tsp of DAP. Another thing that concerns me. Should I move it to secondary and cut off the air space while it takes a while to ferment out?
It's 1.055 today. So I guess I shouldn't worry. It's a 6G batch, how much Fermaid should I add again? Or I could just keep checking every few days. The EC-1118 starter is bubbling away. Maybe I'll take a gallon off and see the difference in the final product. I don't have equipment for...
I am making a mead and it is taking a while to ferment. It started at 1.080 and is down to 1.060 today after 10 days. Is D-47 usually that slow with mead? I have added nutrients twice. First when I prepared the must and then again when it had been 6 days and it was only down to 1.070. I...