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11/13/2012 -- Hi - what kind of paint is used on the metal parts that comes into contact with the juice -- the strapping around the slats, and the bowl section into which the juice drains as it is pressed? Also what is the suggested method of cleaning sanitizing between uses? & what's the best way to prepare them for off season storage?
Response From Homebrew Heaven: 1) The paint on the straps is food grade. Not a health concern. The bowl section is made of food grade plastic, sitting on top of a steel support.
2) Cleaning and sanitizing can be just rinsing off all surfaces then applying a sanitizer like iodophor, or a sulfite solution.
3) Preparing between uses is simply drying off. Some people prepare for next season by by wiping the wood down with some vegetable oil. A little oil on the steel screw post is also a good idea.
9/19/2012 -- I'm wanting to press blackberries for some wine. Would any of these presses be able to handle the job? Also would i need to mash the berries before i press them or are they soft enough?
Response From Homebrew Heaven: Absolutely, these presses can handle it.
To get the BEST extraction from the berries, it is best to mash them up and/or freeze and thaw them to break them down to juice. The press has no problem with pressing them, but the best efficiency comes with soft/mushy/mashed up fruit. Blackberries are pretty easy to work with. Fibrous fruit (like plums) can be more of a challenge.
A coarse nylon strining bag helps as well, by holding back the fibrous part of the fruit.
More juice, more wine!
8/16/2012 -- Where are the presses made, and how easy do they press apples?
Response From Homebrew Heaven: They are made in the Czech Republic, and are the best quality presses we have seen. We visited there a few years ago, and have good relationship with them. Much better presses and much less expensive than the Italian ones out there.
For pressing hard fruit like apples, We recommended grinding/crushing them first. Presses are great for extracting the juice, but we recommend "smashing" them up first before pressing. Better yield. It really depends on how much/many apples you are looking to press.
People get creative with this...anything from a nicely designed fruit crusher (see links provided below) to a bucket/barrel and a 4x4 to mash the apples prior to pressing.
5/17/2010 -- what is your phone number?
Response From Homebrew Heaven: We can be reached at (425) 355-8865
Our toll free order is (800) 850-2739
4/29/2008 -- We tried this mead kit and loved it. Now we want to try a cyser. A lot of what I have been reading says to rack/bottle once it clears up. Do you have any guidelines for how long meads/cysers should ferment? Thanks for the help.
Response From Homebrew Heaven: In short, no.
Here is the thing...MANY MANY MANY factors play into how long a fermentation will take. Here are just a few:
Sugar (honey) concentration
Strain of yeast used
Fermentation temperature
Nutrient level present
Type(s) of nutrients
Temperature variations during fermentation
Amount of yeast used
Mineral content of water used
Amount of oxygen present in your mead prior to adding yeast
Viability (freshness) of yeast culture used
And lots of others!
The point is, there is just no way (in advance) to know for sure how long it will take. You can monitor along the way using a hydrometer, and that will give you a pretty good indication, and will tell you when it is actually done and ready to bottle.
I CAN tell you however, that if you used our Nectar of the Gods Mead Kit and substituted some quality apple cider in place of the water used, it will likely ferment in a little LESS time, due to the presence of the nutrients in the cider. That is a popular thing to do. It will add some nice apple flavor! You can also use a little cider to re-sweeten your mead/cyser at the end of the process. Be sure you add the stabilizers prior to doing this.
Enjoy!
1/26/2008 -- I live about an hour (if traffic is good) from the address on your website. Do you have an actual store or is everything here based solely online?
Response From Homebrew Heaven: Yes, we have an actual brick-and-mortar store in Everett, WA. People actually walk in and buy stuff!
Our address is:
Homebrew Heaven
9109 Evergreen Way
Everett, WA 98204
Here is a video of our shop:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N1a5fKvv8XI
Heck, you can actually call us on the phone, too! It's 425-355-8865. A person will actually answer as long as it's business hours!
8/18/2007 -- What is the difference between apple wine and apple cider? Also your cider specific yeast describes a crisp dry cider result, suppose you want a sweet cider? I like Hornsby's Crisp Apple, maybe it's considered dry, but not by wine standards. There were a couple of sweet hard ciders I liked in England, wish I could remember the names.
