44 replies to this topic

[synth]

cool
I can't wait to start... I was talking to beast before..
He really got me thinkin' about mead.
check out:
http://www.gotmead.com (a site beast showed me)

[Hippie3]

moved
this is more of a lifestyles kinda thread, imo

[MurCurY]

decided to jump in here....since i don't have all the stuff for my distillation just yet.

I have a yeast that is listed on the mead site.

Danstar Windsor

12 - 15%

64–74º F

High

how much honey do you use to say....a 5 gallon carboy?
What is flocculation? that's what the High listed above is.
I could actually use bread yeast for this?

[DocOc]

Got a friend who makes mead. It's supposed to be real easy. He says the quality largely depends on the honey. DON'T use bread yeast unless you want to make prison hooch. There's mead taylored to mead or use wine yeast, either are really cheap.

[DocOc]

"... yeast taylored to mead..." rather

[MurCurY]

ok...decided to not do this half assed. Went to the brew shop and told him what i wanted to do. He hooked me up with some supplies. Will post in a bit....pics coming too....i'll start a new post?

[Grewsome]

https://secure.brewh...9&CategoryID=31 This device lets you distill up to 40% alcohol and uses an a aquarium heater (many people have these) tis a low temperature still! Easy to make.

[MurCurY]

another question....after primary fermentation...could you rack off the yeast from the bottom and use that as starter for another batch?

[MurCurY]

ok...got some supplies today.
pics are of...
5 gallon glass carboy.
airlock
hydrometer and chemicals
closeup of chemicals bought.

also purchased a new packet of "Lalvin ICV D-47" wine yeast.
Guy at the brew shop said this was very popular for mead.

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[Beast]

Flocculation is the slow process of solids falling out of suspension to form a cake at the bottom of the fermentation chamber. It is what takes so long, waiting for the mead or wine to become clear, rather than cloudy like a wheat beer.

As for the honey to water ratio in a 5 gallon carboy, I'd say one quart per gallon. However, if you want a sweet mead, you'll want to add more, and if you wanta dry mead, less... There's more specifics, I'll post more when I get back, just realized my lunch break is at an end... gtg!

[MurCurY]

how much weight is a qt of honey?

[MurCurY]

wait....so that would be...

1 gallon of honey and 4 gallons of water?
that's approx 12 lbs of honey...correct?

[Beast]

yes, my young padawan....

[BuckarooBanzai]

Damn, Murc, you don't do things half assed, do ya? A man after my own heart...

Interestingly, flocculation is something you shoot for intentionally when making paper at home. Not to jack, but anybody else out there get off on pulling sheets?

[MurCurY]

no way dude...half assing can make you sick with this stuff....i'm going to pick up another carboy this week and picking up tub of honey at the brew shop payday probably. Think i'll go with the orange blossom honey...from what i read it makes a lighter brew.

[MurCurY]

picked up a 5gal primary today. Got the manager at stop and shop to save me a few frosting buckets. Washed them a few times...they contained "Buttercream frosting" so...they were really oily. after washing with dishsoap 4x with a new sponge...the smell is gone. Going to drill a hole to fit the airlock stopper tomorrow after it dries. also picked up 2.5gal buckets that fit inside the 5gal...might make some drip buckets out of those.

[DocOc]

nice man. nice!

[Hippie3]

mead eh ?
never much cared for it
but different strokes 'n all

[mycobri]

The first brew i attempted to make was a stout, and it turned out like black wine at 10% alcohol and a 1 inch layer of white silt at the bottom. capped them, labeled them , and made everyone drink them.:puke:
i want to try again though.

[mycodutty]

I'm a hardcore brewer. Have done mainly wine and some beer, but recently made the still that was posted earlier in this thread. It is so simple to make and use. I brewed 7 gallons of sugar "wash" with 48 hour turbo yeast at 20%. My first distilation came out at 72 proof in one pass, nice. Last couple liters I pulled out of it were down to about 50 proof so I dumped my alchobase and added fresh. Right back up to 70 proof. I got a bottle of apricot brandy essence and added it to a liter of this stuff, it came out good but I would reccomend using half of the sugar that is reccomended.

Wine making is my true passion. I have been really impressed with all of the kit wines that I have made. I especially like the island oasis green apple reisling. It is good stuff. The alcohol content is only around 7% if made like the kit says but it could be raised by adding a little sugar to the primary fermintation. I have also made great wine from juices. My local vineyard sells juice by the gallon fairly cheap and it makes great wine. The wine kits are just juice concentrate, yeast, stabilizer, and fining agent (isinglass or sparkeloid). The kits are especially great for a beginer because it has detailed directions and all the ingrediants that you need. These kits make great wine for very little cash, usually less than $2.00 per bottle.

One thing I cannot stress enough is that no rinse sanitizer is the greatest labor saving thing you can buy for home brewing. That stuff rocks and it greatly reduces the pain in the but of prepping bottles.

As far as beer is concerned, it is fun to do and I have made some great beers, but I would never consider doing it for a cheap beer, it is a lot of work and it is expensive to make beer. The malt is expensive, the entire process is labor intensive, and when making a 5 or 6 gallon batch you are really only getting around 2 cases. I recently made a beer kit called arrogant bastard. Don't know if anyone has had this beer before, it is fairly popular in my neck of the woods and it sells in 22 oz bottles for like $4.00 a piece. This was worth while and oh so good if you like super hoppy beers. I mean it when I say super hoppy, some people hate and some love it, no real inbetweens on this beer. Well I am done ranting for now, but if anyone wants any info on brewing feel free to pm me or just post. I am more than happy to contribute to somthing I am not a novice at as upposed to just taking the info on mushie cultivation without having the knowlege to give back. Also if anyone needs help with MJ cultivation I am not a novice there either so feel free to ask, allthough hippie can prolly help you out with that one!