Since the forum has been migrated here, the yahoo group will be closed soon.

I've been experimenting with making beer using the EZ Caps method and dry ingredients. This makes it possible to offer an EZ Caps beer ingredient kit that would be as easy as this:

1) Bring 1.8 liters of water to a boil. Remove from heat.
2) Ad EZ Caps beer kit ingredient mix. Stir well.
3) Return to gentle boil, stirring frequently for 20 minutes.
4) Allow to cool to room temperature. Add yeast.
5) Place into 2 liter bottle, attach EZ Cap.
6) Ferment for 1 week.
7) Refrigerate for 2 days.
8) Enjoy!

All the ingredients are available at home brew outlets. The only advantage of ordering through me would be ease of shopping and no measuring or complicated instructions. Because of shipping costs, price would be OK but not great.

I have been looking for tasty juice to turn in to tasty wine and all the juice I fine has apple juice in it, the cherry, peach, ect all have apple juice is there no such thing as pure cherry juice?? The grape juice is 100% grapes and I have a batch going now, it's doing great but I would like to know if I use the juices with apple juice in them will my wine come out like cider?

Here are the instructions that came with the kit in JPG format

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I'm always experimenting to find something new. Here is my most recent endeavor:

HARD ICED TEA

I brought nearly one liter of water to a boil and then removed from the heat. I added 5 bags of Earl Grey and 5 bags of black tea and let it steep for 20 minutes. Then I removed the tea bags and added 2 cups of brown sugar, and stirred until it dissolved. Then I added 1 liter of cold water, mixed well, and placed in a 2-liter bottle that had just finished making hard cider (see post about reusing yeast. I wasn't sure if brown-sugar-tea-water would be difficult to ferment or not so I used a starter to give it a head start).

Within 1 hour I had VERY active fermentation. My plan was to ferment it for one week but when I sampled it after 5 days it was already more dry than I would have liked. I added some sugar, to taste, and enjoyed an alcoholic iced tea. It was actually pretty refreshing and although it is winter, I imagined coming in and drinking some of the brew after mowing the lawn on a hot day.

Next time I'm going to add 2 more tea bags and an additional cup of brown sugar and possibly some lemon to the recipe. This time I'll take gravity measurements so I know what the alcohol % is.

This experiment was a success. I can only imagine how many different flavors can be developed by using different types of tea. I am definitely going to make this again.

Hello everyone. I just started my first batch of wine useing e-z caps. 1
bottle of pear and another cherry. They seem to be doing fine after the first
day, but I have a couple of questions.

1) It says in the instuctions that if you want a higher alcohol content, to
add additional sugar after 7-8 days. I followed the basic instructions for both
batches and added 1/2 cup of sugar to start.(wanted to play it safe). My
question is, how much additional sugar should I add and how much longer should
it sit to ferment?

2)My package did not come with any sort of bottling instructions. When the
wine is complete, and clarified, is it ok to bottle seperatly (16 oz. gasket-top
bottles)? And what would be the shelf life on that? And one more: does wine have
to continue to be refrigerated after bottling?

Hope I didnt overload this message, and thank you for any input. Looking
forward to sharing tips and recipes!

Here is a question I have recently received:

"I am making my first batch of cranapple coolers the recipe that was sent with my kit. I have another question after fermantion and the clarifing process is completed is it ok to strain the wine through cheeses cloth to get rid of sediment at bottom? Will this effect the alcohol percentage in wine?"

Please feel free to add your own insights to the question.

It will not effect the alcohol percentage.

I have never tried to strain a beverage through anything, so I do not know if cheesecloth will help the sediment. The best thing to do is let the beverage clarify on its own by sitting in a cold place. The colder it is, the thicker the sediment is and the less likely it is to get disturbed by pouring. Traditionally, alcoholic beverages are cleared in this fashion by transferring the liquid to a clean container, leaving as much sediment behind as possible and then repeating the process if necessary. Most homebrewers/winemakers accept a small amount of sediment rather than to invest the effort in making it completely clear, however this is a personal decision based on what you prefer.

Dear Steve,Are the messages from this group being archived? Lots of useful and interesting information there.Thank you.Bill LeahyOn Sun, Jan 17, 2010 at 3:52 PM, wrote: Hello, First off, I would like to thank the users of this yahoo group who have shared recipes and experiences using EZ Caps with each other. It's hard to believe that this forum has been going strong for six years. Because of it's limitations, the advertisements, and other issues associated with the yahoo EZ Caps group, it has been replaced with it's own dedicated forum at: http://ezcapsforum.com/ Please visit and join the new site and give me your feedback and suggestions. The yahoo group will remain up for a limited amount of time during the transition and it will eventually be closed. All new members of http://ezcapsforum.com/ will receive an exciting, incredible offer in the near future. http://ezcapsforum.com/ORGINAL POSTER: william

Since I get a lot of questions about yeast I added a forum for the topic.

One of the most common questions I get is about reusing yeast.

If you make a beverage, say hard cider, you'll have a good amount of yeast on the bottom. As long as there isn't going to be a delay between batches you can reuse the yeast by draining (drinking) your beverage and adding your ingredients on top of the yeast and shaking it. You don't have to add more yeast. There are several advantages to doing this:

1) You don't have to clean the container. Just start a new batch in the same container.
2) You are starting your batch with billions of more yeast than if you pitch the normal amount. Your beverage will ferment much faster and will finish sooner.
3) If you are attempting to ferment something that is hard to get started, making it as a consecutive batch will greatly improve your odds.

A common question is, how many consecutive batches can you make this way? Each generation of yeast develops its own minor mutations. As consecutive batches are made you may develop your own 'strain' of yeast. Such a strain could contribute off flavors to the drink. To avoid this, I recommend never reusing the yeast more than 6 times.

Another question is regarding sanitation. I can understand that because used yeast looks disgusting. But remember this is how humans made wine for thousands of years. Also remember that the byproduct of yeast is alcohol, which is a known sanitizer.

If you're not going to be making a consecutive batch immediately, discard the yeast and don't try to reuse it.

I used the EZCAPS recipe for making apple cider but substituted brown sugar for white. The cider had a completely (and better) taste.