Recent content by KevinAZ

Hey All, Sorry to bump a nearly 1-year-old thread, but I think this is the right place to post my questions and experiences. So I tried making prickly pear wine this year. I'm very new to winemaking and I know I made a few mistakes, but I think I recovered. Here's what happened: I started...

So here's the latest update: I remeasured the SG on Saturday and no movement at all. I made a yeast starter from a full pack of Red Star Premier Blanc and about 1/2 a cup of warm water and then added about 1/2 a cup of must about 30 minutes later. I let that sit until it had a really thick...

Hey Bernard, I think you're 100% right on doing the starter. I totally forgot about it. #Facepalm I'll give it a day and if there's no real action I'll do the starter tomorrow. At least I got what I think was a good deal on the yeast when I bought it :) (12 packs for $10 if I remember...

Hi All, Thank you all for your feedback, advice, and tips. This has been exceptionally helpful. Here's the update on what I've done and what I've measured: Many of you mentioned the K-Meta (and now I know I have a problem with my watermelon wine too that I'll have to try to correct in a...

Hi there! I'm pretty new to winemaking and I had a must not start and I'm worried. Here's what I've done and at least one thing that I'm worried about. Hibiscus Wine was the goal. I started here with this recipe: Hibiscus Flower Wine I adjusted the recipe up and did this: Day 1: Added 5...

So another question about this batch and a mistake I make last night… The potato masher I’m using to punch down is washed after each use. I also sanitize it with Star San before use, but last night I messed up and punched down the fruit without sanitizing. What can I do to help ensure that...

Hi Vintners, I just started my first country wine (Prickly Pear) yesterday. I've got my raisins and my fruit in a mesh bag and it looks like for whatever reason the bag is keeping the fruit about 95% below the surface. There's really just a couple of little mesh "bubbles" sticking up. Would...

Semi boneless ham. 15-17 lbs. wrapped in foil. Shiny side inwards. Place in roaster. Fill w water to just below 1/2 way. Place in oven @ 200*. Wait about 6 hours until fork tender. Enjoy. I knew a lady that ran a restaurant off this for 40 years. Definitely a hit w everyone that tried it. I...

Don’t know who reads what here, but @vacuumpumpman got a shout out the other day in Wine Maker Magazine. The All-In-One Wine Pump is mentioned in this article...

The temp has been pretty consistent between 74 and 78. I’ve been using a wrap heating element on the carboy. I just went out after reading your post and I think the PH is 3.2. See pick for test strip. do I need to be worried about bumping up the PH?

Hi @sour_grapes & @Bossbaby & all, I was able to go ahead and measure my SG today: 1.045 😱. So I guess my fermentation is kinda stuck. I tried giving it a swirl to see about getting it restarted. If that doesn’t work in a few days, what are some other thoughts on getting it going again? thanks...

Hi all, i don’t mean to hijack this thread, but it seemed like a good place to ask my question since the Skeeter Pee folks are here. If I should start a new thread please let me know. I’m actually having the opposite problem the OP was having. I started my Skeeter Pee on the 6th. I overshot my...

How do you guys open the juice packs in the box kits? I swear I tried everything I could think of with the On The House kit I bought and I couldn't get that yellow cap to budge. I finally just cut the corner off. That didn't seem to be a problem with this kit since it didn't have a second...

Hey all! I'm in Tucson, AZ, and brand new to winemaking. Just started my first box kit a week and a half ago (fermenting well) and did a failed try at Welch's before that. They've started growing some wine here in southern AZ and I'm interested. Maybe one day I'll be fortunate enough to own...