Recent content by Rob S

Great to hear. Will stick to citric acid then. Cheers, Rob

Just switched from empty storage using sulphur strips for my Neutral red wine barrels to a SO2 citric acid solution and while most web sites recommend this combination, I came across one site saying to use tartaric acid instead of citric acid. Site states that citric acid could have the...

Anyone know what this stringy substance could be inside half of my ice cider bottles? I've attached a picture. It looks like a strand of spaghetti. At first before I disturbed the bottles it was one long string. I clarified it with Kieselsol and Chitosan. Sorbate was added, and 60 ppm of SO2...

You can store the barrel with a SO2 solution or burn a sulphur wicks in your empty barrel every 6 weeks and to do this it must be done outside and preferably with a mask so not to breath the fumes. I prefer to use the sulphur wicks method and since it strips out less of the oak than using a...

As promised below you will find the Scott Labs reply on my enzymes question. So to resume, enzymes have come a long way in improvements since the publishing of that article 70 years ago. This is further reassurance our wines will not diminish as a result and will undergo several benefits as...

Happy New year everyone! Looking forward to 2021. Thanks to Bryan's suggestion I took the next steps to contact both Scott Labs and Lallemand. I've already received an answer from Lallemand and once I get an answer from Scott Labs I will update this thread. Scott's said they will do some...

Hi Bryan, Thanks for your comments! You make some really interesting comments. I've asked the source of one of the Rticles article the following: "I'm wondering given that I did not know about this recommendation to use bentonite after my red wines finished fermenting, any chance my wines...

Would be interesting to do experiments where identically made batches with the enzymes and without and see how wines might compare and how age worthy they would be. Would be lots of work, but would give an idea on whether they make a noticeable difference in terms of positives or negatives. I...

I've just came across a couple of article stating that wines can sometimes decline faster after using pectic enzymes: 1) 'Using Pectic Enzymes to Make Wine' found at: Using Pectic Enzymes to Make Wine and 2) 'Use of Pectic Enzymes in Winemaking' found at: Use of Pectic Enzymes in Winemaking...

There are sulphur residues that are black left behind after burning sulphur sticks for 6 months. Last year I tried to see if just soaking with citric acid and SO2 overnight and rinsing and it did not remove the sulphur. If sulphur residues remain and I put in the wine, there could be H2S issues...

Oxyclean appears to include sodium percarbonate and carbonate (soda ash). I guess it is still better than using straight soda ash, but appears Proxyclean would contain sodium percarbonate without any soda ash. Might be an even better alternative? I'm unable to find any from winemaking sources in...

When I bought my 30 L oak barrel, the supplier sold me some soda ash (sodium carbonate). I've been burning sulphur sticks when kept empty and the instructions with the barrel say to use soda ash to clean it. Lately on a barrel supplier's webpage I read this is not the best choice as it strips...

Re-reading the article from Nanaimo Winemakers: http://nanaimowinemakers.com/adding-nitrogen-fermentations/ it depends on the approach we are using. I think neither of us is incorrect when it comes to the amount of YAN to add. Your approach is based on the average amount needed by yeast around...

Thanks, adding some nutrients earlier makes sense as you suggest. I will try next time. However, I don't agree with the much lower amount of YAN you suggests based on a couple of published documents I have found. It bases it on a list of yeasts and at various brix levels. It comes out to between...

Sorry, pressed the return key, please allow me to continue: Thanks, you raise some very good questions. I've just phoned an Eologist for Lallemend and she has been very helpful. After explaining what I will below here in a moment, to her over the phone, it looks like the 60 ppm of SO2 added at...