ABV question in 5 gallon melomel batch

I started a melomel batch two weeks ago. Below are a list of batch details: 5 gallon batch frozen blueberries (roughly 4-5lbs per gallon) 18.5 lbs of honey (raw, unpasteurized honey from my fathers farm) 10 grams of Red Star Cote De Blanc yeast pitched with 12.5 grams of Go-ferm Staggered yeast nutrient addition (fermaid O) 0 hours : 10.9 grams 24 hours : 10.9 grams 48 hours : 10.9 grams 1/3 sugar break (roughly 96 hours) : 10.9 grams …
Category: Mac

Cloudiness in cider

Hi this is my first batch of cider from pressed apples. 28 days in, and it’s cloudy, still tastes a bit sweet, 1.020 on hydrometer, put in some pectinase enzymes, and still a bit cloudy. What should I do next? Temp is 68 F. Any info appreciated.
Category: Mac

What is Fermcap-S and what does it do?

Lately I've been doing some very large boils -- 7 gallons in a 7.5 gallon kettle. To prevent boilovers, I've been using Fermcap-s. It's great, and I've had no boilover problems, but I have no idea how Fermcap works or what's in it. What is this stuff? Other than preventing boilover and excessive kreusen, does it have any effect on my beer?
Category: Mac

New to cider making. Apples treated with lemon juice

I processed 100lbs apples for pie filling, apple butter, whole chunks with cinnamon, etc. I have a lot more in the freezer, but they were doused with lemon juice to keep them from browning until the cooking starts. Are these lemon juice doused apples good for cider making? Or should I just pick more?
Topic: cider homebrew
Category: Mac

why does my elderflower wine take so much longer than elderberry wine?

I have similar recipes fpr elderflower and elderberry wine, using six kilos of sugar to 23 litres of water. both have the same additives, yeast, acid mix and nutrient but the elderberry is ready to kill at about 3 weeks but the elderberry takes about six weeks. Both are the same temperature, I use about 2 ounces of dried flowers and 500g of dried berries.
Category: Mac

How to make malt vinegar

How should I proceed to make a good malt vinegar. In particular I would like some recipe to know what grains (or extract) I need to use, to have a really good vinegar, not just something that is sour, since it can be bought for less than a dollar at the supermarket :)
Category: Mac

c02 production during secondary fermentation

I just moved my wine from the primary fermentation bucket to a carboy with an auto siphon. I had some trouble with the auto siphon. It worked fine when I tested it out with water. But when I used it with the wine it kept needing to be re-pumped to keep it going and there was lots of little bubble production which seemed to stop the siphon action. This happened more and more near the end of the process. It …
Category: Mac

Do some beers really require special bottles due to pressure?

I recently fell in love with Green Flash's Double stout. I noticed their bottles feel significantly heavier than all my other bottles, and in looking online found this press release. I know many of the 750 ml bottles I've purchased feel more substantial as well, and Maredsous 8 I seem to recall being heavier (and smaller), but is there reason to choose specific bottles for specific brews, ignoring the presentation aspect? I expect that higher pressure would only be related …
Category: Mac

Fermzilla bottom valve open or shut during fermentation?

I am about to set about my first pressure fermented lager, and will be using a Fermzilla V3. This has a large valve at the base of the conical pressure vessel leading into a small jar that can be shut off and removed. When initially filling and starting the fermentation should I have this valve open or shut? (i.e. should the bottom chamber be full and open during fermentation)
Category: Mac

Is beer contaminated?

