Recent content by KAndr97

I wasn't suggesting that y'all were, but everyone I know IRL thinks that I can just set up a booth at the local farmer's market and raise my finger to the authorities.

To be honest, I wouldn't wanna buy any wine made under the table. Whenever someone suggests skirting those regulations, I'm reminded of the hot sauce guy whose house was raided by the feds. I can't find it at the moment but this guy was selling and giving away home made hot sauce on a sauce...

I've been all across the country and y'all really do have some of the best chicken in America. Welcome!

To some people, water is water and it all tastes like H2O. Other people claim that they can tell the difference between different brands or locations. I think Fiji and Voss taste slightly different from your average Poland Spring or Aquafina. However, once that very neutral flavor has been...

I've only ever used bentonite once on a very stubborn strawberry wine. Looking back, it wasn't that stubborn and I should've just let it sit for a couple more months. It definitely took away some of the fruitiness of the wine, and maybe some of the body. It was one of my first brews and I was...

Anybody else get this from their family and friends all the time? Whenever I mention my latest brew, everyone asks me how much I'll sell it for or why I don't set up a stand at the market. I'm just not that committed. Plus, I like to drink my wine. I don't get this response about any of my other...

That sounds kinda neat. Obviously if that's not what you're going for, no bueno. Seems like it'd be a nice touch in some esoteric special interest wine.

Fourteen days sounds pretty long to keep a wine in primary. Keep in mind that if you leave your wine on the gross lees for too long, the yeast will start eating it. You don't want that, as it can lead to some pretty nasty smells. I've never had anything finish within the timeframe that I set out...

In my experience, splash racking will not remove the H2S. The only thing that worked for me when I had an H2S problem was Reduless, but it worked flawlessly. The best way to deal with it is by preventing it in the first place. Don't seal off your primary fermenter. I cover mine with a sanitized...

It's imperative that the yeast has oxygen during the first stage of fermentation. If they dont, they have to work much harder and end up producing H2S. Aerobic fermentation isn't really an optional feature you add to your wine, it's an important part of the process.

Definitely can happen, especially if your fermentation area is quite warm. My first wine ever fermented very vigorously and was dry after just four days. Starting gravity was 1.095 on that one. Edit: I try to ferment slower and cooler now. I've read that fast ferments can produce more fusel...

Holy heck, that's more expensive than almost all of my equipment put together. It's a cool concept, definitely something I'd buy if I was a professional or had a money tree in my backyard.

Right on, looks tasty. Did you look for a specific type of juice? Preservative free or anything like that? I've made cider from store bought stuff and it was way easier than the whole fruits I've been messing around with. I'm intrigued by the idea of fermenting store bought juice.

Anybody have any tips for inconsistent readings? I started a banana wine yesterday that gave me two wildly different numbers. Drawing from the bottom of the must gave me 1.140 while drawing from the top gave me 1.090. Is this just banana goop that's settled to the bottom? It was noticeably...

Well... You learn something new everyday. Forgive my improper terminology, but I think you guys get my point. You can cook the mushrooms in a pan without any fat.