Recent content by Grape Expectations

It does have a slight sweetness to it, even though the kit says it's a dry wine. Now you mention it I think it must be that. I always assumed if it had stabilizer added it can't start up again. 🤔

It's not the microscopic suspended yeast... all the original yeast remains in the "stabilized" and "clarified" wine. It's a 1 inch layer at the bottom, flatter than a pancake after 12 days... but it seems to be coming back to life again like a zombified version! After reaching 0.992 SG that...

I made a kit. It came to the end of fermenting after 14 days (at 0.992 SG) and so I added the kit supplied stabilizer sachet (two "E" numbers I can't remember, E202 and E224?) along with Finings A (Kieselsol) and Finings B (Chitosan) and the included "add back" flavour. After a few days, I...

That's quite interesting "up to 1 bottle each night". They would probably be referring to wine at around 12% and being a bottle, 750ml - that's 9 units. I drink a little more, like 15% ABV and 1,000ml which is 15 units, well that's not a little more it's 1.67 times more. That 1L at 15% ABV is...

EDIT: I already posted about this a year back, but without the chart, sorry! https://www.winemakingtalk.com/threads/two-hydrometers-have-different-pa-at-the-same-sg.77396/ I have two Stevenson Reeves hydrometers: The S1011/U with a range of 5% PA to 17% PA and coloured bands, then the S1310...

After a while I ended up thinking it's because cranberry has a natural preservative in "benzoate".

Cheers folks. The funny part is the garlic jar now smells of absolutely nothing. The flavouring (that smells like nail varnish or some sort of solvent) must have leeched all the garlic from the glass. So there you go, that's how to clean the garlic smell out of a glass jar - coat the inside...

I have a wine kit that says: 1. Add stabilizer and one (of 2) "Finings A" sachet. Wait 1 hour. 2. Add "Finings B" sachet. Wait 1 hour. 3. Add the other "Finings A" sachet and add-back flavouring. This is about the 4th or 5th time making this same kit and it clears the wine in 24h. This time I...

I've been making wine for 16 months now and I'm on my 20th batch, but I do still class myself as a beginner! I started off making orange wine and making it as strong as possible. The best result was 17.93% ABV using Youngs Super Wine Yeast compound, made in a 10L bucket. The stars must have...

I'm not sure about the different tastes from the different yeasts because this is the first time I've tried a kit with 3 different yeasts. Maybe Youngs isn't different, it might be EC-1118 since it's pretty much kept up with it, I mean what else is that aggressive? Today is the 18th day and I'm...

After 12 days the EC-1118 is the first to make zero gains in the past 24h. I wonder why it only got up to 15% when the gain would be 17% if it were to hit 1.000 SG. I am sure the reduced fermentation (Vs orange from concentrate or pure orange) is because of using this kit and its included...

I am doing a SG Gold Chardonnay Style kit (30 bottle) and while it's a cheap kit, it's certainly a step up from the wines I was making from orange juice. It's also about the same price as making wine from orange juice, making the kit a no-brainer. I typically use 1 sachet (5g) of EC-1118 per 5L...

I just worked out I made 210 Liters (of syphoned wine) in the last 398 days. That's taking off the 11L I have in bottles right now. I have never given away any of it, so I know I drank it all myself in that time. I always make my wine up around 16% to 18% ABV. I make it as strong as I can. That...

It's an old thread but I just started my first ever wine kit using one of these. This is my 17th batch of wine (I started out in Jan 2023) and every other time I have made it from pure orange juice. I had no idea these kits were so cheap which is why I never even thought to look at them. I got...

I drank it in the end. I'm still alive. :h I put chalk in that was past its date, or I somehow contaminated the chalk. The wine had a band-aid smell to it. I've never used that chalk again (or any acid reducer) and never seen those crystals again.