E.C. Kraus Home Wine and Beer Making Supplies

Are you a fan of wheat beers? Guest blogger and beginning homebrewer Josh Short shares some of the lessons he learned from his recent brew day. -------------------------------------------------------------- Summer is almost here and it's time to brew something refreshing that even the biggest non-beer-lover will enjoy. No double IPA here -- let's brew a hefeweizen. Hefeweizen is a south German...

One of the most important pieces of winemaking equipment is the gravity hydrometer.  Without this, you’re making wine blindly, and risk making a wine that’s not very palatable.  If you don’t have one already, I recommend purchasing a gravity hydrometer right now before you forget, as it’ll be a piece of winemaking equipment that will pay for itself over and over again. What is a gravity...

There are many pieces of homemade wine equipment than can be described in just one post.  It’s important to understand each piece of homemade wine equipment, how it functions, and whether or not a particular piece of equipment is needed in your own home winemaking practice.  Today’s post features three more important pieces of equipment: the Three Spout Bottle Filler, the Wine Thief, and the Brew...

I have been making wine for years and never had any trouble, but I tried a new wine recipe and made a six gallon batch. I'm afraid the specific gravity of the must was too high-1.1200 + and it has stalled out at about 1.100--too sweet. We will not drink wine that sweet. Is there any way I can salvage the 6 gallons by blending or trying to restart fermentation?Name: John S.State: Kansas Hello John,...

If you’re a homebrewer, you may have heard about extract efficiency in the brewhouse. But what is efficiency and why does it matter? Extract efficiency is a measurement of the percent of available sugars obtained through the mashing process. Brewing malt contains a certain amount of complex sugars, and the percentage which are extracted in a mash give us the extract efficiency. By...

When asked why they do it, many homebrewers will mention that it’s a great way to save money. This may be true, but very few will say it’s the real reason they homebrew. Besides, homebrewers often make a sizable investment in new equipment and enjoy expanding their home brewery arsenal with new gadgets and gizmos. So why do homebrewers do it? Why go through several hours in the kitchen or garage...

When you’re relatively new to home winemaking, following each and every step of a wine recipe is critical,  but where do you even begin finding good wine recipes?  There are a lot of resources out there, and hopefully this post will shed some light on where to find them. Wine Making Books There are a large number of wine making books out there that are full of wine recipes.  It is important to...

I bottled some blackberry 5/2012. When I opened a bottle this morning it fizzed over and kept bubbling for a while. What did I do wrong, I followed a recipe?Name: Ed W.State: FL Hello Ed, Sorry to hear that your wine has gotten a little out of control. Let's see if we can figure out what's going on. There are basically two ways a wine can end up with gas in it. I'll go over them...

I make wine at home, I do want the wine with more alcohol. But I don't know how to get this done.Name: Ketherina D.State: NY When it comes to controlling the alcohol level of your wines — regardless of how high or how low — it's all about the sugar. Alcohol is made when wine yeast ferments the sugars that are in the wine must. The sugars are converted into both alcohol and carbon dioxide or...

You’ve been waiting patiently while your homebrew ferments away in the closet and you can’t wait to try the beer you’ve worked so hard to create. But how do you know when it’s ready to bottle? First of all, let’s talk about why it’s important to bottle at the right time. The main concern is that if you bottle before the beer has completely fermented, you run the risk of having excessive...

My red wines have been coming out great, but are not clear even after many rackings. Is there anything to add to reds wines to prevent this?Name: Bruce K.State: CA Hello Bruce, Anytime a wine is not clearing the first thing you have to ask yourself is: "has the wine completed its fermentation?" The number one reason a wine does not to clear is because the fermentation is still continuing...

There are so many more pieces of homemade wine equipment than can be described in one post.  It’s important to understand each piece of homemade wine equipment, how it functions, and whether or not a particular piece of equipment is needed in your home winemaking practice.  Today, you’ll be introduced to three important pieces of equipment: the Copper Tun Heating Pad, the Transfer Pump, and the...

Homebrewers have two choices for packaging their beer: bottling or kegging. Most start out with bottling because it’s less expensive and requires less specialized equipment. Bottling day takes a few hours, but with a beer in hand and a friend to help, it goes by in no time. Here’s what you need for bottling beer at home: • Homebrewing cleaner and sanitizer • Beer bottle brush• Hydrometer •...

Extract brewing is the easiest way to brew your own beer. Many homebrewers begin as extract brewers and later progress to all-grain brewing. Some even go back to extract brewing because it's easier and much less time consuming than all-grain brewing. So what is extract brewing? Professional brewers extract fermentable sugars from barley malt through a process called mashing. Homebrewers can skip...

I think I'm obtaining an off-taste with my Muscadine wine because it needs additional degassing. I degas the wine once after the 7 day initial fermentation. Can I also degas again after 30 days and right before the first rack? I understand that the degassing technique may place unwanted oxygen into the wine.....what do you recommend? ThanksName: HermanatorState: Missouri Hello Hermanator, I would...

Most red wine kits give a finished wine with 12.0% to 12.5% alcohol. Is it harmful to add additional sugar to the wine kits (with Sp. Gr. control) to increase the alcohol to about 13.5%? Thanks,Name: H. Dalesponaugle MDState: VA Hello Dr. Dalesponaugle, By all means you can add sugar to these winemaking kits to boost the alcohol. It will not harm the wine in anyway by doing so. But, there are a...

I have a question! After making a sugar-syrup, how much of it will do I use to raise 5 gallons of wine? I mean how much does the S.G. [Specific Gravity, hydrometer reading] go up say per cup added? Thanks for any help.Name: Thomas J RomanoState: New York (Long Island) Hello Thomas, It would depend on what the S.G. [Specific Gravity] was of the sugar syrup you made.  You can use a wine hydrometer...

I've heard that Pot Met [potassium metabisulfite] does not need to touch the carboy or bottles to sanitize, but the fumes are what actually does the sanitizing. Can you tell me which is correct? Thanks, BobName: BobState: NY Hello Bob, What you have stated above is correct. The SO2 gas that releases from a solution of water and potassium metabisulfite will sanitize the inside of your...

I have made this several times-has always turned out very well. However, this time (same recipe), it's not clearing. I have changed the carboy 3 times since early November, still not clearing. (Did the flashlight test). The temperature in the room stays perfect for it-just don't understand it...It smells wonderful! Any advice, would be greatly appreciated! Thanks, Laura Name: Laura State: MN Hello...

Lots of people love the idea of whipping up a batch of their own homebrew stuff, but think that it takes a great amount of cash and equipment in order to get just one bottle. This is a misconception, and one we’re knocking down with our own customers all the time. When you want to make a great-tasting beer, you can brew it yourself – and you don’t need a lot of home brewing equipment backing you...