Hi! Okay, so around month ago I made a saison with some mixed frozen strawberries (1 week in the freezer) added to the primary fermentation (fermented with S.Cerevisiae strain). After three weeks I've transferred the beer for the secondary fermentation. After a week the beer got covered by white coating with weird white "dots" arriving in groups of few (as seen on 1st picture). I'd say it looks a bit like Pediococcus, but I have not seen those dots in …

I've been thinking of making orange wine. I have found a few recipes online, though I'm not sure if these recipes make sense. The first one: https://homefarmer.co.uk/orange-wine-recipe/ Two more: http://winemaking.jackkeller.net/reques33.asp The first recipe listed seems to use a lot of sugar - 3 pounds for 6.5 pints (I think that will come to ~ 3 litres, < 1 gallon). And then there's the juice from oranges on top of that, which will have more sugar! The first recipe on the …

I started a cider brew one week ago and when taking the gravity today it was 1.000, the starting gravity was 1.065 which according to the calculators online I have an abv of 8.5% (ish). Is it possible for my cider to have reached this abv in under a week. The bubbles where coming fast and hard all week but have died down over the last 2 days. Additional info; The brew itself is 25 litres with 20 litres of …

So I'm doing a first attempt at a Blackberry Wheat beer, per a request from a co-worker. All seems to be fine and good, however before I went to bottle I tasted it and, not unexpectedly, it is a little tart. I've noticed this before when I've done Hard Ciders or other fruit beers with strong tastes like Raspberries. I was thinking of racking to another bucket with some Splenda to try and sweeten it up (Splenda is mostly maltodextrine, …

Newbie here ... first post. Newbie brewer ... first attempt at Pineapple Beer. I'm posting my narrative, with a few questions at the end. Feel free to tell me where I could improve or change, or any words of warning. Comments and advice most actively welcomed ! Background I'm living in Cape Town, South Africa Currently under Covid-19 lockdown conditions Week #5 Sale of alcohol has been prohibited Necessity being the mother of invention ... and all that. Starting Point …

If I make 1.25 gallons of mead with Lalvin 71B, and put half in one gallon carboy for secondary and half in another gallon carboy. To fill the carboy I will use fruit juice or fresh fruit, possibly mixed with some honey. I know that by giving the yeast more sugar, they will proceed to ferment more, but will it form a considerable krausen? Also, are there any problems in doing this that I may be overlooking? I want to …

I picked some garden grown red currants a good while ago and threw them straight in the freezer without washing them. I'm planning on making wine with them soon. Most recipes I've read recommend rinsing them before crushing, but how should I go about doing this? Should I let the berries thaw first or just rinse them while frozen? Is rinsing even necessary if I'm scalding them with hot water?

For my ciders, I've always either pasteurized the juice when I've started with fruit, or else used pasteurized bottled juice. It seems to me that frozen concentrate should be a quick & dirty (well, hopefully not too dirty) method for incorporating different fruit juices without the hassle and expense of juicing fresh fruit. Fresh fruit can be expensive around here! So in regards to sanitation: Is it safe to use frozen (no-preservatives-added) juice concentrate for the primary, without pasteurizing it? …

Fermentable Sugar, e.g. Maple Syrup I brewed a Maple Stout before Christmas in which I racked the beer to a secondary fermentation vessel where I added 550g of Maple Syrup. I let it sit at 12ºC for 4 days before racking to keg. The schedule was as so: Day 0, O.G. = 1.067 Day 10, S.G. = 1.015, transfer to secondary, S.G. = ? Day 14, F.G. = 1.017, transfer to keg I didn't think to take a gravity reading …

I'm thinking about making a rye/raspberries mixed beer in a 3:1 d water (basified with Mg(OH)2 to PH 6.5)/glucose ~0.1% some flower smoke (not sure what flower yet). What yeast should I use to get a even more powerful nut/flower/fruit taste from this mixture and get a ~7% alcool percentage? Also what flower should I burn? My idea is to mix ~200g powdered rye in basified water and cook at 80ºC for 1h, (at room temperature) add ~30% raspberries until …

What is the best way to add cherry flavour to cider batch? I previously tried adding whole mashed cherries to the carboy at the beginning of primary fermentation. Would it have been been to first make a simple syrup with the cherries or to simple add cherry juice?

I am making a basil-raspberry sour with WLP648 as yeast. Unfortunately I need to go on a work trip for the next 2-3 weeks and the beer has not fully attenuated fully. I was wondering if it hurts to let the beer sit on the yeast cake for another 2-3 weeks before I rack it to secondary with the fruit, or if the yeast would start falling out and settling on the bottom (meaning not enough yeast will be moved …

I had a Belgian Dubbel in primary about two weeks, ending up with a gravity of 1.016. Then 3 days ago I racked onto 5.5 lbs of cherries, leaving the yeast cake behind. I expected the residual yeast to cause additional fermentation and generate CO2, along with bubbling through airlock. I measured the gravity at 1.014, but that seems within the margin of error. This is my first fruit beer: is this progressing as it should, or should I add …

What is the best method for preparing different fruits for fruit additions into secondary fermentors? There are issues of sanitation and good fruit to wort contact, via chopping, slicing, mincing or puree.

I have about 5 gallons of regular nut brown ale (in the fermenter now) that I plan to bring to a festival. Since it is going to be served at a festival and folks will only be drinking 2 ounces at a time (and probably have decimated palates), I figured it should be very highly coconut flavored. Rather than try to get a hop bag into the fermenter, my plan was to make a grain alcohol tincture with coconut flakes, …

I intend to make a melomel based on a Polish trójniak with (sour) cherries. As we're in season, I will probably buy fresh fruit at my local grocery store or market. What I wonder about is how to best sanitise the cherries without stripping them of their flavour. I was thinking about giving them a quick Starsan bath and/or spraying them with 70% ethanol before chopping and freezing. Is this a good idea? I am aware that freezing alone will …

I've been looking for recipes for cherry vishnick and most of them involve just putting the cherries into a jar of vodka for several weeks. I'd been looking for a recipe that involves fermentation. I found one: http://pragmaticattic.wordpress.com/2009/07/19/homemade-sour-cherry-brandy-visinata-or-vishniak/ The part that involves fermentation: Put 2 cups of cherries in a really large jar with a cup of sugar. Do not pit the cherries, she warned, because the pits are critical to the fermentation process. Let the fruit and sugar ferment …

I'd like to give orange flavor and smell to my batch. When do you think is the best time to add it? Is it best to add orange while the wort is boiling or add it to primary fermentation? Thank you for your advices.

I've been thinking about making a wheat-beer with bananas and a little bit of chocolate malt. My question is can you mash bananas in the mash-tun to convert the sugars/starches and get more banana flavor into the brew? I got the idea from my wife while I was looking at a dark wheat recipe. She was making chocolate covered frozen bananas for our girls and the wheat recipe had a little chocolate malt in it. I thought 'why not accentuate …

I recently brewed a wheat beer that is now in primary fermentation. I planned on using yuzu juice after primary to give a special taste. Also, after some thought I wanted to add a little ABV (from 3.6 to around 4%) to the beer because for now I think it is too light. My question is : Do you think I can add some blond DME (around 400g) at the same time as the fruit juice (yuzu) when I transfert …