I made a blend of apple and plum wine from fruit from my trees in the backyard. I followed a very commonly used wine recipe on the web and it was bottled at 6 mo old in April. We drank the wine and it tasted good up until this week. The wine bottle we opened exploded like champagne and was a little sour. We opened the final 4 wine bottles left and they all exploded. What could be causing this? I used Campden tablets as recommended by the wine recipe to prevent spoilage. Your help is appreciated!

Connie — WI
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Hello Connie,

Your wine bottles exploding was caused by either one of two things: 1) the wine started fermenting again after being bottled, 2) the wine started spoiling, producing a bacterial growth. Without question it was one of these two things. The bigger question is why...

• If you added more sugar before bottling, then more than likely it is a matter of the fermentation starting up again — even if you added Campden tablets at bottling time. Campden tablets are not enough to guarantee that a re-fermentation will not occur again sometime down the road. Whenever sugar is added to sweeten the wine, potassium sorbate should also be added along with the Campden tablets.
   
• If you did not add more sugar before bottling, it is possible that the original fermentation did not finish completely. In other words, the fermentation stopped prematurely. This can happen for a number a reasons — the most common being a temperature change of the wine must. This is known as a stuck fermentation. The yeast did not finish the job completely before stopping. Then, weeks or month later, after the wine has been bottled it decides it will start up again. The result is your wine bottle exploding.

Again, the fermentation can stop and start for a number of reasons, but the most common one is because of a change in temperature. The wine bottles probably warmed up a bit making it easier for the wine yeast to start fermenting again. Just 5° or 10° is all that is needed. Just as before, Campden tablets added at bottling time is not enough to guarantee that you won't have your wine bottle exploding.

In the future, the easiest way to make sure that you don't have a stuck fermentation is to check it with a hydrometer. The hydrometer will tell you if there are more sugars in the wine must to be fermented, or if all the sugars are gone, and the fermentation has actually completed the job at hand, and using a hydrometer is very easy.

If none of the above is ringing any bells or if you did check your wine with a hydrometer before bottling, then it is possible that the wine bottles exploding was caused by a bacterial infection of some sort. This is not the likely scenario, but it can happen.

If you know that there was no sugar in the wine at bottling time, whether it be leftover from the fermentation or sugar you added for sweetening, then a bacterial infection could be what's going on. The one paramount factor that would rule this out is if you added Campden tablets right before bottling. Campden tablets or sulfites of any kind would easily preserve the wine from such a bacterial infection.

Wine bottles exploding is something that nobody wants to have happen, but it is completely preventable. Just be sure that if there's sugar in the wine at bottling time — whether it be from leftover from the fermentation or sugar you've added — that you add potassium sorbate to the wine. This would be in addition to the Campden tablets that should always be added. Do these things and you will not have wine bottles exploding.

Best Wishes,
Ed Kraus
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Ed Kraus is a 3rd generation home brewer/winemaker and has been an owner of E. C. Kraus since 1999. He has been helping individuals make better wine and beer for over 25 years.

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So you’ve just started homebrewing. Congrats! Now, what should you brew? With a seemingly endless list of possible beers to brew, where do you start? Here are some easy beer recipes for beginners:

1. Hefeweizen– The German-style wheat beer is often a “gateway beer” for beginning brewers. The traditional weizen yeast strain produces flavors of banana and clove. Want more clove? Keep it on the cool side. More banana? Let the fermentation temperature push to the upper end of the acceptable range, about 64-75˚F. Either way, this is a beer style that’s a great companion to warm weather, goat cheese, and citrus-flavored foods.
    
2. Brown Ale– Brown ale can be a great middle-of-the-road homebrew to enjoy year-round. It’s a malty brew, but the hop character can vary depending on your taste. American brown ales tend to have more hop flavor and aroma than English brown ales. Try a nut brown ale or even an imperial nut brown ale to highlight the nutty flavors of some specialty malts.
    
3. Stout– Stout may be the most forgiving of beer styles, due in part to the roasty malt flavors and dark color that come the use of from chocolate malt, black malt, and roasted barley. This means most stouts are easy beer recipes for beginners. These attributes can also come from dark liquid malt extract or dark dry malt extract. Depending on your tastes, you can brew a dry stout, sweet stout, imperial stout, tropical stout, or even a chocolate milk stout. Whatever you do, be sure to have some Irish stout on hand for St. Patty’s Day!
   
   
4. Kölsch– Kölsch is a great option for the homebrewer who enjoys a lighter, more delicate beer. It’s about the closest thing to a light lager while still being an ale, featuring a clear, golden color, a respectably prominent hop flavor, and a crisp, dry finish.  When brewing a German Kölsch, just make sure you can maintain control of fermentation temperatures from about 60˚F on down to about 40˚F for an authentic character.
    
5. Chipotle Porter– All beginning brewers reach a point where they want to branch out and experiment. If you like spicy foods, then this beer recipe is a great option. Just take a smoked porter recipe kit and add a small can of rinsed chipotle peppers to the boil. If the beer turns out too hot, just give it some time to age.

Do you have an easy beer recipe that would be good for beginners? Please share it below.
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David Ackley is a beer writer, brewer, and self-described "craft beer crusader." He holds a General Certificate in Brewing from the Institute of Brewing and Distilling and is founder of the Local Beer Blog.

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Hi everyone!  I hope all your home winemaking adventures are going well!

For me, I have to admit I’m somewhat confused... It has to do with mead acidity.

Backing up a second, one thing that did happen this week was that I got the shipment I ordered from ECKraus.  I ordered several items, including a new floating thermometer to replace the “sticker” one that I had previously, the Pressurized Wine Filter system, a couple of filter pads to fit in the filter system I purchased, a longer racking cane from my slightly taller carboy, and finally the Acid Test Kit.

Why am I confused?  Well, it’s related to the results of the Acid Test Kit when testing my mead.  I wanted to test it to see if there was something off about the acid levels, since the specific gravity has stopped at 1.002 (still that value when I tested the acid).  I figured I’d check the acid levels of the mead to see if maybe that needed some adjustment before moving forward, or if it’s just simple matter of jump starting any remaining yeasts.

Well, the results of the acid test showed that my mead has 0.725% tartaric acid and 4.64ppt sulfuric acid.  I calculated the TA (titratable acidity) to be 4.35g/L, based on instructions found online.

On the acid test kit instructions, it gives recommendations for different types of wine in terms of what the % tartaric and ppt sulfuric acid should be.  For white grape wine, they recommend a range of 0.65-0.75 tartaric and 4.2-4.9 sulfuric.  For red grape wine, they recommend a range of 0.60-0.65 tartaric and 3.9-4.2 sulfuric.  Finally, for fruit wine, they recommend a range of 0.55-0.65 tartaric and 3.6-4.2 sulfuric acid.

Here’s where my confusion lies:

I’m not making white, red, or fruit wines.  I’m making mead!  What in the world are the recommended acid ranges of tartaric acid and sulfuric acid for mead? Do I count it as a “white wine” because that’s what it most closely resembles?  No, that can’t be right.  It’s honey, no grapes!  Different chemistry.

Well, after a nearly fruitless search through Google, I could barely find anything that even remotely hinted at what mead acidity levels I should be looking for.  After a while, I did find a page that discussed how measuring titratable acidity in mead was actually often highly inaccurate and not a trusted way to determine acid levels in honey wine.  It is basically related to the types of sugar found in honey versus the types of sugar found in grapes or other fruits (namely: gluconic acid/gluconolactone).  Supposedly, the sugars and other compounds in the mead react much differently than those in grape or fruit wine, thus significantly skewing the true results.

So, does this mean I just wasted my time using the acid test kit to test my mead's acidity?  Well, I think it depends on how you look at it.  It might not be the best measure for acid in mead, but at least I got to practice how to perform the test!  I’m going to have to dig a little deeper on this, I think!

