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How You Should, and Should Not Clean Your Wine Press.(Post)
Deep in the heart of every wine lover, there is a hidden desire to make your own vintage entirely from scratch. For many, making wine means more than just getting drunk. It’s a labor of love that req ...
The Super Transfer Pump: Transferring your Beer and Wine Was Never So Easy(Post)What if you no longer had to move full carboys, position them on tables for gravity siphoning or lift them off the floor when they are full? Better yet, what if you could do this without the need for ...
Don't Use Specialized Cleaners? It Might Explain the Off Flavors in Your Beer and Wine(Post)You’ve got all the best ingredients to make your wine and beer, but there's one thing you might be overlooking - the cleaners specifically designed for your beer and winemaking equipment.
The Ongoing Battle Against Bacteria In Beer Making(Post)If you feel like you're fighting a losing battle to avoid bacterial contamination in your beer making process, you're not alone. Bacteria can thwart your beer at any stage of brewing, from the raw ma ...
The Glass Carboy: A Beer and Winemaker's Best Friend That Has Trust Issues(Post)If you've found your way here, you're probably looking for some inside scoop on the enigmatic glass carboy, that bulbous, necked vessel that's as integral to the home beer and winemaking process as f ...
Can Dirty Airlocks Spoil My Wine and Beer?(Post)Professor Dumbledore taught Harry Potter that dark magic leaves traces. Don't let your previous batch haunt your new one with a dirty airlock. You might take many steps to ensure good resul ...
The Essential Brew Pot for Stove Top Homebrewing(Post)If you are brewing beer at home, this is the bare minimum you should have. A dedicated brew pot is not a luxury or an upgrade. It is foundational equipment. A 20 quart brew pot like this one is speci ...
Why You Need a Healthy Relationship With Your Hoses(Post)The Need for Frequent Replacement Let’s talk about hoses. Flexible. Clear. Innocent looking. Always hanging there quietly, like they have never done anything wrong in their entire lives. They l ...
Tired of Scrubbing Tough Bottle Stains? (Post)Preparing your bottles is not on the list of fun tasks for the wine and beer maker. You do it because you must, but it’s not exactly as gratifying as punching down your must cap or watching your wort ...
Sweet Choices: Corn Sugar vs. Granulated Sugar in Fermentation(Post)Whether you’re brewing beer or making wine that require sugar additions, one of the first questions you’ll face is: What kind of sugar should I use? If you are a winemaker working from gr ...
Don't Use your Pasta Pot to Boil your Wort(Post)As a budding home beer maker, you're eager to dive into the world of brewing and concoct your own delightful brews. But before you transform your kitchen into a mini brewery, it's important to unders ...
Beer Before Hops: An Ancient Roman Recipe!(Post)In an earlier post, you got a brief history of how hops came to be an essential component in beer making. But it is known that beer making goes much farther back than 8th century Germany, so what was ...
New to Wine and Beer Making? Try Kits.(Post)If you’re interested in making beer and wine, but you’re worried about how to start, you’re not alone. From the outside, it can seem very daunting. You might follow social media pages or forums and f ...
Two Malts, One Color, Completely Different Beer(Post)It is easy to assume that grains with similar Lovibond ratings will behave similarly in your beer. After all, the number is precise. It suggests control. If two malts sit in the same color range, the ...
Too Many Carboys Around? Invest in a Filtering System. (Post)As you make more wine and wait for gravity to clear it, carboys are probably encroaching on your living space. The faster you get your wine in the bottle, the sooner you can drink it. The Buon Vino ...
Removing Chlorine and Chloramine from Tap Water for Beer Making(Post)If you are a homebrewer, you are likely using tap water. If you have had results with plastic, medicinal or band aid off flavors and aromas, chlorine and chloramine are the causes. While brewers can ...
Grow Your Inner Brewmaster: Embrace the Kombucha Craze(Post)As a home-brew aficionado, you've conquered the realm of crafting tantalizing beers and exquisite wines. But have you ever contemplated venturing into the effervescent world of kombucha? This ferment ...
Brewing with Flaked Maize: It's Not as Corny as You Think(Post)Let’s embark on a journey into the magical world of Flaked Maize. You might be wondering, "What the heck is Flaked Maize, and why should I care?" Well, strap in, because we're about to take a deep di ...
Mastering Must Preparation for Apples, Stone Fruits, and Berries(Post)A Practical Guide for Late Summer and Early Fall Harvests As the late-summer harvest arrives, many home winemakers look beyond grapes to apples, pears, peaches, plums, cherries, and berries. While th ...
To Barrel or Not to Barrel? Alternatives for Oaking Your Wine(Post)Oak has been an important part of winemaking for centuries, and its influence can be felt in many of the world's most beloved wines. Oak aging, or barrel aging, gives wines complex flavors and aromas ...
The Great Divide: Why Home Winemakers Should Separate Equipment for Malolactic Fermentation(Post)There is a lot of debate and mystique surrounding Malolactic Fermentation, AKA MLF. The allure of creamier mouthfeel and more rounded acidity are almost irresistible intrigues. However, if you have t ...
The Value of Individual Powdered Acids to Adjust Wine Acidity(Post)Let's dive into the fascinating role individual powdered acids can play in your winemaking process. Acidity is the structural foundation in your favorite bottle of wine, providing balance, enhancing ...
You, Mead, and a Journey Through Time(Post)If you like to make wine and beer but you want to give something complete different a try, you might want to venture into the world of mead! If you've got a taste for the extraordinary, a thirst for ...
How to Select Yeast for Beer and Winemaking(Post)Yeasts are not the same. There are many choices and there is a good reason for it: each has its own special style. Yeast makes beer and wine, not us, so it is important to get the right one for the j ...
Stuck Fermentation or Infected Wine? Fortification Turns a Setback Into Art(Post)You open your fermenter and something feels wrong. The airlock has gone quiet too soon. Your gravity has stalled at 1.028 and refuses to move. Or worse, a thin pellicle has formed across the surface.
Barley: The Muscle Man of Beer Making(Post)Barley, the humble grain, has been the cornerstone of beer making for centuries. Its first documented use dates back to 5,000 BC in ancient Iran, making it one of the oldest cultivated grains in huma ...
How Much Oxygen Does Your Wort Really Need?(Post)There is a moment in every brewer’s life when the hobby stops being “boil sugary grain tea and hope for the best” and becomes something sharper, stranger, and more satisfying. Maybe ...
The Magic of Brown Sugar and How You Can Make It(Post)Today, we're diving into the sweet, sticky world of brown sugar and how it can transform your homemade beer and wine into something truly special. If you’ve ever wondered why your brew doesn’t have t ...
Unraveling the Tannin Tapestry: A Colorful Guide to Grape Seeds, Stems, and Skins for Home Winemaking(Post)Tannins can be scary. When overpowering, they can leave you feeling like Wiley Coyote after a dose of Acme alum. But when they are right, tannins can be intrinsic to red wine. They add a lot of flavo ...
How All-Grain Brewing Lets You Control Sugar and Beer Body(Post)A Hands-On Guide to Sugar Control Through Three All-Grain Beer Kits Most brewers start by focusing on what goes into their beer. Ingredients matter, but as you gain experience, you begin to realize t ...