Recent content by A-man

I'm of the opinion of adding to the secondary in a bag where you have greater control of the final intensity. With cloves and cinnamon, less is usually more.

I recently did an experiment with OB honey, OYL-052 and lactose trying to end up with a creamy, peachy-apricot mead. Taste test after primary fermentation was a little disappointing. I did not get nearly as much stone-fruit character from the OYL-052 (the "Conan" strain) as hoped but the yeast...

If you're going to use a sugar alcohol to backsweeten use Erythritol over Xylitol. Erythritol is much less likely to cause GI distress (cramping and diarrhea) than Xylitol, but whichever you choose do bench testing and use only as much as you need and not more. Sugar alcohols draw water into the...

Searching the Scott Lab site, M2 yeast may be a good choice. I would add the lavender to the secondary to have more control over the strength of the addition. Just add it in a hops bag or similar and taste as you go to know when to remove it.

Found a tidbit: https://wildflowermeadows.com/2017/06/laurel-sumac/ Given the above, you might try https://www.honeypacifica.com/cold-packed-cases/ for a California Sage, though it doesn't look dark from the pic. As for the company, I can vouch for the high quality of their raw honey though if...

In general, the best honey is raw, unpasteurized. Which is pure honey from the comb filtered but unheated above 90-95 F and never with added sugars like corn syrup. Beyond that it is a matter of tasting different varietals and matching any added adjuncts you want to use.

That's right but if you are unable to test for pH you need a workaround to try for a restart thus the recent discussion.

Temp range for D47 is 15-20C. I agree demineralized water could be a big part of the problem.

Should work essentially the same. You're still pitching good yeast into a possible problem batch.

Yeah if it's drinkable it doesn't really matter. The oxygenation is a good point though. If you're fermenter is full that's going to be difficult without splitting the batch anyway.

I'm assuming you can't check pH - I don't have a pH meter myself but it's one of those things you check when you get a jacked up fermentation. Does it smell off? You might try cold crashing it and racking it off all the stuff that's in it now, or even just a quart/liter sample of it, and start...

Good hunting to you. I'm going to try and adapt a braggot recipe in the Wee Heavy/Old Hardhead style.

I have some California buckwheat that is very malty and rich tasting. I see a braggot in my near future.

Just throwing this out for nostalgia sake I guess. Back in the 90's, Rikenjaks was a microbrewery in Jackson, LA that brewed a scotch ale called Old Hardhead that was fantastic. It was on tap at Cooter Brown's in New Orleans (Riverbend area) and I used to drink the kegs empty. I see Rikenjaks...

Anyone have a good source to get full cone hops? Having a hard time finding what I want, specifically calypso.