See All Blog Posts From Leigh Erwin

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My name is Leigh Erwin, and I am a brand-spankin’ new home winemaker! E. C. Kraus has asked me to share with you my journey from a first-time dabbler to an accomplished home winemaker. From time to time I'll be checking in with this blog and reporting my experience with you: the good, bad — and the ugly.

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At long last, the Steam Freak Special Bitter has been brewed, fermented, kegged, and is now ready to drink. Now it’s time to taste the beer and figure out if it can be improved in any way.

Here are the notes from my taste test of the Steam Freak Special Bitter beer recipe kit.
 

Tasting Notes: Steam Freak Special Bitter Recipe Kit

Final Stats:
OG: 1.048
FG: 1.017
ABV: 4.1%
IBUs: ~25
SRM: ~15

• Aroma– Primarily caramel and toffee, with just a touch of spicy hop aroma from the last minute decision to add some Cascade dry hops.
   
• Appearance– Very dense, foamy, off-white head that sticks around for at least a couple minutes. Head retention probably due in part to the Carapils malt. Medium-dark amber color, a little darker than expected, but still appropriate for the style. Somewhat hazy. I didn’t use any finings, so they will probably help next time around.
   
• Flavor– First thing I get from this beer recipe kit is the caramel/toffee malt sweetness, followed by some spicy and floral hops flavor. The beer finishes dry with a slightly mineral aftertaste.
   
• Mouthfeel– Neither too heavy nor too light – just right. Slightly dry finish.

• Overall– Overall I’m pleased with how the beer turned out. It’s well-balanced, moderate gravity, and with plenty of flavor to keep things interesting.

If I were to brew this beer recipe kit again I might consider making a few changes:

1. Move some of the liquid malt extract to a late addition and add some aroma hops during the boil. This should bring a little hop bitterness and aroma to the forefront. Any low alpha acid hop variety will do, but Kent Goldings and/or Fuggles would be two of the most authentic options.
    
2. Also, looking back over my homebrewing notes, I recall that I ran out of Irish moss. A teaspoon or two added during the last ten minutes of the boil would likely help with the haze.
    
3. I will probably not prime the keg next time. I’m glad I tried it, but I ended up pulling a good bit of yeast out of the keg for the first few pints. Good old force carbonation will work just fine.

All in all, the opportunity to brew the Steam Freak Special Bitter was a good one. I got to review some extract brewing techniques and try my hand at a style I’d never brewed before.

Which Steam Freak beer recipe kit would you like to try?
 

Read the other posts of this review! Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 |

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David Ackley is a beer writer, brewer, and self-described "craft beer crusader." He holds a General Certificate in Brewing from the Institute of Brewing and Distilling and is founder of the Local Beer Blog.

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I have been thinking about a way to protect wine from unnecessary oxidation during 2nd and 3rd rackings. Mainly, I want to get the oxygen out of the empty carboy before racking into it, but how? CO2 cartridges? Dry ice? Finally hit upon a simple idea. Since I have to top up with water anyway, why not do the "topping" first, with carbonated water. The escaping CO2, being heavier, will drive everything else out of the carboy. What do you think?

Walt — AR
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Hello Walt,

If I am understanding you correctly, you are saying to put any carbonated water needed for topping-up the wine into the empty carboy — first — before racking the wine into it. And, letting the CO2 gas from the water drive the air out of the fermenter. You would be estimating the amount of carbonated water needed for topping up. 

I commend you on your idea!

In theory, what you are saying it correct. The CO2 would slowly drive air out of the vessel. The main issue I see is getting enough of the CO2 gas to release to have any real results.

Assuming you only need to top-up the wine with a quart or less of water in a 5 or 6 gallon batch, the amount of CO2 in a quart of carbonated water is not all that great. If you need to top-up the wine with a greater amount of water than this, then you shouldn't be topping up with water at all, but rather a similar wine or some other method. Here's some more information on different ways for topping up a wine.

Absolutely, the carbonated water would drive some of the air out of the fermenter, but not nearly all of it. There's just not enough of it in a quart or less to do the job completely.

The second issue is getting all the CO2 gas to release from the water. Only a portion of the gas will release through agitation. The rest will want to stay saturated in the water. One way to get the CO2 gas to release more completely from the water would be to make sure it's warm. The CO2 gas will release more freely from warm water than cold.

Having said this, I do not see any problems with putting carbonated water in the fermenter for topping-up the wine. It will be effective in driving out some air, just marginally so.

I personally have never concerned myself with purging air from my fermenters when racking. The amount of contact time with the air is not enough to oxidize the wine in any way. Oxidation takes time. The one thing you do have to look out for is splashing. You do not want the splash the wine with racking. Fill the fermenter from the bottom up. That is, have the hose reach to the bottom of the fermenter being filled so that the hose is in the wine during the racking and not splashing.

Secondly, if you add sulfites such as Campden tablets or potassium metabisulfite to the wine after racking — as you should — you will be driving any air out of the wine and replacing it with SO2 gas in a matter of minutes.

There is nothing wrong with topping-up your wine with carbonated water. I just don't think it will be affective in purging the air out of the fermenter.

Happy Wine Making,
Ed Kraus
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Ed Kraus is a 3rd generation home brewer/winemaker and has been an owner of E. C. Kraus since 1999. He has been helping individuals make better wine and beer for over 25 years.

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Just like apple pie, baseball and Cracker Jacks, and mac & cheese, beer and football is a classic combination. For football season you need something you can drink over the course of a three-hour game, a tasty session beer that’s just as good for tailgating as it is for sharing with friends around the tube. Granted, just about any beer goes well with football, but some seem to fit the season better than others.

Consider brewing one or more of these homebrew recipe kits to enjoy throughout the football season.

• Steam Freak Buddy Light– This homebrew recipe kit delivers the ideal tailgating beer, a light American lager that’s easy to drink. A clone of Peyton Manning’s favorite beer, the Buddy Light kit will be perfect for playing cornhole, throwing the pigskin around the parking lot, and washing down a portion of burgers and brats.
   
• Steam Freak Fat Liar– Balance is the main feature of this American amber ale. Floral hops and biscuity malts combine to deliver a pleasant, drinkable, moderately hopped beer with some roasted notes to keep things interesting.
   
• Brewer’s Best German Oktoberfest– Although football is an American sport, sometimes it’s nice to enjoy some beer styles from across the pond. This malt-forward German lager fits the bill perfectly. Coming out at about 5.5% ABV with some malty sweetness and just a hint of hops, this amber beer is made for a long fall day of drinking.
   
• Steam Freak Blue Noon– This Blue Moon clone kit satisfies all the requirements of a good football beer: light, flavorful, and easy-drinking. Orange peel and coriander bring an interesting combination to the beer, while wheat gives it some body. Feel free to serve with a wedge of orange or lemon.
   
• Steam Freak Steam Stoker Stout– If you find yourself tailgating in the snow, you might be ready for a dark, roasty, higher gravity thirst quencher with a little extra alcohol to keep the cold at bay. This homebrew recipe kit delivers about 7% ABV and roughly 50 IBUs, packing plenty of punch to keep you warm well into the fourth quarter.
   
• Brewcraft Pacific Northwest Pale Ale– For the West Coast hop heads out there, this homebrew recipe kit features the classic, citrus/pine combination of Cascade and Centennial hops, supported by some toasty and malty specialty grains for a tasty malt flavor. It’s a well-balanced beer at 5.3% ABV, 54 IBUs.

What do you think – what’s the perfect homebrew recipe kit to make for football season? Tell us below!
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David Ackley is a beer writer, brewer, and self-described "craft beer crusader." He holds a General Certificate in Brewing from the Institute of Brewing and Distilling and is founder of the Local Beer Blog.