Been brewing for some years now and never had a batch go bad. But after I bottled my last brew there was a black layer on the side of the brew bucket(see picture). This layer was below the surface line of the brew when it was fermenting. It seems like there is some at the bottom of the brew bucket to. We didn't see anything while bottling, only an hour after when we had time to clean did we notice …
Category: Mac

Recipe ideas for fresh hops give to me

My friend gave me some fresh hops from his plants he harvested this past weekend. They are currently drying. The only problem is that he mixed three varieties in one bag. He wrote onto the bag it mighht make a good pilsner. He said it was roughly 40% cascade 40% Willamette and 20% East Kent golds. Ive been brewing about 4 years and have never made a pilsner with anything but saaz. I brew 5G batches. I would think they …
Topic: hops homebrew
Category: Mac

A couple of Sugar Questions

I have read a lot of the "normal sugar" vs "brewing sugar" questions, and I think I'm there with an answer but I wanted to just get it verified as I'm new to this. I have a beer kit, with 3kg of malt. It says to then add an additional 1kg of brewing sugar to take the abv from 5.5% to 7%, this is optional. My questions are: I'm happy with around the 6% mark, so can I just add …
Category: Mac

What is this white stuff on the surface of my beer?

I've just gone to rack & bottle a witbier that has been in primary for about 5 weeks and noticed this white gunk floating on top of the beer. It doesn't look too healthy, what is it? Is it safe? I'm hoping it's just some undisolved dry wheat extract or dry krausen. EDIT: After bottling / kegging the brew tasted & smelt fine - great in fact.
Category: Mac

Long distance corney keg transport

So question: I have movers taking my stuff 1200+ miles, about a week of travel. I have two corneys with finished beer in them. One is almost done and I'll empty in time. The other is 99% full. I hear transport trucks get very hot. If I let the beer come to room temp and purge to keep the pressure low, I should hopefully be ok right? I'd hate to have to throw a party and to finish a whole …
Category: Mac

Lowering Est FG before Brew

I am planning out a Saison and trying to hit the traditional guideline numbers.... I need to get the East Final Gravity down below 1.008 - I am currently way too high. The changes I keep thinking to make aren't changing things how I was hoping and was hoping for advice to get the correct adjustment. Was going to use Wyeast #3724 Belgian Saison. Currently have a 1.061 Est OG and 1.015 Est FG. Grain Bill is currently: 6 lb. …
Category: Mac

Why do we want an oxygen rich environment for Kombucha but not for Beer?

I recently started brewing Kombucha and one thing I noted is how they tell you it's required to do open vessel fermentation. The main reason why I am asking is because I wanted to ferment it under pressure in a keg, but based on what I can read - that's not advised as it can kill the scoby. So what's the difference why beer can be fermented under pressure and Kombucha can't?
Category: Mac

Using Pine with Beer

The only other topic I found on this was here: Using pine in beer - it was asked nearly 10 years ago and didn't have the answers. Does anyone have experience with using pine in their brewing and if so, What was your method and how much (even roughly) would you say is an ideal ratio of beer/pine? Anything else you can say based on your experience with using pine with brewing? I'm keen to experiment but want to make …
Category: Mac

Expired seamoss, need answers

Will expired seamoss harm you? Is it harmful to use?? The gel still looks like when i bought it, and shows no Signs of decay. But it’s about a week past the expiration date. Just wondering is it bad to use?
Topic: help homebrew
Category: Mac

Brewing a NEIPA under pressure: magnet in dry hop bag is stuck to the tilt hydrometer. Should I open & remove?

I'm brewing a NEIPA in a Kegland Fermzilla under 10psi of pressure, and I planned to have 2 dry hops without depressurizing or opening the fermentor. I have a tilt hydrometer in the fermentor and things have been going well so far - dropped from 1.06 to 1.026 in 4 days. The first dry hops I prepared in a bag containing a magnet so that I can pull away the magnet from the outside and drop the bag into the …
Category: Mac

No pre-fermentation gravity reading

I didn't take a gravity reading before my cider started to ferment. The recipe I followed said it would yield a ~9% cider, however I only put in about 85% of the sugar it specified. Is there any way to get an accurate ABV reading after it's completed its fermentation?
Category: Mac

