Recent content by MadCow

Thanks for the advice - will see what happens.

I've got 5 gals of stuck kit red (1.020) - it tastes ok but far too sweet for me. Will try the EC-1118 and see how it goes. Is it best to rack it off the old yeast first or can I just add it as it is?

Only started making wine this summer/autumn after picking elderberries and blackberries. Later on I picked hips and haws and sloes. So now I have: Cab Sauv kit wine bottled (tried one bottle not bad but leaving it a bit longer) Basic Red kit wine bottled Elderberry bottled Blackberry -...

Added the yeast to my crushed sloes that have been sitting mulching a day or two. Took readings for the elderberry, hips and haws, and rosehip - still not sure what info I'm getting but they're all coming in at somewhere between 0.998 - 0.992. And I'm drinking a glass of the Cabernet...

Right - well I must be making progress if I can figure that out! Did I let it go on fermenting too long or maybe not sweet enough to start with?

Still struggling with the hydrometer - reading it and deciphering what the reading means. What are the stages between 1.000 to 0.990 ? Does it go : 1.010 1.008 1.006 1.004 1.002 1.000 0.998 0.996 0.994 0.992 0.990 And if I have a reading of 0.992- 0.994 is it too dry...

Thanks - er, which page ?:?

If I use honey to sweeten my 1 gallon of elderberry wine, what sort of amount are we talking? A cup? A half a cup? A tablespoon? I know it will be to taste and to SG but what would be a good place to start? Clueless as usual.

Has anyone ever made wine with the sloes left after making sloe gin? Will the fact they've had sugar and alcohol (gin) added already make them a no no for fermenting, or will it help fermentation? I've just put my sloe gin into bottles and the leftover sloes look too good to waste. I've...

I have a hydrometer but my problem is I have no idea what the information it gives means, or what to do about it. Is there a tutorial somewhere that explains this? I tested my hips and haws yesterday after 2nd racking and it seemed to say 9800 but it was difficult to see. It was on the...

Thanks folks. Will start using the hydrometer instead of just looking at it and thinking, 'I wonder what that's for?' Definitely a learning curve! MadCow

Er... I'm new at this so didn't think about testing the SG. I left it a week in the bucket before racking and it looked normal at that stage - obvious fermentation but no raging slurry. :-)

Heh! I just mashed up the hips and haws and added the sugar and yeast in normal way. They only started to go wild after I added the pectolase, citric acid and camden combo. Probably shouldn't have put them all in at same time?? They're settling down a bit more now but still look like lava...

Hi folks I've started a gallon rosehip wine and a gallon that's a mix of hips and haws. I let them ferment in the primary for a week then racked into demijohns. I added a camden tablet, some pectolase and some citric acid - which I suspect I should have added earlier. After ten minutes...

Odd yeast formations Wow, some of you guys are really into this in a big way! I'm fairly new to winemaking (about a month) but am enjoying and also enjoying reading about everyone's experiences. Haven't done much today except swirl my first and second batches after I added finings...