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We have a 50 gal. oak whiskey barrel we have been making wine with for several years. We are planning to skip a year because of over supply. what should we do to clean and preserve the barrel for future use? Enjoy your emails read them all.   

Mike M. — IL
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Hello Mike,

I'm glad you asked this question about storing wine barrels. Wine barrel maintenance is something that is often overlooked or ignored by the home winemaker — particularly when storing the wine barrels between uses.

The last thing you want to do when storing a wine barrel between uses is to let the it dry out. Once a barrel has been brought into service you want the wood to stay soaked and expanded for the rest of its working life. This keeps the barrel's staves tight against one another and free from leaks. Allowing the wood to dry-out and re-expand randomly with each batch of wine will eventually cause the wine barrel to start leaking if done too many times.

When storing a wine barrel between uses you will want to fill it with a water/sulfite solution. You can use either potassium metabisulfite or sodium metabisulfite. This will keep the barrel nice and tight as well as free from spoilage. You will also want to add citric acid to the water. Lowering the water's pH with citric acid will allow the sulfite in the water to be stronger and more protective. We offer a barrel sterilizing kit that has both sodium metabisulfite and citric acid along with wine barrel maintenance directions.

For a 50 gallon wine barrel we recommend using 1 lb. (16 ounces) of sodium metabisulfite and 1/2 lb. (8 ounces) of citric acid. The same proportions and ratios can be used for smaller barrels. Here's what to do:

1. Fill the barrel half way with water — cold water is fine.
2. Add the sulfite and citric acid.
3. Agitate the solution to dissolve the sodium metabisulfite and citric acid.
4. Fill the barrel the rest of the way with water.
5. Slap in the bung.

You do not want to pre-dissolve the ingredients in another container. The solution will produce fumes that you want to trap inside the barrel. When you dissolve the ingredients outside the barrel you are loosing all the fumes.

The sulfite in the barrel will need to be replenished every 6 months. You will not need to add more citric acid, but every 6 months you will need to add another full dose of sodium metabisulfite.

You will want to treat the wine barrel immediately after the wine has been emptied. Allowing the wine barrel to sit even a day or two will give time for it to sour. Once the wine is emptied, rinse and drain the barrel as many times as necessary for clear water to run out. When it's time to use the wine barrel again, simply drain and give the barrel a light rinsing.

This is the basics of wine barrel maintenance. Clean wine barrel between uses. When storing wine barrels between uses keep them full.

Happy Winemaking,
Ed Kraus
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Ed Kraus is a 3rd generation home brewer/winemaker and has been an owner of E. C. Kraus since 1999. He has been helping individuals make better wine and beer for over 25 years.

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When brewing homebrew clone recipes, yeast selection can often determine how accurately the clone represents the original beer. Luckily, many breweries are happy to share information about what yeast they use, and these yeasts are often the same as the yeast strains currently available to homebrewers. Occasionally however, a brewery will use a proprietary strain that is not available on the market. So how does a homebrew get their hands on that coveted yeast? Sometimes you need to harvest yeast from a commercial beer.

Many commercial breweries filter their beer, but once in a while you will come across a bottle or can that’s been re-fermented in the bottle – just like bottling on the homebrew level. A thin layer off yeast can be found at the bottom of the bottle or can. (Belgian brewers are famous for this; Sierra Nevada and the Alchemist’s Heady Topper are other examples.) With proper technique and impeccable sanitation, a homebrewer can actually harvest the yeast from the commercial beer, grow it into a pitchable yeast culture, and use it to create an accurate clone of a commercial beer.
 

Let me reiterate:

When harvesting a commercial yeast strain, sanitation is crucial! Wild yeasts and bacteria will leap at the opportunity to grow in your yeast starter, so don’t give them the chance. Take care in every step to avoid contaminating your yeast culture.

I recently attempted to harvest yeast from a can of Bell’s Oberon Wheat Ale. The culture is waiting for my next batch. Follow the instructions below to harvest yeast from a commercial beer:

1. Wash your hands and thoroughly clean and sanitize your workspace.
2. Before opening the bottle or can, submerge it or spray it with your sanitizer of choice and allow to dry. This will sanitize the outside of the bottle or can.
3. Prepare a sterilized mason jar, glass bottle, or flask. A drilled bung with an airlock is ideal, but at this phase, you can also just use a lid or bottle cap. Either soak the jar and its lid in sanitizer or boil in water for 20 minutes to kill off any rogue yeast or bacteria. Allow to cool to room/pitching temperature.
4. Prepare a starter wort for the yeast using 1 cup of water and 100 grams of light dried malt extract or yeast food starter. Boil them together for 20 minutes to sterilize, then pour into your jar and cool to pitching temperature.
5. Open the commercial beer and pour 90% of it into a glass. This is for you to drink and enjoy!
6. Swirl the remaining beer and yeast and pitch into your starter container. Seal and allow to ferment. If you have a magnetic stir plate, use it, otherwise occasionally swirl the starter to give the yeast oxygen so they can reproduce.
7. In a few days, you will have grown the yeast considerably, though it may be hard to detect with the naked eye. The yeast sample can be kept in the refrigerator until you’re ready to step it up. Use it as soon as possible, as it will lose viability over time. Follow the instructions for making a yeast starter to pitch your yeast culture into a five-gallon batch of homebrew!

Have you ever harvested yeast from a commercial beer? What was the beer? How did it go?
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David Ackley is a beer writer, brewer, and self-described "craft beer crusader." He holds a General Certificate in Brewing from the Institute of Brewing and Distilling and is founder and editor of the Local Beer Blog.

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Ed, I am making two recipes of Peach wine now and want to know why they call for adding the sugar incrementally instead all at once? Adding the initial amount I get a reading of 1.055. What is the reason for adding my sugars this way?...

Mark M. — GA
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Hello Mark,

It is the thinking of some home winemakers that by feeding the sugar during the fermentation you are making it easier for the wine yeast to ferment. If you add the sugar incrementally, you are less likely to have a stuck fermentation. This is because you are not ever letting the sugar concentration of the wine must get too high You put some in the wine must; the yeast ferment it into alcohol; and then you add some more.

There is some valid reasoning behind this, but it sounds like the wine recipe you are looking at is taking it a little too far.

Too much sugar in any liquid can act as a preservative. As the sugar concentration goes higher, yeast, bacteria, molds, all have a more difficult time fermenting. The is why sugar syrups do not spoil at all. The sugar concentration is so extreme that nothing can touch it.

This is true for a wine must, as well. Sugar acts as a preservative on the wine must. As the sugar concentration go up in a wine must, it becomes increasingly difficult for the wine yeast to ferment. However, if you are targeting an alcohol level of 14% or lower, you should not have any issues in this regard. The yeast can easily ferment the amount of sugar required to make 14% or less all at once. In this situation feeding the sugar to the fermentation is nothing but needless, extra work. You can go ahead and put all the sugar in at the same time.

Where this feeding the sugar during the fermentation bit originated from was winemakers who were trying to drive the alcohol up as much as they can in their homemade wine. The process of feeding sugars during the fermentation becomes necessary if you are trying to produce all the alcohol you can from the wine yeast.

The winemaker would start out by adding enough sugar to ferment 13% - 14% alcohol. As the fermentation began to run out of sugar and slow down, they would then add a little more to extend the fermentation. They would continue to add sugar in increasingly smaller amounts until the wine yeast couldn't ferment any more.

In this situation you are fighting two elements: the preservative effects of sugar and the preservative effects of alcohol. Just like when the sugar levels go up, the yeast have a harder time fermenting, the wine yeast have a harder time fermenting when the alcohol level goes up. This means that later in the fermentation thing keep getting tougher and tougher to accomplish. The increased alcohol starts to preserve the wine making the fermentation all that more sensitive to the sugar concentration levels.

