Wow, the thought of fermenting fruit juice in an entirely closed keg scares the heck out of me. I sure hope it has a good pressure-release safety valve! From making beer and cider, I ferment a batch in a 5 gallon glass carboy, with a bubbling airlock to keep it sterile. But I ferment it until all fermentation has ended, then stir in 1.5 cups of corn sugar (or 1.3 cups white sugar) and bottle it, which yields about 22-one litre bottles or 66 beer bottles. That added sugar then ferments in the bottles and carbonates the brew. The amount of sugar I add is actually about double what most recipes call for because I like a lot of carbonation. You are obviously using far more sugar than me if you are fermenting the fresh juice in a pressure vessel. Why you lose that carbonation is a bit of mystery to me because home-brewed beer and cider keep their carbonation as well as commercial brews. Sometimes brewers add "heading agents" to their beer if they have trouble maintaining carbonation. The problem is due to a lack of proteins in the brew, as proteins seem to be needed to hold onto the gas bubbles. Maybe that is your problem... lack of proteins in the fruit juice? Anyway, thought I'd mention it in case you wanted to look it up a little more or talk to someone at one of the local homebrew stores. One other thought... are you using a commercial wine yeast to ferment the juice? Or relying on natural yeasts that get onto the fruit? I'm not sure that would have any effect on the final carbonation, but a commercial yeast would give a more consistent product.

Gjcore asks: " Any ideas on how to achieve the right balance in our brews for the 3 stages of plant life?" The key to getting the right nutrients to the plants at the right time relates to what is being fed to the microbes when making Bug Juice. By having the right nutrients being fed at the right time the plant can respond the way the gardener desires. As an example: Early growth Adding fish emulsion or a seed meal (alfalfa, soybean, or other high protein (nitrogen) source will result in good fast growth for the plant. Mid growth Adding bone meal, seaweed, or other high phosphorus nutrient will ensure good root growth as well as stem development. Flowering/fruiting growth Adding seaweed, potash, greensand, or other high potassium source will insure good fruiting and weight to harvests. And too, adding calcium at any given stage will insure plants will have the right ratio to adsorb all the nutrients being fed to plants. While using any given tea will always aid in plant growth IMO, having the nutrients in the soil to feed microbes is always important. While some will advocate having a soil test to know what is needed within soil, the ability to measure organic nutrients in said soil is extremely expensive and unrealistic throughout the growing season. Plants are smart enough to know what they need and when they need it; we are responsible to make sure all the nutrients are in the soil at the right time. Talk of pollution from overfeeding plants is all well and good, however, soil endowed with ample organic matter and compost/humus will store nutrients until needed by plants. To my knowledge, no soil test has been developed to measure what is stored with soil compost/humus levels yet, thus to mime about testing something that is "untestable" leaves much to be desired. Better to maintain high levels of compost and humus in the soil, make sure all the nutrients are in the soil for plants to be able to absorb said nutrients, and the gardener at the ready to harvest and consume said harvest are the best way to get healthy food to the table. Full spectrum amendments (loaded with all the nutrients we need for our body) added to the soil in the form of fertilizer or compost tea remove all doubt of weather the nutrients are there; we know they are there because we put them there. This includes all the nutrients a so-called "soil test" never tested for in the first place. I am not saying to never get a soil test; what I am saying is I never waste my money on a soil test; we test our soil at the dinner table. Blutranes

hello all : Been looking at this page for a while - and was inspired to try something I read - a wild yeast captured from Caraway seeds. After 5 days and a few additions of my own - think I have a live sponge - Started with soaking FRONTIERS ORGANIC Caraway seeds ( I read this - dont remember what site - said organic would be sun dried as to heat dried) in some water in jar - dash of flour - not really sure why next morning drained seeds , added 1/2 of flour closed cap of jar and shook to mix - within 1 hr I had froth - next day still frothy - so put into bigger jar and added 1/2 flour and water - shook to mix - cracked lid for outgas - very frothy and smelled like fermentation next day less froth strong fermentation smell - so added some apple cider vinegar from a dropper I was cleaning out - secured cap and shook - cracked lid for outgas - next day, little movement but lots of hooch and strong fermentation smell - so I added more vinegar , did the mixing etc... this morning I was making bread with yeast - decided to play with the concoction - used up organic fruit juice sweetened apricot fruit jam jar took 1/2 of the mix I started - just shook that to mix and cracked the lid - could smell a touch of vinegar in the mix - the main jar I just added some home stone ground white winter wheat flour - maybe 2 tablespoons and mixed with wooded spatula I mixed the yeast dough I had started last nite -now thick like pancake batter - just checked it a moment ago and appears to be live and starting to bubble I shall report back tomorrow with more result - thought those might be interested in my experiment cheers:

Whoo Hoo! Your first Weber! Play time ahead girl. You have got to do a chicken. Cheap easy and you will be amazed how easy. Here are some action shots of my grill... click the thumbnails for a big picture. Charcoal on the sides under the grate flaps. Later you can drop some wood or more charcoal. Probably won't need more charcoal! Bird in the middle. Stuff if you want but at least get the gizzard package out. Vents both bottom and top wide open! Go drink alcohol and party! *picture censured for indecent content* When you are drunk and partied out return for food. Note paper like skin. Eat it with your fingers while slugging on your beer. Relax... beer and chicken skin are calorie free when consumed together. Often best to work with kitchen gloves and tear the bird apart with your hands. Leftover skin, fat, and the bones should go in a pot for soup broth... a great lentil soup base because of the smokey flavor. There is a whole 'nuther bird stuck to the bones and you will be amazed at how meaty the soup is! After simmering for about an hour strain the broth to get the skin and bones back out. A wishbone in there!... remember those. Return any meat to the pot that you don't nibble away. In the picture I added coconut milk, curry paste, and cayenne pepper (flaming hot! and !!! hot) to the chicken broth and spooned it over lentils cooked in the microwave.... lentils cook in about 20 minutes when nuked! Being single I reserve the breast meat for sandwiches. Thighs have fat deposits that pick out with ease leaving nice lean meat. Wings and legs are prime snack parts... hand to husband and tell him to go lay down.. "good boy". I can still get a decent fryer bird for about $4. Leftover shredded chicken meat can be covered in bbq sauce and refried for a dandy sandwich filler... taco sauce for taco meat... soy sauce for fried rice... you get the ideas. Best spent 3-4 bucks in my whole grocery bill. Works fine with a whole turkey. Note the bird is so tender and well done that the legs pulled out to their sockets while rolling into the pan for transport to the kitchen. Works with every meat I've tried!... london broil, eye of round, bottom round, pork roast, and brisket. It even makes a meatloaf if you wrap the loaf in foil. Caution with foil wrapped stuff as there may be hot liquid to drain off... don't get splashed or drizzled on. It works in the winter and in the rain! No need to let a little rain stop the bbq. In fair weather you can use your Weber with the top off for traditional grilled steaks or whatever. Sometimes when smoking a chicken I'll slip a burger or steak over the coals. You may need extra charcoal if you lift the lid often... like an oven it cooks faster when left alone. Soak the wood but if you are lazy like me just drop a chunk on top the charcoal. A few peppercorns on the coals makes a pepper smoke... great flavor but don't get the smoke in your eyes. Now you need an injector kit! Inject those dry beef roasts with good stuffs for super juicy tasty experiments. Butter and cajun spice are a favorite. The grocery store probably has a dozen pre-made liquids for injecting. I'm currently eating on a beef brisket that I thusly smoked using charcoal, hickory wood, and black pepper. Last night pulled a chunk of cooked brisket from the fridge and covered it with vinegar, evoo, and rosemary before reheating in the microwave... a great main course in under 2 minutes! So good I'm having more for breakfast. I like to put an empty catfood can in the middle of the ash catcher to collect dripping grease... much of the fat will drip out the bottom. Your dog will probably eat it ashes and all before redepositing it on your livingroom carpet. : ) lyra