Fermentation growing too fast for bin

I started fermenting my first batch of turbo cider yesterday (10/07/2022). I'm using this this 5L fermentation bucket but the foam has already creeping up to the lid. It's very hot in England right now, which is speeding up the brewing process. With the foam at the level it is only after 24 hours, I really think I need to pour my fermenting cider into a larger bin. Will this cause harm to the brew? Should I do something else …
Category: Mac

new CO2 leak at regulator connection

I had to exchange my first CO2 tank and when I went to connect the regulator to the new tank I am able to screw it on but there is still a leak from the connection not matter the tightness. Is this something that I can fix or is this a problem with the tank?
Category: Mac

Did I totally mess up making mead for my first time?

I read several recipes and talked with people at my local brew shop and thought I had a pretty good idea of how to make my first batch of mead but after I've already got it going I'm now over thinking and wondering if I did it wrong. Currently I'm making 1 gallon and have mixed 3 pounds of honey with the water to make up a gallon as I want it on the sweeter side. I was instructed to …
Category: Mac

Beginner advice on hop weights, scheduling and "alcohol taste"

I haven't brewed in a couple of years and am getting back up to speed. I'm starting off with a small 10L fermentation using extract. Azacca (11.9% AA), citra (12.8% AA) and lemondrop (5% AA) hops + Belle Saison yeast - you can probably guess the style I'm aiming for - hoppy, fruity, citrussy saison. Target IBU of 100. 0.25kg extra light DME at the start of the boil, hot break. 1.75kg extra light DME late addition 15m before flame …
Category: Mac

Cold Brew Coffee with Ginger bug fermentation

I like experimenting with different liquids aside from ginger tea and was wondering if cold brew coffee would be viable for a fermentation. I was not sure if the acidity of the instant coffee would prevent the ginger bug from feeding off the sugar, or if some other reaction would make it unpalatable or unsafe. Thank you :)
Category: Mac

Turbo Klar white foam?

I am using some turbo klar and a white foam is appearing after adding the A packet. I left the turbo klar in a cold room over winter so it probably froze and thawed multiple times. Is the turbo klar ruined? (Wasn't sure how to tag it...)
Category: Mac

Last stage before bottling. Film appeared around top edge on glass and a few bubbles on surface

My batch of wine has been stabilized, degassed, and clarified. It is in the last stage before bottling and a film has appeared on the top at the edge on the glass. Also, there are a few bubbles on the surface of the wine. It smells fine and the filmy deposit looks like a yeast overgrowth rather than bacteria. Is my wine ruined or should I bottle as usual?
Category: Mac

What contamination do I have and is it salvagable?

This is my first time posting to this forum, so if I make some edict mistakes I apologize in advance. I have brewed this recipe, https://www.homebrewersassociation.org/homebrew-recipe/beer-recipe-of-the-week-crabapple-lambicky-ale/, for the second time and this time there are white splotches coming up on top. I am fairly certain this is contamination but I am not sure what I should do. My instinct is to bottle it now and see what it tastes like when it is carbonated. This is only my second contamination …
Category: Mac

Is the gravity reading from a Tilt Hydrometer adjusted for temperature?

The reason I ask is threefold. I watched my gravity readings go up from 1.039 to 1.043 as I cooled my wort before I pitched. I noticed in the System page of my TiltPI, it says SG 15C/59F (default) When I cold crash, the gravity readings go up. When I enter the temperature and gravity reading in a hydrometer temperature adjustment calculator, the gravity is the same as before the cold crash. It seems beyond reason that this device would …
Category: Mac

Sour/musty tasting mead

My son and I tried our hand at mead for the first time... I didn't notice a lot of bubbling I thought that it wasn't fermenting correctly but my son thought differently, he's 17. Lol But when we went to bottle it after the normal 2-week. We tasted it and it tasted sour kind of musty It wasn't a good flavor. Does anybody possibly know what we could have done wrong? Thank you. On a side note he decided to …
Category: Mac

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