Response From Homebrew Heaven: Apple cider is typically fermented apple juices (mixed varieties are best!) with an alcohol content of perhaps 6%ABV. They are usually carbonated drinks, altho they CAN be still (uncarbonated0 also. Apple wine typically has sugar added prior to fermentation, and as a result, has an alcohol content of about 10-12% ABV. Another way is it done is to freeze the fermented cider to remove the ice (water), thereby increasing the alcohol content. Often called "applejck".
Making a sweet still (non-carbonated) cider is easy. You simply ferment the juice, stabilize it using potassium sorbate and sulfite, and bottle.
Making a SPARKLING sweet cider (like Hornsby) is a bit trickier. Most home brewers would add sugar at bottling to produce the carbonation. The problem is, if you add additional sugar (to make it sweet), you will overcarbonate, and burst your bottles. Not good. There are 2 ways around this:
1) Use a kegging system to dispense your sweet cider.
Ferment your cider as normal, sweeten, and put into a keg. Force carbonate it there, refrigerate and dispense.
2) Ferment your cider as normal, but use an UNfermentable sugar (like Splenda or stevia) to sweeten it. Add a measured amount of corn sugar to carbonate it, and bottle.
5/20/2005 -- I'm thinking about making hard cider with the apple tree in my back yard. I'm not sure of the apple type so my question is: Can any apple be used to make hard cider and can you recommend information for beginners?
Response From Homebrew Heaven: Yes, any apples can be used to make hard cider, BUT, the best (most interesting, flavorful) hard cider is made from a variety of apples. Use the apples from your tree, certainly, but try to mix in some tart ones, some bitter ones, some sweet ones etc. You will be rewarded later. A hard cider made just from red delicious apples, for instance, is rather bland.
Other tips?... Well, using a quality wine or cider yeast helps tremendously. We like the new Wyeast Cider Yeast because it leaves a nice fruity finish to your hard cider.
Use only good, clean fruit, and sanitize your equipment well.
Patience is also important. A cider takes time to age properly, so let it.
3/21/2004 -- I was wanting to start home brewing a hard cider like hornsbey's and was wanting to know what all i would need. was hoping to be able to put it in keg's for easier storage and dispensing for get togethers
Response From Homebrew Heaven: As far as equipment, I would go with the Intermediate (Beer) Brewing Equipment Kit. It works nicely for this type of cider. Here is a link to it:
http://www.nexternal.com/hombre/?Target=products.asp&ProductID=459
For ingredients, you'll need a source of apple cider juice without preservatives. We are negotiating with a company to produce a cider blend concentrate just for us, but so far we don't have it.
For kegging your cider, our Complete Kegging System fits the bill nicely. It holds and dispenses 5 gallons. Here is a link to that item:
http://www.nexternal.com/hombre/?Target=products.asp&ProductID=287
11/24/2003 -- Just prior to adding the yeast when making an 8 gallon batch of applecider wine, I noticed the package read "good up to 5 gallons". I wasn't able to add a 2nd package until now (48 hours after original package was added). Do you think I'll be ok? Any recommendations at this point?
Response From Homebrew Heaven: Probably not a problem. The yeast will multiply as needed to gobble up the sugars.
By the way, OUR Wyeast packages are good for 10 gallons (XL Packs). Not sure where you got yours, but we sell only the 10 gallon sizes. Better to have too much yeast than not enough.
11/3/2003 -- I have a strange one here for you. I am wondering if you have any idea of poundage of apples that might be needed to get 5 gallons of juice? I am thinking of buying this machine, but do not know if this is something that I sould get myself into...
Response From Homebrew Heaven: Strange is my specialty! It takes about 120 lbs of apples to produce 5 gallons of juice, more or less, depending on how "juicy" they are, variety of apple, and how efficiently you press the squeezin's!
10/8/2003 -- My cider has been fermenting for about 4 weeks and is cloudy. Can I add the pectic enzyme now or is there something else I should add to clear the cider?
Response From Homebrew Heaven: A little pectic enzyme may help, and cause it to ferment a little further. After it is complete, however, we recommend using bentonite first, and then our 2-Part wine fining to clear it out. Very effective.
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