I for one do not recommend driving the alcohol up with sugar for the simple reason that the wine will taste watery and out of balance. This is because of the numbing effects of alcohol on the tongue. We can no longer taste the fruit of the wine, only the hot of the alcohol.

Mark if I were in your shoes, I would forget about feeding sugar during the fermentation regardless of what the wine recipe directions say. Instead, I would simply use my hydrometer to determine how much sugar to add to end up with a wine that's 12% or 13%. Just keep adding sugar until the potential alcohol scale on the hydrometer reads the somewhere in this area.

Happy Winemaking,
Ed Kraus
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Ed Kraus is a 3rd generation home brewer/winemaker and has been an owner of E. C. Kraus since 1999. He has been helping individuals make better wine and beer for over 25 years.

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Belgium has one of the oldest, most diverse, and vibrant beer cultures in the world, from the centuries-old Trappist breweries housed in monasteries to the multitude of artisanal farmhouse breweries littered throughout the countryside. It would take a very big book to list all of the varieties of beer made in Belgium, so for the purposes of this blog post, I will list some of the styles most iconic of the country and the ones you will most commonly find when home brewing Belgian style beers.

• Belgian Pale Ale– A Belgian pale ale looks very similar to it’s American cousin, but the flavor profile is all its own. For one, Belgian pale ale is lower on the IBU scale and more malt focused. Pale malts form the base of the grain bill, with some medium-colored malts like Vienna, Munich, Biscuit, and Aromatic malt providing some color and complexity. Adjunct sugars may be used to increase gravity, add flavor, and impart a dry finish. Spices may be used for additional complexity, but Belgian yeast provides the signature fruity and spicy flavors that define this style.
   
• Belgian Abbey-Style Beers (Singel, Dubbel, Tripel)– Abbey-style beers are made in the style of those crafted by the Trappist breweries, six of which are located in Belgium. These abbey beers are segregated by alcoholic strength and characterized by a range of malt flavors that may be described as toast, raisins, or dates. They may have a sweet, rum-like flavor from the use of Belgian candi sugar. An Abbey-style Belgian ale yeast provides dominant fruity and aromatic flavors. A singel may be low to moderate strength and golden in color, with a dubbel often darker and closer to 7% ABV. Belgian tripel tends to be golden, dry, herbal or floral, and 7.5-10% ABV. Consider making this Westmalle Tripel clone recipe. It's a great place to start when home brewing Belgian style beers.
   
• Belgian Witbier– Made popular among modern drinkers by the likes of Hoegaarden and Blue Moon, Belgian wit is one of the most well-known styles of Belgian beer. Witbier, or “white beer”, is very pale in color (2-4 SRM), cloudy, and somewhat sweet with a high proportion of unmalted wheat. Orange peel and spice may contribute a refreshing, fruity complexity, but should not dominate the flavor profile. A Belgian wheat yeast strain will provide the appropriate phenolics and esters for this style.
   
• Saison– Saison is style of beer from the French-speaking part of Belgium. It’s a moderate strength pale ale brewed with a little more hops than a Belgian pale, often including adjunct grains like wheat, adjunct sugar such as cane sugar, and spices, especially coriander, orange peel, or a mix of “mystery spices”. Saison Dupont is considered one of the classics.
   
• Lambic– Lambic is a type of sour ale that should only be attempted by seasoned homebrewers. It’s characterized by a dry, acidic taste and a range of complex flavors that may be smokey or earthy. A true lambic requires a culture of wild bacteria and yeast and aging of a year or longer to achieve the appropriate flavor profile. Young and old lambic may be blended to produce gueuze, while fruit lambic may be aged on raspberries or cherries.

You will likely see a number of Belgian styles beyond those listed above, included a mashup of other common styles: Belgian stout, Belgian IPA, Belgian amber, Belgian holiday beers, Belgian specialty beers. The list above is only the common ones you will run across when home brewing Belgian style beers.

What are some of your favorite Belgian beer styles to brew?
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David Ackley is a beer writer, brewer, and self-described "craft beer crusader." He holds a General Certificate in Brewing from the Institute of Brewing and Distilling and is founder and editor of the Local Beer Blog.

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Hi everyone!

I just wanted to follow up a little more on this issue of using the acid test kit to test the acid levels in my mead.

As a reminder, from my last post the results of the acid test showed that my mead has 0.725% tartaric acid and 4.64ppt sulfuric acid.  I calculated the TA (titratable acidity) to be 4.35g/L, based on instructions found online.  According to some forums I’ve read online, measuring the titratable acidity using the acid test kit method may not be accurate for mead, since the sugars and other compounds in mead react a lot differently than those found in white and red grapes or fruit wines.

Here are some more details that I discovered about mead and how problematic it is to test the acid:

The issues are related to the unique chemistry of the honey used to create the mead.  Instead of tartaric acid, gluconic acid is the dominant acid in mead.  Where the issue lies is that in mead there is also a compound called gluconolactone that converts to gluconic acid as the pH level rises.  If you think about it, when you’re running an acid titration on a mead, you’re adding a strong base (sodium hydroxide) to your acidic solution, thus increasing the pH of the sample.  So, by adding the sodium hydroxide, the gluconolactone in the mead will actually convert to gluconic acid as the pH naturally rises during the process. 

You basically end up having to add a lot of “extra” sodium hydroxide to the sample, since acid continued to be created during the process instead of measuring ONLY the acid that was in there prior to the start of titration.  Too much base means that you are effectively overestimating the amount of acid in your mead.

If this is correct, that means the actual titratable acidity level in my mead is lower than 0.725%, but how much lower, I’m not sure.  I foolishly did not taste the wine this time around, but it still had that “odd” smell it had previously.  I’m thinking maybe the acid levels in my mead are actually too low?  What I should really do is taste the wine again, maybe add a little acid blend, then taste again a few weeks later? 

What do you all think?  Am I on the right track thinking this way about using an acid test kit on a mead?  Or am I totally off my rocker?

See All Blog Posts From Leigh Erwin

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My name is Leigh Erwin, and I am a brand-spankin’ new home winemaker! E. C. Kraus has asked me to share with you my journey from a first-time dabbler to an accomplished home winemaker. From time to time I'll be checking in with this blog and reporting my experience with you: the good, bad — and the ugly.

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When focusing on flavors in beer, hops and malt usually get the most attention, often followed by fruit, chocolate, vanilla, and wood. But creating delicate layers of taste and aroma can be as easy as brandishing your green thumb. Try brewing beer with herbs!

For me, I've found success with two herbs I'm able to grow in my backyard: rosemary and basil. Summers are hot here in North Carolina, but with a little daily attention, it's been easy for me to grow more than enough of these herbs to use as late additions to the boil. Remember: the key to unlocking the highest quality flavors from these ingredients is to use them as fresh as possible, so brewing beer with fresh herbs you've grown yourself just makes sense.

Here are a couple ways to utilize these easy-to-grow herbs for a new beer recipe.


Homebrewing with Rosemary

There are many varieties of rosemary to choose from, but the easiest for homebrewing purposes may be the "common" varietal, which does well in many climates and is sun-tolerant. If you've ever used rosemary for cooking, you'll recognize it's piney characteristic. That makes it a good complement to certain kinds of hops, especially ones with spicy or piney characteristics.

If you want to enhance piney flavors of your hop bill, consider using some rosemary with Chinook or Columbus hops. Alternatively, the piney aspect of rosemary can supplement citrus characteristics – think of how well rosemary works with lemon when preparing food dishes. In that case, rosemary can work well with Cascade, Citra, and Simcoe hops. About half an ounce of freshly cut rosemary will do the trick. You don' t want to over-do-it. Balance is a big part of brewing beer with herbs.

I've only used rosemary with IPAs, but pale ales or even saisons might be a good recipe option. Here's an IPA extract beer recipe to try with rosemary:
 

Recipe: Piney the Elder IPA
(5-gallon batch, extract with specialty grains)

Specs
OG: 1.065
FG: 1.016
ABV: 6.4%
IBUs: 55
SRM: 10

Ingredients
1 lb. Caramel 40 malt
9 lbs. Golden light liquid extract
1 oz. Columbus hops at :60
1 oz. Chinook hops at :15
1 oz. Columbus hops at :5

0.5 oz. freshly cut rosemary at knockout
1 oz. Chinook dry hop (optional)
Wyeast 1056: American Ale yeast

Directions
Steep the grains in 2.5 gallons of water at 150˚F for 30 minutes. Remove the grains, mix in liquid malt extract, and bring wort to a boil. Add hops and rosemary according to schedule. At end of boil, cool wort to 70˚F or below and transfer to a clean, sanitized fermenter. Add enough clean water to make 5 gallons of wort. Stir vigorously for 1-2 minutes and pitch yeast. Ferment at 70˚F.


Homebrewing with Basil

The basil you grow at home or find in the store offers a delicate sweetness and a twinge of spice, a flavor combination that often pairs well with wheat beers. I've found great success mixing the flavor of basil with honey.

Once again, when brewing beer with this herb think of using it in terms of cooking in the kitchen. Its sweetness mixes well with Italian dishes, cuts some of the heat of Indian food, and enhances the pleasant, savory feeling of meat. Similarly, using basil in home brewing should enhance the beer rather than dominate it.

The trick with basil is to focus on using it at the knockout/flameout stage of the boil or as a dry-"herbing" option. If it's boiled too long, it will bring unwanted bitterness to your beer.

I've had success with this beer recipe adapted from the July/August 2011 issue of Brew Your Own magazine, which balances some of the basil flavor with medium-range alpha acid of Cascade hops.
 

Recipe: Honey Basil Ale (Bison Organic Beer Honey Basil clone)
(5-gallon batch, partial mash recipe)

Specs
OG: 1.052
FG: 1.010
ABV: 5.5%
IBUs: 19
SRM: 6

Ingredients
3.3 lbs. Briess light, unhopped, liquid malt extract
2 lbs. light dried malt extract
1 lbs. two row pale malt
0.75 lbs. Crystal malt 20 L
0.7 lbs. Carapils malt
1 oz. Cascade hops at :60
0.6 oz. basil leaves at :10
0.5 to 1 lb. honey at :5
0.6 oz. basil leaves at :0
Wyeast 1056: American Ale yeast

Directions
Steep the grains in 2 gallons of water at 148˚F for 30 minutes. Remove grains from wort. Stir in liquid and dry malt extracts and begin boil. Add hops, basil, and honey as detailed above. After boil, add the wort to two gallons of cold water in the fermenter and top off to make five gallons. Stir well to aerate and pitch yeast. Ferment at 70˚F.

Interested in brewing beer with other herbs? Check out Brew Your Own Herb Beers! 
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Bryan Roth is a beer nerd and homebrewer living in Durham, North Carolina. You can read his thoughts on beer and the beer industry on his blog, This Is Why I'm Drunk, and send him suggestions on how to get his wife to drink craft beer via Twitter at @bryandroth.

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Hi there, I have to say, thank you for the amazing site. It’s been a wealth of knowledge... I will hopefully be moving cross country in the next few months. Currently I have two wines I am in the process of making... My questions are what would be the best way to transport a possibly bulk fermenting wine? If they are done fermenting am I safe to degas the wines, then plug the carboys and move or should I add something to either of them? As a side note, I do plan on making crates to protect the carboys...

Isaac — WA
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Hello Isaac,

There are several concerns when moving homemade wine cross country: sunlight and temperature being my two biggest concerns. Both of these promote oxidation in the wine. This is where a wine starts to take on a brownish or orange-like tinge, and the wine's flavor starts to take on a bitter, raisin character.

You will want to keep the wines out of direct sunlight. You also want the wines' temperature to stay consistent. The cooler the better. This will help to slow down the oxidative process, but i understand you can only do what you can do.

You can move the wine in carboys — degassed and sealed up tight — but if the wine warms up just a few degrees, it can pop the rubber stopper out of the carboy. Six gallons of wine can easily expand enough from any warmth to push out a stopper.

You can wire down the stopper with some bailing wire. If the wine warms up a few degrees you should be fine, but if the wine warms up excessively, you could be building up considerable pressure in the carboy, which is never a good thing. Having a carboy fail is not unheard of in such situations.

Sediment is another concern when moving homemade wine cross country. The ideal situation is for all the sediment to be gone before moving. In other words, the wine has cleared up completely and is not depositing any new sediment. You have also removed the wine from all the sediment that has occurred.

Leaving the sediment in the carboys while traveling can promote a process call autolysis. This is when some of the live yeast cells start consuming some of the dead yeast cells. The result is a wine that starts to take on a nutty / to bitter / to metallic flavor. It is something that occurs to some insignificant degree in any wine, but when the sediment is contentiously being stirred up by the constant vibration of traveling, the amount of autolysis can become excessive.
 

Here's What I Would Do If I Were Moving Homemade Wine Cross Country...

1. Have the wine cleared and degassed. You would like to have the wine this far along in the winemaking process.
    
2. Put the wine in carboys. The carboys should be topped-up. You do not want excessive head-space. There are several ways you can eliminate head-space in a carboy. Having excessive air in with the wine will help promote oxidation, as well.
    
3. Add a dose of sulfite. This could be Campden tablets, potassium metabisulfite or sodium metabisulfite. Use 1/16 of a teaspoon per gallon or 1 tablet per gallon of wine. Sulfites will go a long way in help to reduce any effects of oxidation and help to keep the wine from from oxidiation.
    
4. Seal the carboys with an actual tapered cork stopper. Cork will allow some pressure to release if it built up. A rubber stopper will not give at all. A tapered cork stopper will breath a little.
    
5. Wire down the tapered cork stopper with bailing wire. This can be done by going around the neck of the carboy with the wire, then running one strap of wire over the top of the cork stopper and securing the end.

Your idea of putting the carboys in crates is a good idea. You can never be too protective particularly when moving your homemade wine cross country.

Good luck to you. I hope this was the information you was looking for.

Happy Winemaking,
Ed Kraus
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Ed Kraus is a 3rd generation home brewer/winemaker and has been an owner of E. C. Kraus since 1999. He has been helping individuals make better wine and beer for over 25 years.

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It’s time to start thinking ahead to what you might want to drink and share with your friends this fall. Are you a fan of pumpkin beer? Oktoberfest? Consider these suggestions as you’re figuring out fall beer recipes are going to be on your homebrewing calendar!

• Oktoberfest– Oktoberfest traditionally kicks of at the end of September, though the beer may be consumed throughout the following months. Oktoberfestbier is a lager, meaning you’ll have to start brewing it several weeks ahead of when you plan to drink it. Be sure to use plenty of Vienna and/or Munich malt if you brew all-grain or choose a German Oktoberfest Recipe Kit if you brew extract or partial mash. Ferment the beer cold using a Bavarian Lager Yeast for best results. 
   
• Pumpkin Ale– With a flavor like pumpkin pie, pumpkin ale seems to be more and more popular every year. Brew a pumpkin ale recipe now and plan to enjoy it from Halloween through Thanksgiving. You can use fresh pumpkin from the pumpkin patch, which will actually contribute fermentable sugar to your homebrew. Consider increasing the grain bill to make an imperial pumpkin ale, like Weyerbacher’s.
   
