Hello. I just started my 1st batch on Saturday after being inspired to start home brewing by a meadery I visited on the way back home from Niagara Falls. I did about 2 weeks of research and then went to my LHBS to pick up what I needed. I was only able to find a 5 gal food grade bucket, which led to a couple issues. I read somewhere that you can find 2 gal buckets at bakeries, so I may ask around.
12 oz grape concentrate
2 lbs clover? honey
1 crabapple? cubed
1 package 71b yeast
Fill with water up to 5 qt mark in fermenter
I mostly followed the recipe the shop gave me (because it called for grape concentrate and we had some. Who am I to fight fate?), but it had a lot of either or instructions and I didn't know what % this is supposed to be or how sweet ( I don't like dry). We didn't get yeast nutrient or energizer, but I figured it'd be fine with the grape. My husband threw in a small apple from our tree ( not sure what kind - they are small, green, and sweet) for good measure. The recipe says to rack after 6 days, but that sounds too soon to me. Most recipes I've read say to rack at least 2 weeks or a month ( this recipe did not say what yeast to use - I selected the yeast based on research). Also, I forgot to prepare the yeast before hand, but the recipe said to dump it on top of the must ( which we did).
I had trouble getting the OG rating because 1) the honey wasn't mixed well 2) the hydrometer touched the bottom of the fermenter bucket (5qt in 5 gal). My best estimate is 10% potential alcohol. According to an online calculator that seems about right, but I am thinking I should add another pound or half-pound of honey because it would be dry and won't even reach the estimated ABV% of the yeast (14%).
The airlock on the fermenter hasn't bubbled, but I did peek inside because I looked on the internet about it and found that it was okay to do this during the first part of fermentation at least. It seems to be bubbling.
When I was at the LHBS I asked the lady if I needed a wine theif and she said no, so I didn't get one even though I was planning to. I am thinking I really do need one now for tasting or checking gravity, especially if I continue using the 5 gal as fermenter. However, I recently bought some apple cider ( for my next batch, a cyser) in a 1 gal glass container, so in the future I could brew 2 gal and split it in secondary.
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12 oz grape concentrate
2 lbs clover? honey
1 crabapple? cubed
1 package 71b yeast
Fill with water up to 5 qt mark in fermenter
I mostly followed the recipe the shop gave me (because it called for grape concentrate and we had some. Who am I to fight fate?), but it had a lot of either or instructions and I didn't know what % this is supposed to be or how sweet ( I don't like dry). We didn't get yeast nutrient or energizer, but I figured it'd be fine with the grape. My husband threw in a small apple from our tree ( not sure what kind - they are small, green, and sweet) for good measure. The recipe says to rack after 6 days, but that sounds too soon to me. Most recipes I've read say to rack at least 2 weeks or a month ( this recipe did not say what yeast to use - I selected the yeast based on research). Also, I forgot to prepare the yeast before hand, but the recipe said to dump it on top of the must ( which we did).
I had trouble getting the OG rating because 1) the honey wasn't mixed well 2) the hydrometer touched the bottom of the fermenter bucket (5qt in 5 gal). My best estimate is 10% potential alcohol. According to an online calculator that seems about right, but I am thinking I should add another pound or half-pound of honey because it would be dry and won't even reach the estimated ABV% of the yeast (14%).
The airlock on the fermenter hasn't bubbled, but I did peek inside because I looked on the internet about it and found that it was okay to do this during the first part of fermentation at least. It seems to be bubbling.
When I was at the LHBS I asked the lady if I needed a wine theif and she said no, so I didn't get one even though I was planning to. I am thinking I really do need one now for tasting or checking gravity, especially if I continue using the 5 gal as fermenter. However, I recently bought some apple cider ( for my next batch, a cyser) in a 1 gal glass container, so in the future I could brew 2 gal and split it in secondary.
Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk
