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I bought a 4 oz package of medium toast French oak yesterday. On the package it says that its good for 25 gallons. In the kits that I have done, I've added 2 packages of oak that each seem to be as much as the package of French oak I bought. So, I'm wondering if its really a stretch to think...

I stopped by my LHBS to get some yeast for a batch I want to start in the next week or so. By looking at some recipies similar to what I want to do, I found that Montrachet was probably the way to go, and I assumed that it would be good to ferment to dry for a total abv of 12 or 13%. When I got...

I don't remember where I read it, but I did read that the expected life of the nylon iris is about 10,000 corks. I figured that was enough for me. Either way you go, you can be sure you'll prefer it a lot better than a hand corker.

lockdude, I'm thinking about making a concord with some frozen blueberries. I was thinking about using 6 cans of frozen grape juice concentrate and 3 lbs of frozen blueberries for a 3 gallon batch. Do you think that's enough concentrate and berries to produce a flavorful wine, or do you think it...

I made my first batch of wine about 15 years ago and it went horribly wrong. Ended up dumping out every bottle. Then about 2 years ago one of these shops opened nearby. We made a batch and it was pretty good. After 2 more batches, I decided I needed to try it myself again. I think the store is...

Are wines made from concentrates like welches early drinkers, or do they need lots of time to mellow out? Mike

How do the CC 12L kits with the grape packs compare to the WE 15L kits without a grape pack? I'm curious if the extra juice in the WE kitsmakes up for what you get from the skins in the CC with less juice. Mike

I have an acid test kit that I use to test TA. I thought I was testing for pH, but it appears to be different based on numbers 3) and 5). So, what is the difference, and how important is testing for pH? Thanks, Mike

Jobe,have you done the kits with 10.5 L of juice and the 1.5 L of grape skins? I'm curioushow the 15L kits with no crushedgrapes (like the WE Selections and Selections International) compares with the 10.5L withthe grape skins. Mike

Well I checked the carboyagain, this time using a flashlight with the room lights off. I found a very fine layer of sediment on the bottom. It was probably there last week too, I just didn't see it with the lights on. So, its probably not pectin, but just needs to clear. I wasn't planning...

I'm making a kiwi wine. Everything has been going fine through primary and secondary fermentation. After secondary fermentation finished, I racked and degassed. The wine is now fairly clear and has been bulk aging for 3 weeks. However, there is no sediment at all in the bottom of the carboy...

Anyone use the little strips similar to what you would use to test water in a pool or hot tub? I would guess that like the pool one, you just dip them into the must and compare to a color chart on the bottle. Of course I wonder if it works well with red wines. Since they are sold for wines, I...

Wade, thanks for the help, I think I'm going to do exactly as you suggest. I am using a fermenting bag and I'm making a kiwi wine. I've got kiwi and raisins in the bag. I know I can get a lot of juice out of the kiwi so I'll squeeze it good and set aside for adjusting the SG, and I'll be trying...

Thanks for the quick responses. On a related topic, how do you estimate how much the fruit will add to the SG? I'm guessing that the sugars in the fruit do not really register on the hydrometer. Is that a good assumption or bad? I've left the volume of the primary low waiting for the...

For a fruit wine, the recipies tell you to add the frut, nutrients, enzymes, etc. and then add water up to a certain level, in my case 3 gallons. When you do this, do you add the water with the fruit in the primary? The volume of my fruit is displacing over a half gallon of the must. So, if I...

I agree. I know it says they are ready immediately, but I found 2 months of aging to be about right.

How do you go about adding your sugar? I dissolved the sugar in water before adding. If I had stopped short of the amount of sugar on the recipie but needed more, would it be best to make another syrup, or add the sugar directly to the must and stir like crazy? Mike

I decided to wait because I was worried that I'd get foaming, and really while I could have racked on Monday, it wasn't the best time for me. I did rack last night and the SG was down to 1.010. But, it was still vigorously fermenting, so I think I'm okay with oxidation concerns. Being that...

Is it better to be a little early or a little late when racking to the secondary? I've got some blackberry in the primary and the SG yesterday was 1.070 and today it is at 1.050. The directions say to rack to secondary when SG hits 1.040, which will probably be tomorrow. But, I know I won't be...

How can you tell how old the kit is? At my local store, they said they go through their stock "pretty quick" but didn't say how long that was. They sell beer and wine ingredients, but their main focus is cake and candy making supplies. I've only been in the store a few times and it looks like...