• Hard Apple Cider– Nothing says fall quite like fresh apples. If you live in an area that grows apples, keep an eye out at the farmers market for cider apples or fresh pressed, unpasteurized apple juice. Follow this recipe for a basic cider, but consider adding some herbs or spices to mix it up. Ginger is a flavorful choice.
   
• American Amber Ale– With a maltier backbone than a pale ale or IPA , a good amber ale is a fantastic choice for a fall beer recipe. It provides a nice transition into the colder months that favor darker, heavier beers. Amber Ales can be either hoppy or malt forward – the balance is up to you. Consider brewing the Steam Freak Fat Liar Recipe Kit– it’s a clone of New Belgium’s Fat Tire, a malty, biscuity ale with just a hint of Belgian malt for a balanced, nutty flavor and full-bodied mouthfeel.
   
• Fresh Hop Ale– American hop growers harvest their hops in the late summer and early fall. If you have any growers in your area – or if you grew some hops yourself – try to get your hands on some hops straight from the field. Use them towards the end of the boil to maximize the flavor and aroma you get from those fresh-picked hops. Because fresh or “wet” hops weigh more, you’ll need six to eight times as much as you would using dried hops in pellet form. Try using your wet hops to dry hop a pale ale, IPA, or Black IPA this fall.
   

Do you have a favorite fall beer recipes? What are some of your favorite fall beers?
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David Ackley is a beer writer, brewer, and self-described "craft beer crusader." He holds a General Certificate in Brewing from the Institute of Brewing and Distilling and is founder and editor of the Local Beer Blog.

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As the yeast eats the sugars, the sweet taste disappears as the sugar is eaten. I have heard you can't stop the yeast from doing their job. But if I want a sweeter wine and my reading has reached an SG of 1.010, can I put in potassium sorbate to stop it there for some sweetness instead of letting it run to the end at .998 and having to try and back sweeten a dry wine?

Byron J. — FL
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Hello Byron,

This is a great question because it covers a two wine making topics that often trip up home winemakers: potassium sorbate and sweetening a wine.

Let me start off by saying that it is possible to stop a fermentation in progress, but it is much more difficult than just using potassium sorbate and/or sulfites such as Campden tablets and sodium metabisulfite. These ingredients will give the fermentation a blow to the gut, but will only permanently stop a fermentation some of the time. Not good enough for a homemade wine that is destined to be bottled. The last thing any winemaker wants is fermenting bottles of wine.

The potassium sorbate does not stop or inhibit the fermenting in any way. What it does do is stop the yeast from reproducing themselves. During a typical fermentation the wine yeast will go through several regenerations. By adding the potassium sorbate you are making sure that the generation of yeast that is currently fermenting is the last generation of yeast. Eventually, the yeast will begin to die, but not all at once. Some yeast will live longer than others always leaving a possibility of a re-fermentation occurring, even months down the road.

Sulfites, like the Campden tablets and sodium metabisulfite, will destroy some of the yeast cells but not all of them. Domesticated wine yeast are somewhat immune to the effects of sulfite. They are acclimated to the sulfites when they are being produced. This is done on purpose so that a fermentation can exist with some of the protective benefits of sulfites.

Since potassium sorbate won't stop a fermentation, here is what a commercial winery does when they want to end up with a wine with some level of sweetness:

1. Chill the fermentation tanks down to about 45°F causing the wine yeast to stop their activity and drop to the bottom. This can be done in a matter of 3 or 4 days depending on how fast the tanks chill. As a home winemaker, refrigeration should be done for at least a week.
    
2. Rack the wine off the sediment. The sediment is mostly yeast cells at this stage of the winemaking process, so by racking or siphoning the wine, you are leaving most of the yeast behind.
    
3. Filter the wine. It is vital that the wine be finely filtered at this point. While almost all of the wine yeast is gone, if some is left in the wine they can propagate themselves into larger numbers, regenerating a new colony of yeast that can ferment the wine after it has been bottled. Not a good thing. A winery will filter a wine down to 1/2 micron. This will require filtration under pressure with an actual wine filter system.

This is how a winery controls the sweetness of a wine, but there is a much, much easier way available to the home winemaker. It doesn't involve using potassium sorbate to stop the fermentation, and it doesn't involve going through all the steps laid out above.

1. Allow the fermentation to finish. All the sugars will be gone and the wine nyeast will start dropping out.
    
2. Rack the wine off the sediment. Again, this will leave most of the yeast behind — well over 90%.
    
3. Add sugar syrup to taste. The sugar syrup can be made by taking equal parts water and sugar and heating them in a sauce pan until completely clear. You may want to take a measured portion of the wine and add measured portions of the sugar syrup to establish a dosage, first, before committing the entire batch.
    
4. Add potassium sorbate and sulfite. The dosage should be listed on the containers they come in, but you want to use 1/2 teaspoon of potassium sorbate per gallon and 1/16 teaspoon per gallon of either: potassium metabisulfite, sodium metabisulfite, or 1 Campden tablet per gallon of wine.
    
5. Bottle the wine right away. If the wine is allowed to sit, some of the sulfite will dissipate, so you will want to bottle the wine on the same day.

By allowing the wine to finish, you will have much greater control on the sweetness of the wine. Instead of saying I want the wine to finish at a specific gravity 1.010, as you have suggested, you can actually sweeten the wine to taste. This is important because some wines require more sugar than others to get the same effect of sweetness than others. Every wine is different.

By operating in this way you can also bulk age the wine first. This is a great advantage, because it allows you to sweeten the wine after the harshness has been aged out. Often times, when sweetening a young too much sugar will be added. This is because the winemaker tries to cover up the harshness with sweetness — a harshness that won't be there later.

Byron, I hope this information helps you out. Again, I'm glad you asked about using potassium sorbate to stop a fermentation for the simple fact that it's answer will help to clear up a lot of confusion among new winemakers.

Happy Winemaking,
Ed Kraus

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Ed Kraus is a 3rd generation home brewer/winemaker and has been an owner of E. C. Kraus since 1999. He has been helping individuals make better wine and beer for over 25 years.

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If you attended the National Homebrewers Conference in Grand Rapids, you may have heard that the Beer Judge Certification Program has been hard at work updating the BJCP Style Guidelines. Gordon Strong, President of the Beer Judge Certification Program, gave a presentation about the proposed changes to the BJCP Style Guidelines at the conference. Chip Walton of the video blog Chop & Brew recorded Gordon’s talk. I’ve transcribed some of the main changes below.

Want to learn more about the BJCP? Read Become a Beer Judge! by Jason McLaughlin.
 

First, why change the style guidelines?

• The last update to the guidelines was in 2008, with the last styles added way back in 2004. Brewing has changed a lot in the past 10 years – it’s time for an update!
• To embrace the growing number of international homebrewers – the current guidelines are focused on styles brewed in the US.
• To represent some historical beer styles (like Kentucky Common) that have become popular in recent years.
• To include new ingredients, especially hop varieties, which are being used. For example, recent American hop varieties may go beyond citrus and pine to include grapefruit, tropical, strawberry, “skunk”, and a number of other flavor/aroma descriptors.
• To improve the use of the guidelines in competition.

Is anything staying the same?

The four ways beers are described will remain the same: appearance, aroma, flavor, mouthfeel – but more focus will be placed on perception as opposed to statements about ingredients and process.

