Recent content by midnightsolace

Most wine will clear without fining agents, but it takes a heck of a lot longer. Fining agents clear out of the wine along with the sediment they precipitate. So really it just depends on how your wine is doing and how long you want to let it sit in the carboy. If it's really clear right now...

Now I'm tempted to make beet wine just to bruise your brain! ;)

Just bribe them with DB. ;)

I'm trying an experiment. I keep hearing how blueberry wine needs to be really back-sweetened or needs blueberry flavor/concentrate added at the end to bring out the blueberry taste. I'm doing a one-gallon batch with blueberries from my lady's parents' land, and we're intentionally doing a...

I think I would if that were my only option. ;) Desperate times, and all that!

Yeah, adding the stick in whole (vs. the powder) does sound like better control and therefore a better method. I wonder how long it would take to impart the right amount of flavor. With the mulled cider, perhaps more is used in order to attain the flavor rapidly. =) Taking its time, though...

That's pretty crazy! My guess, though, is that not all of what could be out of the tomato is out of the tomato. Keep working it for a little longer, then press it, and take another reading to be on the safe side. =) Or perhaps you just have SuperYeast! ;)

That sounds tasty! I haven't used cinnamon sticks for wine, but when I make mulled apple cider, I use about 6 to 8 sticks for a gallon of cider. Granted, that's heating the cider, so I have no idea how much of that flavor would impart into the beverage at room temp.

Well, when we bought the Triple Berry Blend, we noticed another fruit blend. It was either strawberry/mango/banana or strawberry/pineapple/banana. Either way, it looked and sounded AWESOME for a DB variation. It looks like it is light on the strawberry, so my guess is that it'll turn out pale...

Well... if you're talking about when you added k-meta for stabilizing purposes, it's generally not ready to bottle at that time. Initial stabilizing is different than adding k-meta for upkeep purposes. That initial dose of k-meta after the fermentation has ended is to START the stabilization...

We just started our first batch of Dragon Blood, and we already have an idea for a twist on it. Gonna try it the second the fermentation pail is free. God, this hobby is addictive. ;)

I agree with this plan. =) Alternating quick wines with slow wines is a wonderful way to practice patients. It gives you something to enjoy while you wait for something to revel in.

This right here. Bkisel has the right of it. Doesn't matter what wine kit you are using; if it's ready to bottle, at THAT point, rack it into a clean container and bottle from there. There's nothing that the extra rack will do that bottling wouldn't do itself. So if it's safe to bottle, get...

My white WE kit looked similar to that picture (only without the oak). It's just going to be really cloudy for a while. At this point, you're going to have to do your primary fermentation by numbers alone and not by days (i.e., you don't be able to follow the directions regarding "Do this in...

I dig it, Dave. =)