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Hi there, I recently had a 6 gallon batch of black tea kombucha that I bottled with the racking cane, siphon pump, and tubes that I usually use for winemaking. It was only afterwards that I realized that the vinegary component of kombucha might leave a residue that would forever doom any future...

I've been looking at upgrading to a 20 or 32 gallon primary fermenter. I've heard that one should only use HDPE2 or PET, but I'm pretty sure most of the Brute cans that are usually used for larger home winemaking are LDPE. I know that that level is considered food grade, but is it good enough...

I'm supposed to go to a wedding next month in Arizona (I'm in WA) and now that the wedding party heard of my wine-making, they're eager for me to bring down a couple cases. I was planning on my blackberry/banana/mango DB. Anyways, I need to know the logistics/legality/etc. of bringing homemade...

So it's summer time in western Washington and that means it's Himalayan blackberry season. Just from around various parks and trails in Seattle, I've been able to harvest 9lbs which is sitting in the freezer. My first question is how much kmeta will I need to apply when its thawing? I'm...

Had a bout of inspiration at the grocery store today when I saw the Torani flavoring syrups and wondered how they could add to my wine. My research on here tells me that they are good for adding post fermentation for sweetening/flavoring purposes. I further found that Torani also makes Real...

Hey all, I made up my second 5gal batch of SP the day I bottled the first batch on 06/25/14. Good thing too, the first one went quickly! This batch started at 1.090 Anyways, a few days in to it, my hydrometer broke (doh!). Due to circumstances, I haven't been able to procure another one and have...

Hey, so I hear a lot of talk about how these quickly made wines are perfect for warm weather drinking (and boy are they right! :dg). I was wondering though, about what would be some good wines/recipes/variations of the same quick type that would be perfect for old man Winter and the cold season...

'Dragon's Blood' Triple Berry Mix (Thanks, Dave!), 5gal: Coming along great, at 1.030 today, should be in a carboy soon, has nice fruity smell emanating from it! Lemon Wine/Skeeter Pee, 5gal: In the final stages of clearing, should be ready to bottle this coming week or the next, tested at...

So at some point in the last nine hours after I had done an SG test on my skeeter pee which is in the final stages of clearing, the air lock popped off and left it exposed to oxygen for who knows how long, not to mention the fruit flies which are my bane. According to my ABV calculations, it's...

Hey all, I started a 5 gallon batch of carrot wine back in April with 18lbs of carrots and following Ray Massaccesi's recipe. Initial SG was 1.090. Final SG is 0.992. A quick run through the ABV calculator puts it at 12.86%. Yeast used was K1-V1116. Has been kmeta'd but no sorbate or clearing...

I'm certain this question has been asked before, but my search-fu was weak this time and I turned up nothing. Anyways: I'm starting my first batch of DB and I followed the recipe regarding sugar but only had an SG of 1.060 or so. Put in a little shy of four cups (ran out of sugar, :m) and...

The tasting! :dg My first Skeeter Pee and my first successful batch of wine! Of course it's not clear yet and so not yet ready to be bottled, but it sure is delicious!I haven't done the final testing of the SG and thus the ABV, but I can tell it works, that's for sure :D, a glass of this and...

Hey all, so I started a 1 gallon batch of cranberry wine following the 'Winemaker's Recipe Handbook' by Raymond Massaccesi. The recipe called for, among other things (don't have it in front of me), 2qts juice, 2qts water, and 1 and 3/4 lbs sugar. My initial SG was 1.094-6. Maybe I'm just used to...

So after I get off work at one in the morning, I look forward to having to rack and finalize 5gal of carrot wine and 6gal of Skeeter Pee, :db. I don't have any real degassing equipment, can I achieve the same effect by splash racking to disperse the CO2 or will the resulting oxygenation...

I just wanted to share with you guys how one can practice winemaking no matter where they live! First two photos are of my "brew closet" where the magic happens in a tiny closet meant for jackets and shoes. The bubbling beauties you see are of my carrot wine and my skeeter pee. Hopefully they...

Hey all, just racked my first batch of Skeeter Pee from the bucket into a carboy (two actually, the 5gal and the 1gal) in the early morning 05/09/14. I topped up both to within about an inch or so of the top but there are still some bubbles left over from the star san sitting at the top. Will...

So I decided to make up my first batch of skeeter pee on 04/30. Made it up following the recipe exactly except for the fact that it's initial SG was 1.060 (recipe calls for 1.070) and so I added 2 1/3 cups of sugar slowly stirred in to raise it to 1.070. I also splashed the lemon juice in my...

So this is my first so-far successful batch of wine, kinda. I started a 5gal carrot wine on 04/09/14 using the wine maker's recipe handbook. Maybe my first mistake was that I didn't keep the carrot slices in the primary for a few days but only simmered them in the sugar water for 20-30 minutes...

Hi, new member and new winemaker (as of summer '13) here. Made a carrot wine on 04/04/2014 following Winemaker's recipe handbook. Starting SG 1.090. SG before racking: 1.040, as per recipe instructions. Racking went fine and all today 04/09/14, but now I can't get the darned bung and airlock to...