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When it asks for citrus peel, do yourself the favor and zest it, so you don't get the pith (the white bitter part of the peel). Too much pith and you'll have a bitter brew that needs aging out, zesting prevents it.
http://www.homebrewtalk.com/f80/joes-ancient-orange-mead-49106/
The joe recipie, an easy, almost always right quick mead. I like it better with lemon, but I don't like oranges to begin with.
Berry Mead: (origional recipie was done for strawberries, I used a berry blend)
18lbs Wildflower Honey (OG 1.140)
17lbs of frozen then thawed Strawberries
3 crushed campden tablets
4 tsp of nutrient of your choice
Water to 6.5 gallons
5g KV-1116
Personally i'm a fan of using campden...
Yes melomels take as long as meads. This is my 3rd or 4th berry one. Next time use cheesecloth, when using fruit instead of juice. The raspberry from juice came out well, as did the cherry vanillia (the crazy cherry bomb recipie was used). The Lemon mint using whole lemons is sublime, and...
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I do as well. Luckily I have alot of friends who will happily test out my new recipies for me. Let me think on your overspiced wine, i'm sure something'll work out for it. That's the problem with brewing help, a taste tells you so much more than any explination does.
ever have...
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See lemonaide post. Also if you have a buddy who's waiting tables, ask if they'll keep the capped bottles for you (some rootbeers are sold in bottles), as well as capped beers.
nope.
I use alot of french lemonaide bottles,I can buy them filled for cheaper than I can buy new bottles. Every few bottling the gasket needs replacing, but that's cheap. When we have a party I buy another case of lemonaide for the kids to drink, and the bottles are added to my stash...
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You'll need to cap in beer bottles. The bottle won't shatter. it's a continus piece and the weakest point is where the cork/lid/cap attaches. You could go oldschool and wine seal your corks.... i've done it decoratively, but it held and that was some uberly fizzy champange.
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I have plans to make it into a vinagrette for spinach and wild greens salads. Origionally it was the base for some spiced holiday hot toddies, Wassil gone wild, if you will.
I made some 'seconds' wine from the must of a couple fermenters, and it needed something, so I put in cinnamon...
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Way too young to drink . Try it again in November. Corking is good for still wines, but unless you're using wire baskets, like champange corks, the pressure in the bottle can pop the corks. You'll want to either cap them like beer bottles, or use a swing cap to stop the popping, or...
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I have plans to make it into a vinagrette for spinach and wild greens salads. Origionally it was the base for some spiced holiday hot toddies, Wassil gone wild, if you will.
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I've had 1 bottle blow in 10 years, it was a corked bottle in 112 degree heat. I use grolich style swing caps so they stay put. capped bottles worked too (had a deal with the guys I worked with, they'd bring me bottles, i'd recycle them with more beer). You should be able to swap in...
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Well 15 lbs would do 5 gals of mead, but it seems you're already struggling there... (find your mead recipie and i'll help you sort it out). When a batch referments, I call it sparkling wine, let it fizz deciently and then store it in a fridge that's been tinkered with to keep wine...
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Mead is the bulk of what I do, my guess is it's still too young to drink 9 months is young to let it age, I usually brew in november the NEXT year's holiday meads, (so what i made last thanksgiving weekend will be bottled for holiday 2010 gifts).
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I've done "gourmet" vineagar out of iffy wines (hey they don't all come out stellar). Give me a day to dig out the book.
That would be great! gourmet...eh?, ...and I am seeing next Christmas's presents lining up in my mind...I'd been saving olive oil bottles for SOMETHING, I just did...
Last fall's bottling day, the printer died halfway thru the labels. Mr Saddi is minoring in vitaculture (he's a science teacher, working on grad school for teaching). I've 10 gals in my closet to rack, maybe in a week or two.