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FYI, I live in Alaska, my LHBS is a one and only within 2500 miles… not a great situation for brewers.

Raw ingredients, full grain, no extracts (kind of like a raw grape wine from the vine)

I got really into it… I was going full grain. No extracts. I was tweaking it batch over batch to get to my perfect IPA. Finally, I reached perfection IMO. I shared a bottle with a friend… he said “this is awesome, it tastes just like Inversion IPA”. (Deschutes). It did taste like...

Speaking for myself, I made beer as good or better than could be bought… the problem was that it cost more to make than to buy.

Damn you Dave! I just made my first batch, to a T followed the recipe. Yesterday, we were going to bottle, but we needed to sanitize more bottles than we thought we had ready. Instead, I racked a gallon into a Carlo Rossi empty, and started drinking… and drinking.. and drinking. I passed...

As far as re-entering the states, I personally would not declare them because they originated in the US… but the law says “personal use” with no quantity stated. I used to be a USAF C-17 loadmaster, and every agent has there own quirks. Some will say that any more than a couple bottles is for...

Well, there was a bit of miscommunication with the wife unit, and when I woke up this morning, the 1/2 gal of blackberry purée and the 1.6 gal of Fontana Merlot were sitting in the carboy over a cup of currants, and a cup of medium toast French Oak chips lol! It has an SG of 1.114 without any...

Joe, I will take your advise on the Fontana Merlot kit. On this attempt, I will add 1 cup of currants, oak, and chapitalize. any advice on what to do with the 1/2 gallon of blackberry purée on another kit?

Yesterday I went to the grocery store here in AK for sugar- $9.49 for 4 lbs of “milk carton” sugar. Nothing bigger available. I just bought 10lbs of corn sugar on Amazon for $21. Pretty bad when I can have corn sugar delivered from the lower 48 via USPS cheaper than I can get cane sugar at...

I’m not sure what will come with the Fontana Merlot kit, but I have plenty of EC-1118 on hand. I’m curious if the blackberry purée will complement the Merlot, or change it drastically.

Quick question- I tried reading the thread, but my ADHD hit at page 64… Fontana Merlot kit, plan on 5 gals with Currants… I have a half gallon of blackberry purée- add it or stupid?

I’d intended to rack my Island Mist Strawberry Watermelon from secondary to clearing today (3 weeks from pitching)… and, well, it was crystal clear so heck, I bottled it. It is much crisper than I expected, and while far from dry, it wasn’t overwhelmingly sweet. I definitely did some things...

Thanks again all… saying that “I don’t like” country wines may be an overstatement, just not my favorite as a daily drinker… I’m certainly interested in trying new recipes to see if I can get something I really like outside the box. As far as local Alaska berries (I live in the Mar-Su), there...

And thanks!

Certainly an option, sadly, fruity wines aren’t my favorite (the island mist is for the Boss-wife).

Hey there, I have quite a bit of experience brewing beer, but fell out of it years ago. Decided to pick up wine (had to re-buy a lot of equipment since I gave all the beer equipment away). Right now I have a Vineco Original Pinot Noir in clearing, and a Island Mist in secondary. It kinda stinks...