What R you doing today?

[vinny]

I took the time to actually set up my fermenting fridge. I swapped the humidifier for a smaller one. tied up the control panel, and added a rack from the smoker to be able to hang much more. I doubled capacity easily, and I am already noticing that if I were to get the rack higher I could likely do 2 layers. That's a ton of cured meat, so barring the expansion I am pressing on with production.

I smoked a salmon the other day. It came off the smoker around bed time so no pictures. I also cold smoked a few blocks of aged cheddar. They are vacuum packed to mellow for a couple of weeks. By the time I was about finished the last block it started to mellow and blend into a much nicer flavor, so this time I am holding from the start.

I mighta snuck a fe chunks of Parmesan in their too!


This morning I started biltong. South African air dried jerky. I have never tasted it, but the fan club is huge. You dry it in steaks and cut against the grain to serve. Very different and very fun! vinegar, worster, corriander, pepper, and pepper flakes. Similar to droewors, but quite different when ready... They say!

A few days to absorb all of the flavors, then air dried 5 days or so in the biltong box. I love delicious experiments!

 

[ceeaton]

Bought a new car back in February. Had a corolla that had a bit of rust, too expensive to fix it (was a 2008 just shy of 300K miles). So was lucky enough that my dealer had another one, black, not my favorite color, but it's a hybrid (currently 64.6 mpg) and a very nice car. Since it was manufactured in November, it's past the 6 month date you have to let the paint cure before using a paint treatment on it (liquid glass for me). Didn't do the glass today, but after replacing a side view mirror in my brothers driveway (paved, easier to find pieces parts if you drop them) my brother decided to show me his car washing technique that uses minimal water with no hardness (rain and RO water). Image after washing, before I just pretreated with a cleaner to remove any oxidation on the paint surface. Looks brand new, and black does look pretty good when clean....

 

[vinny]

I love a black vehicle when it is clean, but I hate how short it lasts. In Alberta some days I can't even get it home clean. I am driving a white truck now. Lacks character, but it looks clean!

 

[vinny]

First taste of homemade capicola today. Needs a little more time I think. I will keep eating it as it progresses to find my sweet spot. Sacrifices must be made!

 

[vinny]

Biltong is hung and drying.

 

[ibglowin]

 

[Hazelemere]

racking and sulphiting Australian Orange Muscat and Chilean Viognier, at the end of ferment, off of bentonite to put in my walk in cooler if SG ~0.992 and on my wine carboy bench if the SG is >~0.994 to drop tartrates before reracking and adjusting free sulphite level to ~25-30 ppm due to sulphite stripping by trace bentonite that hasn't settled.

I racked one carboy of each varietal and my sone in law will rack the balance tomorrow. SG=0.992 so they are done fermenting. I added 1/4 tsp potassium metabisulphite to each 25 bottle carboy which gets the free sulphite to about 22 ppm. So they shouldn't oxidize over 60 days in the cooler when they drop tartrate crystals plus a trace ultrafine suspended. They are difficult to taste due to bentonite traces which makes them a tiny bit bitter and more acidic to the palate. Having said that the flavours and smell should be fine. We'll retaste them when we re-rack them out of the cooler probably in mid-August. At that time we can taste them with and without Washington Sheridan Chardonnay to try improve the Chardonnays (make them more fragrant and interesting.)

 

[winemaker81]

Update on my homemade total kill weed killer -- it was about 95% effective. A little bit is growing back, which probably indicates those blades didn't get coated.

I'm going to mow that area very short and give it a couple of weeks to see what grows back. At that time I'll make another batch and spray again.

There are some plants in that area I want to preserve -- vines are a PITA in my area. Fortunately these are not brambles -- I lost a weekend 20+ years ago cleaning the brambles (vines with thorns) out of that area. Also lost a fair amount of blood and destroyed a pair of work gloves.

That's a different weekend's "fun" ...

 

[Kraffty]

I Bought all the supplies today to run an electric wired fence around my vines to protect from Javalina but have one concern. My vineyard area has approx. 3" on gravel as ground cover and I'm not sure if it conducts electricity well enough to complete the circuit and deliver a shock or if I'm going to need to rake back all the rock in front of the fence. It's only about 100' of fence line. Anyone have any experience or suggestions they can share?

 

[ChuckD]

I Bought all the supplies today to run an electric wired fence around my vines to protect from Javalina but have one concern. My vineyard area has approx. 3" on gravel as ground cover and I'm not sure if it conducts electricity well enough to complete the circuit and deliver a shock or if I'm going to need to rake back all the rock in front of the fence. It's only about 100' of fence line. View attachment 113347Anyone have any experience or suggestions they can share?

