E.C. Kraus Home Wine and Beer Making Supplies

When I do my first racking, there is a lot of carbonation in the wine, and it does not siphon well at all. How should I handle this?Name: Bryan P.State: GA Hello Bryan, Yes, this can be quite a problem. For the readers out there who don' t understand what Bryan is talking about, let me explain a little bit. During a fermentation, CO2 gas is created by the wine yeast. This is the same stuff that...

Hi, I was told by a local winemaker, that if you add vanilla bean to a racking of chardonnay, it gives it a subtle nice flavor. Well, we put just half a vanilla bean in and racked it for a month. We just racked again and took the vanilla bean out. The wine has a weird plastic-like taste and smell to it that is rather unpleasant. We are so disappointed because we were so looking forward to...

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...

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...

For the first time ever I ordered juice concentrate, your merlot and blackberry, to try making a large batch of my favorite flavors. Well, I followed the directions to the letter and it all fermented nicely in the primary. After 5 days racked it to the secondary, a glass 5 gallon carboy but for the first time left a little head space of a couple inches figuring that it would be ok since it it was...

Whether you are just starting to get involved in home winemaking or you have been making wine at home for some time, it’s a good idea to have a good understanding of the different types of homemade wine equipment, how they function, and whether or not a particular piece of equipment is needed in your home. Of course, there are many more pieces of homemade wine equipment than can be described in...

Keeping your home brew stuff clean at all times and sanitizing it is essential for creating clean and fresh tasting beer. The beer brewing process encourages the growth of microbes to accommodate a yeast fermentation. Unwanted bacteria will have a chance to grow as well, so it is best to eliminate it up-front through sanitation. Your home brewing equipment will come into contact with sugars, malt...

Kegging homebrew is a fun and simple way to prepare your homebrew for consumption. It's quicker than bottling your beer and by far easier. Corney kegs, also known as soda kegs or Cornelius kegs, are used to dispense and store homebrew beer and homemade sodas. Some interesting facts about Cornelius kegs are enlisted below. A Corney keg is made of stainless steel and can hold up to 130 psi...

I made a batch of wine using concentrated grape juice. I do not think it's fermenting. I think it's too cool in my basement. Can I add more wine yeast, or what can I do to save my wine?Name: Glenn , beginnerState: WV Hello Glenn, Thank you for your question, and sorry you are having such a problem with this batch of wine. I think that your assumption is probably correct. By far, the #1 reason for...

Preparing wine bottles for bottling wine is sometimes glossed-over or minimized by some home wine makers. That's not a good thing. That's a bad thing! Starting out with clean and sanitized wine bottles is paramount to having healthy wine. The alternative can lead to a spoilage and embarrassment. Cleaning Your Wine Bottle Even if the wine bottles are new, out-of the-box they should be thoroughly...

Wine yeast is an essential ingredient of any wine recipe. It is the critical ingredient that does all the work. Wine yeast consumes the sugars in the wine must and converts them into alcohol and CO2 gas. Without the yeast you would have no wine. There are three different ways you can go about incorporating a wine yeast into a wine recipe Each method has its own advantages and disadvantages. Here's...

Before diving head first into the fun of home winemaking using one of our homemade wine kits, it is important to understand what exactly is in the kit, and what role each item in the kit plays.Of course, all of the homemade wine kits that you can buy are going to be slightly different, depending upon the brand and upon what type of homemade wine you wish to make.  Here is a breakdown on some of...

Hello Winemakers:I am getting ready to start my first batch of wine from concentrate. I am a little confused about the sanitizing process for large pieces of equipment. The directions say to dissolve so much sanitizing stuff to one gallon of water. Does this mean a gallon will do the job? With a 6 gallon tuft tank or a 6 gallon glass carboy, for example, do you pour the gallon in the container and...

One of the most important aspects of making your own wine is keeping things sanitary. It's important because wine is a like a living thing. It needs to be protected from wild molds, bacteria, etc. Without proper care your wine can become overtaken by these foreign organisms and eventually spoiled. Yet, sanitizing is overlooked or treated lightly by many home wine makers and understandably so. It...

Hi: Today is day 8 and I just transferred my wine from the plastic fermenter to a glass carboy like the homemade wine instructions say to do. I do not see the wine brewing at all. Shouldn't the wine still be fermenting? Do I have a problem? Please help! Robert ----- Hello Robert. I am going to assume that you are making your wine from a wine ingredient kit such as our European Select or...

Hello Are there electric heater covers available for carboys or plastic fermenters to keep the working wine at a constant temperature?  I have no ideal place in my location where a constant temp is available.   Thank You Carl M. ---------- Hello Carl, The difficult part about keeping a fermentation artificially warm is that you need a very mild heat source. It is easy to over-heat a fermentation...

Hi, I have been making wine from homemade wine kits for about a year now and have a question about the sediment just when I am ready to bottle the wine. Sometimes I do another rack back to my plastic fermenter to clear out some of the sediment; however, there is always a little in the bottom. Should I buy a wine filter or just siphon the wine down to the sediment and disregard the stuff? Is the...

Hello Kraus, I'm hoping you can help me. Do you know where I can get a stone crock? I just broke the one I was going to use. We have a lot of elderberries this year and I don't want to see them go to waste. I need to get my wine brewing. Thank You Very Much Tim B.---------- Hello Tim, I'm very sorry, but we do not have a source for stone crocks.I would like to point out that a stone crock is not...

Hello: I'm getting ready to bottle my wine and noticed that it has a bubbly taste. Like champagne. Is this because I need to degas it? Or is there something else going on? Ken ---------- Hello Ken, It is very possible that you are correct in your assumption. The wine may simply need to be degassed. But you should also verify with a gravity hydrometer that the wine has actually completed its...

Hi. Can you give me any information on how barometric pressure would affect the fluid level in an air lock. Some days they show negative pressure and a day or two later they are making bubbles again. I can't tell if fermentation is done or not. Thank you Jerry ---------- Hello Jerry, An air-lock is what seals the outside world from your wine during and after fermentation. It is a barrier that...