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Been there done that....too good to pass up

Exactly my thoughts. I started out with beer and they said that any water that tastes good will make good beer. BULL. I have great tasting well water that is run through a water softner and all my beers had a "flavor line", not terrible but shouldn't be there. I finally went to carbon filtered...

I noted it but not the actual amount.... But it was a small bag maybe 12-16 ozs. I dumped them in boiling water and moved off the heat ....soaked them. When cooler i chopped them up and added them and the water to the primary. Added a mummy note...nice not overpowering at all Need to remake...

you guys ever hear of South Texas? Heck man, we don't even let our meat freezers get down to -26 degrees! Insane. Stay warm and inside.

i tweaked a Chardonnay..... This is a lighter bodied wine, reducing the volume resulted in a "thick" wine, I don't suggest it. Although you could always add the water back in at the finish it you experienced this problem. that said the zest of half a grapefruit was very pleasing and I've also...

I tell my shotgun students we learn more for our losses than our wins.... true in a lot of endeavors. Pain can be a great teacher.

Sipping a small glass of an Eclipse Amarone....the bottom of carboy second racking... Poured off and into the fridge to settle out. This one is gonna be special!

Ain't gonna give up my old-fashioned AIO pump..... But nice try!

IMO, it can make huge difference. I have an Eclipse Bravado...first glass is nice....30 minutes later it is just wonderful. I don't notice the effect so much with white wines....but, I'm not a white wine guy. (but had 1/2 bottle each of a IM Kiwi Pear and Gewurztraminer...combined into one...

I like keeping it simple too. But, I find tweaking these cheap kits to be simple. Adding oak, tannins, some fruit, or vest, reducing volume for more body all help make a better wine IMO. but what really helps is adding some time...let it sit for a year two years. Makes a huge difference. I don't...

Not much experience here, have only done this twice, but I liked the results. What I didn't like was the skins floating to the top. After the first racking, I keep the bag of skins sunk using a weight. I want that contact between the skins and the wine without the worry of a mold growing on top...

Joe is the pro here, but I will relate my experience. I reduced volume on a Chardonnay... and it did increase the body of the wine. Trouble is, a heavy bodied Chard is not really that pleasant... turned out kinda thick, not nice and light and crisp. That was also a "bigger kit". Here my take on...

We used to have a Gravlee walk behind tractor that had a sickle bar cutter attachment ..... Great for cleaning under Bob wire fences. Had a mower and a tiller attachment too we ran that thing hard.... Cast iron engine get we rebuilt it three times.... Back in the 70's... Don't k now how good...

Farmside.... also look at the Fontana Amazon wine kits, about the same price point. My last Mist type kit notes show added 4# sugar...1.085...this stuff just does not last! Pre-plan your work and the area....easier to siphon rack from Higher to lower, so start your wine up high on a shelf or...

Years ago I adopted a self imposed rule.... seldom have more than two drinks....and seldom drink two days in a row. I woke up one morning and wanted to start the day with a drink....instead I started this routine. I suspect I have addictive tendencies, I would prefer not to confirm those...

I've seen instruction that say to leave the lees in the SECONDARY....stir them up when you add the clearing agents. Big globs give the little globs something to latch on to and helps clear.....even that seems odd to me I got time and use that instead.

Yep, I have great tasting well water that goes through a water softener and two filter before coming in the house. It is great water! But not good for making beer or wine. I can not speak to it adding sludge though. I like to rack until clear and filter as I bottle using the AIO. That has pretty...

Fontana Malbec with Joe's tweaks and my own adds is a decent early drinker that does get better with time. Also like the WE Mesa Luna Red...pretty good pretty quick Island must Peach Apricot Chardonnay...add half the flavor to primary and sg to 1.07ish....not what most folks would call a good...