• Expanded overall impression descriptions, more “consumer-level”
• comments: interesting fact, non-perception
• history: brief
• New: Characteristic Ingredients – the important stuff
• Style Comparison – how it’s similar or different to related styles
• Entry instructions added to its own section
• Revised some commercial examples
• Glossary
• Using the Style Guidelines – remember guidelines, not end all be all specs

New styles:

Historical category

• gose – sour, coriander and salt
• grodziskie – smoked wheat
• lichtenhainer
• sahti – Finnish, juniper
• Kentucky common – dark cream ale
• pre-prohibition porter – yuengling porter/PA porter
• pre-prohibition lager (moved from classic American pilsner)
• roggenbier (moved from ?)
• London brown ale (used to be Southern English brown ale)

American wild ale category - declare a base style

• Brett beer (not necessarily all brett, not necessarily sour)
• Mixed fermentation sour beer
• soured fruit beer

Czech lager category – similar to german lagers, but generally hoppier

• Czech light lager
• Czech amber lager
• Czech dark lager
• Czech pilsner (formerly Bohemian pilsner)

Going into other categories:

• German leichtbier – like a german light lager
• Trappist single – not known as such in Belgium, but sometimes referred to that way, low alcohol table beer
• English golden ale – golden bitter or summer ale
• Australian Saprkling Ale – link to kit
• American Strong Ale – catch all for strong beers not quite barley wine but not an IPA, Arrogant Bastard
• Wheatwine – barleywine made with wheat
• International Pale Lager (premium American lager) – green bottle imports, mass market Euro beers
• International Amber lager – similar but amber
• Kellerbier (Munich and Franconian variants) – fresh lager, German
   

New specialty IPA subcategory, with descriptions for:

• Black IPA
• Brown IPA
• Red IPA
• White IPA
• Belgian IPA
• Rye IPA
• Plus can specify strength: Session, Standard, Double
• Combinations are allowed

Modified styles

• Premium American Lager – split into Standard American Lager and International Pale Lager
• Oktoberfest – traditional (amber) renamed to Marzen, modern (gold) called a festbier
• Rye removed from the American wheat category, moved to a Alternative Grains specialty category
• Scottish 60 & 70 combined into Scottish light
• Scottish 80 & 90 combined in to Scottish heavy
• english Brown Ale – northern brown ale, but expanded
• Dry stout split into irish stout and irish extra stout
• tropical stout split from foreign extra stout
• weizenbock – gold versions allowed
• fruit lambic – sweetness and carbonation specified, sweet allowed
• old ale – overlay on new English strong ale category

Renamed styles

To reduce confusion

• Lite American lager > American Light Lager
• Standard American Lager > American Lager
• Dortmunder Export > German Exportbier
• German Pilsner/Pils > German Pils
• Dark American Lager > International Dark Lager
• Schwarzbier (Black Beer) > Schwarzbier
• Maibock/Helles Bock > Helles Bock
• traditional Bock > Dunkles Bock
• Northern German Altbier > rolled into International Amber Lager
• California Common Beer > California Common
• Dusseldorfer Altbier > Altbier
• Standard/Ordinary Bitter > Ordinary bitter
• Special/Best/Premium Bitter > Best Bitter
• Extra Special/Strong Bitter > Strong Bitter
• Strong Scotch Ale > Scottish Wee Heavy
• Mild > Dark Mild
• Brown Porter > English porter
• Robust Porter > American porter
• Imperial IPA > Double IPA
• Weizen/Weissbier > Weissbier
• Dunkelweizen > Dunkels weissbier
• Belgian Specialty Ale > deleted
• Flanders Brown Ale (Oud Bruin) > Oud Bruin
• Straight (unblended) Lambic > Lambic
• Christmas/Winter Specialty > Winter Seasonal Beer
• Classic Rauchbier > Rauchbier

Specialty-Type Beers (“Entry” categories more than classic styles) – will have more detailed explanations for what’s allowed

• Fruit beer – fruit beer, fruit and spice beer (fruit dominant), specialty fruit beer – with other fermentables
• Spiced beer – spice/herb/vegetable beers, winter seasonal beer, autumn seasonal beer
• Alternative Fermentables – alternative grain beers, honey beers
• Smoked Beer – Classic style smoked beer, specialty smoked beer
• Wood-Aged Beer – wood-aged beer, specialty wood-aged beer (might include a wine barrel or bourbon barrel)
• Specialty Beer – clone beer, mixed style beer, experimental beer
• Belgian Specialty will get wrapped into Specialty Beer

Updates to meads and ciders

• Gave spiced mead its own category
• Added berry mead and stone fruit mead category
• Added fruit and spice mead to spiced mead
• added historical mead to specialty mead

Cider

• common cider now called new world cider
• added ice cider and cider with Herbs/Spices to Specialty Cider and Perry (to  include hopped ciders)

Other changes – categorization, sorting feature of the guidelines so you can re-group styles by similarities.

Review Gordon’s slides here and the video presentation here.
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David Ackley is a beer writer, brewer, and self-described "craft beer crusader." He holds a General Certificate in Brewing from the Institute of Brewing and Distilling and is founder and editor of the Local Beer Blog.

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I started fruit wine making in May. Yesterday I came across reading something on your blog which caught my attention. Something that I haven't read or was told before. That is to add campden tablets and sorbate after each racking. Do I need to do this after each racking or is it ok with every other racking?... By me not adding any since I started and going on my 3 and 4th rackings am I in jeopardy of losing my wine?...

Eric — LA
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Hello Eric,

The fact that you haven't been adding sulfites [Campden tablets] to your homemade wine doesn't mean you have ruined it by any means. There are winemakers that never use sulfite and turn out good wines.

Sulfites such as Campden tablets and sodium metabisulfite make sure your wine does not spoil during the wine making process. After the wine has been made, they help to insure that your wine will keep for many years and not just months in the wine bottle. They also help your wine to be free from the effects of oxidation. This is when the color of the wine darkens and the flavor taken on a little bitterness. Adding sulfites to your homemade wine is not an absolute necessity, but it only makes sense to do so.

Potassium sorbate on the other hand is a different beast. It should only be used before bottling the wine — if at all. It is required if you are planning on back-sweetening your wine at bottling time. If it is not added along with the sweetening sugar, you stand a very strong chance of experiencing a re-fermentation of your wine while in the bottle. This can eventually result in popping corks and fizzy wine.

There is no reason to add potassium sorbate at any other time than at bottling. In fact, if it is added before the fermentation has completed it will most likely result in a sluggish or stuck fermentation. I would not recommend adding it at bottling time if you are not making a sweet wine. It is not necessary.

If you are making wine from fresh fruit, I always recommend adding sulfite to the homemade wine must 24 hours before adding the yeast. Leave the wine must uncovered during this 24 hours so that the sulfite gas may dissipate. Then add the wine yeast as you normally would. Doing this will easily destroy any wild molds, bacteria, etc. that may be coming along with the fruit.

I always recommend that sulfite be added before bottling. This is the dose that keeps the wine fresh and free of oxidation while in the wine bottle. Before fermentation and before bottling are the two times I would never forgo.

I also suggest adding sulfites to the homemade wine after the fermentation has completed. This is with the understanding that the wine is going to sit for a while before clearing up. This will keep any airborne contaminants from growing on your wine while clearing.

Once the wine is clear and you have racked it off the sediment, I would also recommend adding a 1/2 dose of sulfites if you plan on bulk-aging the wine. If you plan on bottling within a few days don't worry about it.

Eric, at this point I would add a dose of Campden tablets. Just on per gallon. If you are on your 3rd or 4th racking you shouldn’t need to rack your wine any more other than to bottle it, at which point I would add another dose of Campden tablets. No potassium sorbate should be added unless you are sweetening your wine.

Adding sulfites to your homemade wine is important and highly recommended. It's like buying insurance for making a wine that doesn't spoil or oxidize. If you do not add sulfites you can make wine successfully, but most will find it hard for the wine to keep over extended periods of time without refrigeration.

Happy Winemaking,
Customer Service at E. C. Kraus
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Ed Kraus is a 3rd generation home brewer/winemaker and has been an owner of E. C. Kraus since 1999. He has been helping individuals make better wine and beer for over 25 years.

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Have you ever tried two homebrewed beers and thought to yourself, “I’d really like to take the best elements of both and put them together.”

