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I'm getting ready to do some blueberry, so my plan is to make a small batch of jam, and bench test it with different herbs. That will give me a better idea of which herbs to use and the quantity.

I've been reading some cooking sites to get ideas of which herbs and spices go well with which fruits. It's a great way to get ideas!. For example, this site about berries: https://www.driscolls.com/article/berries-and-herb-a-journey-to-discovering-new-favorite-pies-and-jams This opens up a...

Does it work better if you add it later? I've been adding banana water to my peach wine, but it still takes a very long time to clear.

The simple explanation, that I read somewhere on WMT, is that each gas will diffuse throughout the available space within a relatively short time. So any "blanket" of Ar or CO2 will be very short lived. CO2 is heavier than Oxygen, so if the heavier gas formed a "blanket" below the oxygen, we...

How long ago did you start this batch? I usually age hard cider or apple wine for at least 3-4 months before I expect it to be clear and ready to bottle. If it has been less time than that, I suggest that Patience is the most important ingredient to use. It's not ready to bottle until it is...

Some people bring their pets on car trips with them, so... ;)

I too have experimented with various means of tying down the stoppers. Getting the stoppers and the inside of the carboy neck completely dry helps, but not always. In the past I have ordered two batches of stoppers for my 1-gal carboys, both the same brand and type. But when I tried them out...

@Paulie vino And I would add that trying to slow down fermentation by delaying nutrient additions might end up producing H2S, which the yeast will produce when they are stressed.

The refractometer is great for that situation. You only need a few drops of liquid, and no correction is necessary before fermentation starts.

Yes. We need to be comfortable with not knowing everything, and be satisfied when it is "close enough." As has been said many times before, wine making is both an art and a science.

If you know the volume and the amount you want to increase the SG, you can calculate how much sugar to add. There's a calculator here: https://fermcalc.com/FermCalcJS.html Click on Sugar, then Chaptalization. With your SG numbers, for one gallon you would need to add 119.23 g of sugar.

This is the way.

I usually calculate the added sugar based on the must volume. I want to bring the liquid currently in the fermenter to the correct SG. I have wondered about the presence of fruit solids in the must. They are not really part of the liquid, so it would be helpful to exclude them from my...

@GreatNorthernLlama I think that your 3 liter bottles might be just about right. You'll need to get some #3 drilled stoppers so that you can add airlocks. But I would not rack until fermentation is mostly finished, and the foam settles down.

Yes, you could top off with the same juice. That will add sugar, so it will restart fermentation and increase cloudiness. Another choice would be to top off with a similar cider that is already finished. After doing my first batch or two that way, I learned to start with an initial volume more...

Leave the fruit pulp in the must for primary fermentation. Much of the flavor comes from the pulp. Then when fermentation is almost finished, you can siphon if off the sediment and put it in a carboy to begin clearing. Be sure to add pectic enzyme, which is necessary for breaking down the cell...

I found that after the second racking, the green goo was gone. It suck on my bucket, carboys, spoon, etc. So I did not do anything special to remove the green goo from the wine.