7
votes
Can methanol be formed when brewing a rice wine?
Interesting. This is the first I've really looked into this. A quick Google search led me to a study by the US National Library of Medicine National Institutes of Health. This study found that ...
- 3,417
7
votes
Accepted
Can methanol be formed when brewing a rice wine?
Agreeing with dmtaylor and the references he quoted, but adding a few foot notes:
Saccaromyces Cerevisiae (beer/bread yeast) and S. Bayanus (wine/distilling yeast) are genetically incapable of ...
- 2,480
6
votes
What can I use for a small-batch fermentation vessel?
Depends on batch size. If your doing 2-3 gallons. I would recommend using glass 1 gallon jugs from wine or Apple juice.
The cheeseball containers I believe are made from the same foodgrade plastic as ...
- 18.5k
6
votes
What can I use for a small-batch fermentation vessel?
If you live near a good juice bar or restuarant that serves smoothies, ask the sales clerk if they have any empty glass jugs. Many drinks have an apple juice base and organic apple juice often ships ...
- 650
6
votes
Accepted
How can I minimize methanol/fusel alcohols in wine?
Make sure you have a healthy yeast in the proper pitch amount.
Ferment primary at the cold end of the yeast strains tolerance.
A long secondary / aging helps break down fusel alcohols.
Yeast needs ...
- 18.5k
6
votes
Accepted
What happens to artificial sweeteners in wine?
Generally speaking "nothing happens" to artificial sweeteners in the initial wine fermentation (eg the first month). I have fermented various beverages with artificial sweeteners and in general the ...
- 5,631
5
votes
Difference between 'brewing' beer and wine?
IMHO the most discernible difference between beer and wine is the use of grain and grapes/fruit. Beer tends to be grain based - think Reinheitsgebot. However it can be difficult to decide if cider is ...
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5
votes
How to know *when* to rack off gross lees?
FYI I have not made wine before, but I do have a friend at a shop that has.
She states to rack after vigorous primary fermentation.
from my research, gross lees is the first lees after fermentation. ...
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5
votes
How to know *when* to rack off gross lees?
Gross lees are basically the precipitated fruit/vegetative matter that were mixed with the juice when initially added to the fermenting vessel. Over time this stuff will settle to the bottom of the ...
- 5,631
5
votes
Is it possible to decontaminate wine?
No don't boil it!
Chances are you are fine at this point. Bacteria just don't hang around lonely old clothespins much. Without knowing what type yeast you pitched, I can't give a solid answer, but if ...
- 511
5
votes
Fermented juice with potassium sorbate
Preservatives make it harder to ferment but not impossible.
Sounds like your yeast has been able to ferment so I think you should be fine to carry on as normal. You may have saved it by putting in two ...
- 377
4
votes
I took the airlock off for just a couple of seconds, will it ruin my wine?
Your wine should be fine. The alcohol and the acidity should be high enough to kill all the bugs.
- 2,466
4
votes
Red wine recipies
Recipe:
Grape Juice
Yeast
Making wine is more about process than recipe. With the exception of quality ingredients. Standard table grapes don't really make decent wine. This becomes incredibly ...
- 36.2k
4
votes
Sulfur Smell from Fermentor
I got a little carried away here, so here's a quick summary.
TL;DR: Your yeast was probably either A) nutrient starved, B) Fermenting at too high of a temperature, or C) a combination of both. ...
- 629
4
votes
Should I rinse my grapes before crushing?
One can wash the grapes to remove "detritus from the field" but it is not really necessary unless the grapes are horribly soiled - and then one might ask why one is making wine from them anyway! But ...
- 5,631
4
votes
Accepted
Will supermarket fruits make a good wine?
The problem with much fresh "Supermarket fruit" is that it is usually picked early and is usually unripe. If one can find "ripe" or "over ripe" fruit in a supermarket then IMHO that is the fruit one ...
- 5,631
4
votes
Accepted
If you make wine in higher quantities, is there a higher chance of contamination?
No, the process is the same. If you sanitize everything correctly, you do not have more chances of spoilage, it will only take more time to rack and bottle.
Make sure you have the right size ...
- 4,806
4
votes
Accepted
How to know *when* to rack off gross lees?
According to Daniel Pambianchi, in his book Techniques in Home Winemaking :
the wine should not be left for too long on its gross lees to avoid potential spoilage... the gross lees consist mainly ...
- 4,806
4
votes
Making wine from vine grapes
First let me say you can pretty much make wine from all grapes, just some of that wine will be better than others.
If I had a picture of the leaves, I could probably tell if it's wine grapes or not, ...
- 3,012
4
votes
My mead wont stay carbonated!
If you are otherwise happy with the carbonation level of the mead, once it is capped and in the bottle your options are limited. Chilling it before opening, and avoiding agitating it are about your ...
- 608
4
votes
Does humidity matter for ageing wine in screw top bottles
No it does not. When it comes to screw caps, the things important to keep away from aging wine in a screwcap bottle are light, heat and motion. If oxygen can't penetrate the cap, how could humidity? ...
- 3,012
4
votes
Fermented juice with potassium sorbate
Potassium sorbate doesn't really kill off the yeast, it just stops it from reproducing. The bubbling can indicate active fermentation, but a better way to check if anything is happening is to sample ...
- 771
3
votes
can I use granulated sugar in place of brewing sugar?
You absolutely can. I do it all the time and have done it dozens of times. No problem at all.
- 33.4k
3
votes
Accepted
After adding sparkolloid to homemade wine in a carboy, how do I remove the liquid without stirring up the lees?
You need to upgrade your equipment by a few dollars. Get yourself what's called a "racking cane". Your siphon tubing attaches to it. Because it is stiff you have better control of the end of the tube, ...
- 975
3
votes
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Secondary for ciders and wines
I wouldn't say it is a consensus, although it is not required all the time, there are cases where racking is usefull for beer as well: What's the point of secondary fermentation?
A big difference ...
- 4,806
3
votes
What would happen if you took raw grape juice and covered but did not refrigerate?
Tobias has a good answer, but I want to add more information.
what would happen to the juice?
Knowing that grape skin contains wild yeast, it is likely to ferment on its own, the temperature ...
- 4,806
3
votes
Sterilising tips?
As Pepi noted in the comments it would take a serious infection to be noticeable in 24 hours (Just think how long it takes yeast to get going and that is supplied into fermentable at a huge number of ...
- 31
3
votes
What happens to remaining sugar when wine is converted to vinegar?
Simply exposing a wine that was inoculated with wine yeast to oxygen doesn't create acetic acid. You need to inoculate with some acetic acid bacteria as well.
Acetic acid bacteria can ferment both ...
- 36.2k
3
votes
How can I minimize methanol/fusel alcohols in wine?
Methanol is formed when fermenting beverages high in pectins - eg grapes and berries. The methanol comes from the pectin, which mainly composed of methyl esters of galactose. When pectin breaks down, ...
- 511
3
votes
Accepted
Degassing and it's effects on yeast
I have tested this personally and have not been able to record any perceivable differences in SG readings. Sometimes degassing will invigorate a slow ferment but nothing more than a good stir would. I ...
- 511
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