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the air is about an 1/2 an inch below the neck of the carboy. While it seems like a lot, the directions specifically say not to top off

I am making a white wine from a kit and it is in its 4th step, racking and clarification. I checked on it today and I noticed condensation at the top of the carboy where there is the free space/air. I inspected the air lock which is a rubber stopper with lock and it was actually loose and it...

Does anyone use one-step for both cleaning and sanitizing? Otherwise, I have star-san now that I bought it so do I now use that and then also have to rinse with K-Meta?

Up to now I have been making wine kits. I have used one-step cleaner for my cleaning and sanitizing. I just left a homebrew store and he told me that while the one-step is effective for cleaning, he said that it is not a complete sanitizer. He said that I should be using something like...

Hey mike, I am over in Downingtown. Welcome aboard

I like the answer provided but wanted to say that I like the finished look of your bottles/wine. Nice job

Thank you all for the feedback and references. I am going to look at the dragons blood and I will order some juice from wine grapes direct. I heard "cheat sheet" and that is the type of prescribed approach I can follow.

Nicely done. thank you

Charlie, do you put the temp controller inside the bucket and if so how did you feed the cord through the bucket and/or lid?

I have made 9 kits up to this point. What would be the next step as far as making homemade wine versus making wine from a box?

I have used the brew belts and up until the other day they were perfect. Attach them and forget about them for this time of year (63-66 degrees in my house). I just had one melt/burn which has me concerned although that belt was a little compromised by the design of it. I am ordering a...

I have a bottle washer (high pressure) that attaches to my laundry sink/tub. I used to use this in my beermaking days and it is great for cleaning out wine bottles and the plastic carboys. I use this in addition to the cleaners that everyone else talked about. Here is an example of what I...

Just a note around the brewer belt. As luck would have it, I discovered that one of my belts (blue) has melted through the case and looks to have shorted out/burned...??? I was checking on my carboy (plastic) which is in a dark closet and I smelled a weird burning smell.... That is a bit scary...

Thank you. I have not had this problem yet and I was just looking to understand what to do if I do have this problem. I like the ideas and if it is a $175 kit, the first step will be a call to the manufacturer.

In the first step of Winexpert kits, the instructions talk about not moving on with adding the yeast if the starting gravity is not within a certain range. They don't say what to do if it is higher or lower. Any ideas on what you would do if you ever run into this problem? I have not had a...

Emma, you mentioned that you had difficulty keeping the wine at the required temps. My house is colder than 72 degrees in the winter so I use a brew belt (heater) on my carboys and buckets. You might like this option

Pitch it and go with plastic.

Thanks all and I know you will all be very helpful. I can't believe the bucket lists that many have you have already made. I may not get much further than the wine kits but if I read enough from you all, I could see taking it to the next level.

Chester County area. Much further South and east from Mansfield although my mother in law lived up in Wellsboro for a few years which looks like it is close to Mansfield.

Hello all and I am looking forward to learning more and seeing how everyone is making out with their wine making. I have made 7 batches of wine so far and they have all been from kits (Winexpert). I prefer Red but I will be making the Selection Symphony Kit this weekend as my first white...