Recent content by Toonster

Thanks :) I've got the CaCO3 (the packet says that it is best added to mash - it's a Mangrove Jacks for beer - only brand he sold, but I'll try with the juice - it's better than nothing!) It's the K2CO3 that can't be sold due to volatility... Sadly, he didn't have a PH meter, just litmus...

Interesting to report - I've got the calcium carbonate (sadly apparently limited use if not being used in mash as it isn't very soluble, so not sure how much use it will be) - New Zealand shops aren't allowed to sell potassium carbonate due to its volatility!

Awesome - thanks :-) I'll go see what the brew shop has in terms of Calcium or Potassium carbonate. I'll have a play with Skeeter Pee, too, though quite a bit of improv will be needed :-)

I've been gifted a whole load of lemons, and, of course, my first thought was wine (my husband's thought was "where are we going to put it, you've got two other carboys going at the moment and a full wine rack already...") I've had a look through the forums for recipes , and I've seen a lot of...

My elderflower is finally clearing (muppet here didn't put any pectinase in at the start...), and at last racking I was starting to get some honey notes / faint elderflower - it's certainly not as strong as elderflower cordial would be, but I'm cautiously confident it will improve.

They are serious about people not paying their tax on alcohol! Admittedly, all the news reports I can find are about people being prosecuted for onselling products from their home stills (also legal for personal consumption), but the penalties apply to all forms of home brew.

Me? Gift bottles? <innocent whistling> We have had sharks in the region recently... https://www.radionz.co.nz/news/national/348244/harmless-sharks-spotted-in-wellington-harbour I can't find the legislation now (like all govt websites, if you don't know the exact keywords to search, you get...

Not so much a hate, more of a *sigh* - I've recently learned that NZ licencing laws mean that if I want to share my brew with friends in any shape or form (e.g. take a bottle round to a board gaming session; give one as a 'thank you for having us' present), I have to be fully licenced...

Recording everything is really important - that way you know what to do if you want to recreate a good batch, or what to avoid if something goes wrong. I really regret not taking good notes for my first couple of wines, particularly as I'm getting great compliments about one of them, and I've...

Right - back into the carboy - I added the campden tablets, then 24 hrs later all of the rest of my pectinase (about 3 times the suggested amount for a starting brew), and some vigorous degassing, too. Frustratingly, it was completely clear running through the syphon hose, but in the quantities...

Welp - into the carboy now (fermentation ceased and barely getting any bubbles when degassing) - hubby did ask why I was making custard (unavoidable mixing up as I moved it across), but it is settling out really nicely now.

Welcome to the forums! Nice to see a fellow Southern Hemisphere-ite on here (I'm from NZ) Good luck - you'll get plenty of great advice here :-)

Awesome - thanks both. It looks like active fermentation has stopped now (been at a consistent SG for three days). Patience is definitely a virtue in this game! :D

As a quick example of the differences - I have access to one type of nutrient (Vintner's Harvest Diammonium Phosphate) - so no GoFerm / FermAid etc. It means that unfortunately, whilst the thread is really interesting (and my head is spinning a little bit...), I have access to the DAP bit, but...

I'm in Upper Hutt, near Wellington, New Zealand (bottom end of North Island). So probably a little bit too far to get to Nectar Creek *grin* (Also means that I don't have access to the same products and brand names as most of the people on the forum...) Thanks for the link - I'll go and have a...