Run alternating grounded wires and hot wires. When they try to squeeze through they touch both for a really big surprise

 

[David Violante]

Run alternating grounded wires and hot wires. When they try to squeeze through they touch both for a really big surprise

This is what I do in my apiary ~ works quite well.

 

[wood1954]

Sprayed fungicide in the vineyard using my Milwaukee powered backpack sprayer. First time in two years I’ve put it on my back. I’ve been working out regularly for two years and can carry it easily now, no more dragging it around in a cart. Very hot and humid weather coming up for the next week so used systemic and protectant fungicides. Tebuconazole, captan and phostrol.

 

[Hazelemere]

I'm looking for advice to make a raspberry wine that tastes as good as this Thornbury cider:


I'd use russet and/or King and/or cox and/or Russet juice chaptalized with cane sugar to ~SG 1.085. I have my own organic raspberries and would use 6 lbs frozen per Imperial gallon of water plus 3 lbs sugar. I can buy organic cacao nibs and would soak them in a finished wine like oak cubes unless any of you have a better idea. I can buy 1/2 lb bags of organic cacao nibs.

 

[Rice_Guy]

I'm looking for advice to make a raspberry wine that tastes as good as this Thornbury cider:
I'd use russet and/or King and/or cox and/or Russet juice chaptalized with cane sugar to ~SG 1.085. I have my own organic raspberries and would use 6 lbs frozen per Imperial gallon of water plus 3 lbs sugar. I can buy organic cacao nibs and would soak them in a finished wine like oak cubes unless any of you have a better idea.

- for chocolate flavor I would use cocoa powder in the primary or an extract of cocoa powder once aged. Cocoa is a high foam dirty ingredient to work with, the extract is clean. Much of chocolate is a balance of sweet and bitter flavor notes. For the US market milk chocolate also has some vanilla aromatics, consider bench testing a drop in a glass. Dutch process has bitter roast notes, fruity notes are part of unprocessed cocoa.
- Kingston Black has bitter notes, the bitter in cocoa with Kingston sounds excessive. A Russet apple juice with fruity notes will fit along with raspberry and cocoa.

 

[Hazelemere]

how would you

- for chocolate flavor I would use cocoa powder in the primary or an extract of cocoa powder once aged. Cocoa is a high foam dirty ingredient to work with, the extract is clean. Much of chocolate is a balance of sweet and bitter flavor notes. For the US market milk chocolate also has some vanilla aromatics, consider bench testing a drop in a glass. Dutch process has bitter roast notes, fruity notes are part of unprocessed cocoa.
- Kingston Black has bitter notes, the bitter in cocoa with Kingston sounds excessive. A Russet apple juice with fruity notes will fit along with raspberry and cocoa.

How would you use it and how much would you dose?

 

[ChuckD]

- for chocolate flavor I would use cocoa powder in the primary or an extract of cocoa powder once aged. Cocoa is a high foam dirty ingredient to work with, the extract is clean. Much of chocolate is a balance of sweet and bitter flavor notes. For the US market milk chocolate also has some vanilla aromatics, consider bench testing a drop in a glass. Dutch process has bitter roast notes, fruity notes are part of unprocessed cocoa.
- Kingston Black has bitter notes, the bitter in cocoa with Kingston sounds excessive. A Russet apple juice with fruity notes will fit along with raspberry and cocoa.

How would you make your own cocoa extract?

 

[Jovimaple]

How would you make your own cocoa extract?

I soak cacao nibs in vodka for a few months but the extract turns out more dark bitter chocolate, almost ending toward coffee. I imagine cocoa powder in vodka would do the same but a bit different flavor profile.

 

[Raptor99]

I found a good explanation of how to make chocolate extract: https://chemistrycachet.com/how-to-make-chocolate-extract/

 

[Jovimaple]

I found a good explanation of how to make chocolate extract: https://chemistrycachet.com/how-to-make-chocolate-extract/

Yes, that's the method I use. It's definitely not a milk chocolate flavor, but it's still good!

 

[ceeaton]

Celebrating that my wife passed her NCLEX nursing boards on the first try after 10 years of part time schooling. She's celebrating by taking the dog to the vet, I'm taking my youngest daughter to work, lol.

Got her a bottle of her favorite commercial blueberry wine (Moon Dog Cellars Murphy's Blueberry wine) and she took a raincheck on dinner out tonight. Hopefully this weekend we can really celebrate!

That lays the ground work for me retiring sooner than later...