Recent content by jgmann67

just my two bits - I sanitize my hands, let the skins drip and then squeeze every last little bit I can out of them. Maybe it's a half cup or less. But, it's a half cup I wouldn't have if I chucked after draining.

I've never made guava wine, but I know others on this forum have. I can speak to your questions from the more generic perspective of making any other fruit wine. Before adding sugar, you should consider what you want your potential ABV to be in the end. For that, you would measure your...

It was a 32 gallon (that’s funny, too because I also have 3-20 gal Brutes). So, I sanitized the big Brute and put the Petite Sirah Winery Series together tonight. Some observations: * I poured 12 gallons of water and the SG is at 1.104. So, I’m thinking this will yield about 3 Forte kits...

Agreed. I have a larger Brute that I'll use. Pretty sure it's the 32 gallon. Will check tonight.

My Winery Series Petite Sirah will arrive today. I'll need to do the math to see if there's any cost savings by doing the larger format kit. I initially thought so, but maybe not. Now, as far as fermenters go, I have a 20 gallon on standby. But, I am a little concerned that it might not be...

Yep. I’m waiting on three wines.

I jumped in on this one, with a Zin that I'll put together as a Forte. So happy and can't wait for delivery. As far as 100-liter (or larger) fermenter, I'm breaking out my food-grade (gray) Rubbermaid trash cans that I used to ferment fresh grapes.

Agree - I had that same question. With a higher volume of added water, I would think you'd go the acidulated water route to insure against an off-kilter pH. I'm going to prep the kit with an original gravity around 1.100. I'm hoping that avoids the issue entirely. Still, I'll check pH just...

In the last few months, I’ve been to tastings in Leesburg and Charlotte, VA, and the Willamette Valley (Dundee hills) in Oregon. The pricing in Oregon was substantially higher, and reservations were strongly encouraged. In VA, they made more of an effort to get food on the table. But, other...

I preordered three wines from FWK and am waiting for them to come in (sometime between now and end of October). I ordered two Forte Zinfandels and a Chardonnay- these kits each yield about 6 gallons of finished wine. It’s the third wine that has me a little giddy - The Winery Series Petite...

Thanks! This all reads like I am where I am. Do what I can to off this taste and hope for the best.

I bottled my 2021 Forte Merlot some time ago. It’s got a eucalyptus/menthol taste when I first open it. Eventually (about mid bottle) it dissipates. Or, I give the bottle a good shake and then decant it for about an hour. That seems to help clear the odd nose and flavor. Has this happened to...

Has anyone tried the WE Amarone since they did their kit reformulation?

This is confounding. I've done dozens, if not a hundred or more, kits and have only had one overflow. Even then, it didn't happen within hours of dropping my yeast. In the brewer's best fermenters, the fill line for 6 gal. is just below the first lip (that first crease above the 20-liter...

That's a genius idea! I used my food saver and vacuum sealed a whole brisket to send to my brother in Florida for his boat trip to the Bahamas. Pretty awesome.