Recent content by Tstryke

Been a while since I have posted. I wanted to give an update on my exploits. So, before the pineapple fiasco mentioned above, I had tried a few different wines and pretty much ended up with spiked juice. Had a completely, "well duh" moment and realized that I needed to add some sugar prior to...

I went down in the basement last night to grab some stuff for the wife and noticed that 4 of the 5 bottles of the pineapple wine had popped the corks even with shrink wrap on them. I made sure to shake them as much as possible until I wasn't getting any bubbles in them based off of the mango...

Ok that's great news! I think my fiancée would leave permanently if the house got below 65. She's the eternally cold type, at least temperature wise.

Not that cold so I guess I will be ok. It doesn't really get any colder than 65 or so in the house. I can always turn the thermostat up to 68 during the fermentation although I'll be roasting at night. 😆

Been a while since I've posted since my initial posts. Been busing flying all over the world for work but now that the holidays are upon us, its calming down. So, an update on what I've done so far: 1 Gallon of Merlot - I ended up back sweetening this to my fiancées taste. Basically ended up...

I would appreciate the explanation. I assume you take a measured amount of wine with a measured amount of sweetener and, once happy, scale it up to meet your actual volume but that's probably a ham fisted explanation. As a side note, every time I go into the room to check on the carboys, I want...

Appreciate all the responses! I've got a ways to go before any of this is ready for consumption. In the meantime I've been going a little crazy with making all kinds of wine when my fermenter is open. I'm sure many here can relate. So far I have the Merlot from the kit, a Pineapple from some...

Ok great. I don’t recall ever seeing anything in the shops that said Sweet Merlot so I wasn’t sure. Not that it really matters because we will be drinking it all ourselves but having the knowledge is always a plus. Thanks!

This is a completely newbie question but I have been having some trouble finding an answer via the usual searches. I have a Merlot that’s currently clearing. My fiancée and I prefer sweeter wines so I would like to back sweeten when it’s ready. In any case, my question is in regards to the...

I definitely plan on this as I saw it mentioned elsewhere. I just haven't gotten around to buying the larger equipment yet. :h

I just started it so yesterday was the first day it started fermenting in high gear. I am using the 1 gallon (a little over 1 gallon) big mouth bubbler from the Wine Xpert kit (without the lid, just a cloth over top of it for primary). I figured once I successfully make a wine that I like, I...

I am having the same result for the pineapple wine I have started. I am only making 1 gallon of it using the Brewers Orchard Pineapple Puree and RC 212 yeast (they didn't have any EC 1118 left). It has a very thick layer of foam at the top. Should this be removed or can it be stirred to dissipate?

Something I was thinking about while my first ever kit is fermenting, was possibly making wine from Jackfruit. I spend a lot of time traveling all over the world for work and I've had this on a few occasions. Very good when it's prepared properly. Since we have a few Asian markets close by I...

I actually drank 3 bottles myself last weekend (on a Saturday), granted it was a virtual "tasting" that lasted all day and we all know the wine at the bottom of the bottle tastes the best...…My fiancée drank two more. We do love wine when we actually get around to drinking it. It's definitely a...

I read that and just about spat my drink all over my keyboard. I just started my first ever kit (a 1 gallon) and I was looking at it last night and thinking, "That's like one night of drinking for us. We're going to need more wine."