While some may scoff at the idea of blending two different beers, you shouldn’t hesitate to experiment by mixing different brews. Blending homebrew beers can help reign in a beer that is out of balance or help you discover a new creation.

Many commercial breweries blend different batches of the same beer to make sure they have a consistent product. At Oskar Blues Brewery in Brevard, North Carolina, they will typically blend the wort from four mashes and boils into a single fermentation tank, then blend different tanks to make sure the final product is “in spec” – within a small range of quality parameters that they consider appropriate for whatever beer they’re producing.

You can do the same thing on the homebrew level. The blending can be done during the secondary fermentation stage or in the glass.
 

Blending homebrew beers during secondary fermentation and conditioning

Though you may not feel the need to do this very often, you may occasionally want to combine two similar batches into one beer. Say for example you brew two batches of pale ale, but one was slightly under-hopped and one was darker than the other. For consistency sake, you can blend the two together to balance them out.

I would recommend doing this at either the secondary fermentation stage or in the keg. All you have to do is siphon half (or whatever ratio you deem fit) of one batch into a fermenter, barrel, or keg, then siphon the other on top of it. You may wish to take small samples of each beer and experiment with different ratios. Is 50:50 what you’re going for? 80:20? Just be sure to practice good cleaning and sanitation technique so you don’t risk contaminating your brews!

Also, take care not to introduce air at this stage. Oxidation can cause your beer to go stale or develop papery, cardboard-like off flavors.
 

Blending homebrew beer in the glass

At a homebrew club meeting last week, we tried two rauchbiers made by two different brewers. Both were great, but one had a slightly better color, and the other had just a touch more smoke flavor than the other. If I had those two beers at home, I would have no problem blending them together in my beer glass to get the best of both beers.

You can also combined beers to come up with something new. Here are just a handful of combinations that you might want to try:

• Use a pale ale or brown porter to tame an overly alcoholic imperial stout.
• Blend a brown ale and a stout to make a porter.
• Added two much pumpkin to that pumpkin beer? Don’t dump it! Blend it with a pale ale, brown ale, porter, or other ale to dilute the pumpkin flavor.
• Ever had a Black and Tan? That’s a blend of pale lager and stout (often Harp and Guinness).
• Try mixing a fruit beer with a witbier or hefewezien.

It’s ok to experiment! Blending different homebrew beers might help you discover your next favorite creation.

Looking for more advice on blending homebrew? Check out these tips from the pros.
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David Ackley is a beer writer, brewer, and self-described "craft beer crusader." He holds a General Certificate in Brewing from the Institute of Brewing and Distilling and is founder of the Local Beer Blog.

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When winemaking gets left on the back burner….

One nice thing about making homemade wine is that there are stages where you can just leave your homemade wine sitting in a carboy for weeks and months on end when your life gets a little crazy, and the wine should theoretically be just fine!

I’m definitely at a stage in my life right now where making homemade wine has sadly taken the back burner to everything else, though it is still constantly there in the back of my mind just excitedly waiting for me to make it a priority again!

You see, I’m getting married in less than a month, and I’m making/doing A LOT for the wedding, so of course that takes priority over the poor little carboy filled with mead.  Also, I am leaving my full-time “day job” in one week from now, so at least after that I SHOULD be able to do a little bit more here and there before all may homemade mead evaporates into thin air!

That being said, it would be nice to finish this mead prior to moving, but depending upon how things go, I’m not sure if that’s going to happen.  It’s still just as cloudy as it was, though I’m not surprised because everything I’ve read says mead takes a million years to clear up.  I tried testing the acid of the mead a little while ago, and STILL haven’t done anything to follow up with that yet, but I do happened to have a little extra time today while I’m not up to my elbows in wedding hullaballoo that I can actually taste it and maybe make some adjustments.

Worst case scenario: I end up moving the mead while still in the carboy.  That’s OK—I’ll just make sure it rides with me in the car, buckled up, and well cushioned against possible mishaps!

Have you ever had life get in the way of making homemade wine?  It’s hard to find a balance sometimes!

See All Blog Posts From Leigh Erwin

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My name is Leigh Erwin, and I am a brand-spankin’ new home winemaker! E. C. Kraus has asked me to share with you my journey from a first-time dabbler to an accomplished home winemaker. From time to time I'll be checking in with this blog and reporting my experience with you: the good, bad — and the ugly.

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Patience. It’s one of a homebrewer’s many virtues.

After bottling or kegging a batch of homebrew, it’s very difficult to resist sampling the beer before it’s ready. But your patience will be rewarded by giving the beer the time it needs to improve before you drink it. This waiting period – usually two or three weeks at a minimum – is referred to as conditioning or maturation. Beer that is too young is called green beer because of the way it tastes.
 

What is green beer? What is the green beer taste?

Green beer is beer that isn’t ready to drink yet. Though beer almost always gets better with time, tasting the beer early can be a good exercise to learn just how drastically time can change the beer. If you’ve ever tasted your original gravity wort sample, that’s pretty close to the green beer taste. The bitterness is very strong. The flavors just don’t blend together very well. What may be perceived as a fault or an infection may just be an indicator that the beer needs more time to condition.
 

What happens during conditioning?

Conditioning is really just a fancy word for aging. What we call green beer needs time before it’s ready to drink. Some conditioning takes place during secondary fermentation. Yeast consumes some byproducts of fermentation (like diacetyl), which removes some undesirable flavors from the homebrew. The yeast and other particles settle out of suspension, resulting in a clearer beer. Other flavors from the malt, hops, and yeast have time to meld together.

Conditioning also takes place in the bottle or keg. The beer carbonates and flavors continue to develop. If you’ve used priming sugar, the yeast will float around eating it up and producing carbon dioxide. This carbon dioxide not only create bubbles in the beer, it helps to drive off oxygen, which has the potential of making your beer go stale. The yeast will settle out in time.
 

At what temperature should I condition my homebrew?

Many beers go through a warm conditioning period and cold conditioning period. “Warm” or “cold” is relative to the beer style being made. Secondary fermentation, what might be considered a warm conditioning period, usually happens at or near the normal fermentation temperature for the homebrew. For lagers, a diacetyl rest (a couple days at about 55-60˚F) can be used to reduce buttery diacetyl flavors in the beer. After bottling, beer should be held at room temperature for about two to three weeks to allow the yeast the carbonate the beer.

The green beer taste is often improved by a cold conditioning period. During cold conditioning, flavor and clarity continues to get better. Cold conditioning can happen at temperatures as low as freezing, though I find that giving bottles several days in the refrigerator can make a big difference. Sometimes it’s easier said than done!
 

How long should beer be conditioned and aged?

That depends on the beer style. Most ales of moderate gravity only require a couple weeks of conditioning. Hoppy beers are generally best consumed fresh. High gravity beers on the other hand tend to get better with some age. Barley wine, imperial stouts, doppelbocks, and other beers with high alcohol content may continue to improve over the course of a year or longer. Try saving a few bottles of each batch to sample three, six, or twelve months down the road to learn what time can do you your homebrew.
 

What’s the best environment for conditioning?

The keys to reducing the green beer taste in your homebrew are a steady, moderate temperature during warm conditioning (so the yeast can carbonate the beer) and steady, cold temperature for cold conditioning. It’s also important that it’s dark during the conditioning phase, otherwise beer can become light-struck or skunked.
 

Conclusion

Proper conditioning makes all the difference between delicious homebrew and one with an icky green beer taste. The next time you break into your batch early, remember, it will likely get better with age.

How do you condition your homebrew?
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David Ackley is a beer writer, brewer, and self-described "craft beer crusader." He holds a General Certificate in Brewing from the Institute of Brewing and Distilling and is founder of the Local Beer Blog.

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