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agreed. I don't make 'big beers' so they'd be on par with a 'summer session beer'. 50lb sack of grain runs me $55 so that's about $5 for 9lbs of 2-row. the rest sounds right for my LHBS too. so equipment costs aside, $20 is the most it ever costs me to make just about any beer I'd like to...

yeah since its still a wort concentrate I don't see how it'll be any better than extract brewing, just more expensive than 'normal' extract brewing. nothing wrong with extract brewing either, but its already more costly for ingredients than All grain...if you have money burning a hole in your...

star san is ok on septic systems since it breaks down into a phosphate compound and can then be consumed by many microorganisms like yeast and bacteria.

I can tell you the wine expert kits I've been making, you rack to secondary, wait a week, then degas, add finings and add sorbate/sulfites, then it sits until ready to bottle. as stated sorbate isn't always used. i'm not aware of sulfites interfering with any common finings either.

last time I used synthetic, 6 bottles popped their corks the next day when it got warm out. real cork never pused itself out on the same bottles.

chitosan. isinglass. either (not both) could be used. if the honey was very raw, and unboiled, it may not ever get perfectly clear. have you tried cold crashing it (like a beer) to drop the stuff out?

I haven't done a riesling but I've done an australian chardonnay from WineXpert and it was good stuff, quick to drinkability too. And I don't even like chardonnay usually! reds do benefit from aging. i made the WE chianti as my first wine, and it was very 'floral' at first, but at 6 months it...

ditto. use the frozen kind that doesn't have sorbate in it (the frozen ones *usually* don't have sorbate) TreeTop is what I used for a frozen juice wine and it turned out alright. cheaper than welches.

What was the OG? How much juice comes in the kit? (2gallons? 3? 4? non-concentrate kit?) the way it feels will still change...it won't necessarily gain body, but the perception will change, especially since its not degassed yet. I haven't done the banana soup but as I understand it, I think...

the grolsch part is the hard part to believe...everyone always complains about the swing tops not carbing. you must be keeping the bales nice and tight though. Hell i have 3 bottles of mead that are corked, and they are 11 years old and show slight carbonation (this was made before I knew...

probably more than 20 feet, but that's what I was quoted. Its ALL about putting the right amount of resistance in the line to throttle back the psi at the right rate. Another option though is to just put more resistance inside the dip tube. You can buy an Epoxy mixing nozzle 'stick' or two...

in a word, no. honey is 'just sugar' and ferments pretty completely just like corn sugar/dextrose. cooler temps and thicker finaly gravities would likely hold more gas in solution.

try searching Google for 'gruit' it is the process of making beer and not using hops, but other herbs for bittering. I have heard of using spruce tips, but I don't think that's something you'd find in India either.

I have not done much for soda, but root beer is probably better carb'd with 30psi at 40F. Soda pop's CO2 volumes are higher than beer. But its all according to your taste. the problem with 30psi is you'd need 20 feet of tap line to balance the pressure, or you'd fill mugs of flat, foamy...

It varies on the style really. In general terms, the darker the beer, OR the more hops used, OR the higher the alcohol content...increases the shelf life and stability. That's why you see aged and oaked Stout beers...however a kolsch or hefe or a wit should be drank fairly young. Same reason...

There is nothing wrong. You took a deep breath of CO2 from the bucket, which has a very acrid odor and it will 'burn' the nostrils and take the breath away from you when its really concentrated. CO2 is heavier than atmospheric air so it hangs out in the bucket for a while.

Thanks. seemed like a reasonable amount to use. If I wasn't on a time crunch due to my flight, I'd have degassed and just waited for a response "use X tsp of sulfite".

So I'm flying to Denver for a week, and degassed my WE merlot today. I went to add the k-meta and sorbate to water...the k-meta packet was flat, but sealed. Opened and it was clean as a whistle. I'm not sure how much was supposed to be in there. Its a 6 gallon kit. The instructions do say...

a) usually frozen is less likely to have preservatives. its also often cheaper. b) really depends, though a friend of mine likes to use 1 cherry concentrate for every 3 grape cans. c) I didn't sanitize the must. If you're using bottled spring water and cans of concentrate, and pitch enough...

Young wine, that's all. Really any red should sit 4-6 months minimum. Whites are usually ready sooner. it all varies...but usually the minor 'off taste' is just 'young wine'.