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docdean1

docdean1

NewBee
Registered Member
Feb 11, 2009
34
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san diego,ca.
hey all, ive been bulk aging some sack mead for a few months now in a glass carboy and clarified it when it was time with some hot mix sparkaloid and it cleared great,but now a few months later it seems to have hazed up again a bit,i know the yeast isnt kicking anymore and was wondering if anyone has had this happen to them before and also is there any side effects to re-adding some more hot mix to the batch,like any off flavors or the like?
 
Well I guess it would only be proper to ask for the recipe details in order to give better answers.

Also, does it smell and taste okay? Developing a new haze can be a sign of a spoilage organism at work, and if it is a sweet mead, that becomes a thought.

It can also be a sign of renewed fermentation with the warmer weather if it was not stabilized (and sometimes even if it was stabilized). Is it producing any CO2? Is the gravity changing slowly?

If none of that is occurring, since you treated with sparkalloid before which is positively charged, you might consider changing to a negative charge like bentonite to bind other things.

Just some thoughts.
 
Funny this comes up.
Is the haze toward the top?

I just added sparkaloid to some carrot honey meads, there is this thick haze at the top and a bunch of stuff that has already hit the bottom. I just fined yesterday.
The mead was sulphited before adding sparkaloid.
I almost think that if I tap the glass the haze at the top will start to fall.
Is this possible, anyone have this issue.:confused:
 
Yeah I tend to get a layer that sticks to the surface (surface tension I presume) and even after using Sparkolloid there is still a layer there, only now it also contains the fining agent. I just don't pick up the surface layer when I rack and it works out ok.
 
Bentonite has always worked very fast for me. But always top down. Although I've never tried Sparkalloid, most finings work that way, top down. I've never had a haze on top later. It almost makes me think you have a secondary ferment or other crazy thing going on here. Are pectins a factor here? And temperatures? (especially temps)

We don't know how you got to this point. Can you point us to how you got here?
 
docdean1 said:
hey all, ive been bulk aging some sack mead for a few months now in a glass carboy and clarified it when it was time with some hot mix sparkaloid and it cleared great,but now a few months later it seems to have hazed up again a bit,i know the yeast isnt kicking anymore and was wondering if anyone has had this happen to them before and also is there any side effects to re-adding some more hot mix to the batch,like any off flavors or the like?
Click to expand...

Medsen's point on possible infection is a good one. Is there anything like a film adhering to the surface of the mead? If you shake the carboy just a little, tip it back an firth, does it disturb anything on the surface? That would be an infection of some kind.

On the other hand, if it's only a matter of colloidal material coming out of suspension, may be nothing to worry about. Depending on your plans for bulk aging, you could let it sit and see if it clears on its own.
 
docdean1 said:
hey all, ive been bulk aging some sack mead for a few months now in a glass carboy and clarified it when it was time with some hot mix sparkaloid and it cleared great,but now a few months later it seems to have hazed up again a bit,i know the yeast isnt kicking anymore and was wondering if anyone has had this happen to them before and also is there any side effects to re-adding some more hot mix to the batch,like any off flavors or the like?
Click to expand...

I'm kind of curious as to what the SG and FG are......PH? Did you maybe put any fruit in this?
 
it smells and tastes like a high alcohol mead.it started off at 1.170 and ended at 1.024 and has remained that way since for a few months now.there is no c02 coming out of the airlock.the ac went from 22.5 to 3 so its pretty strong.no fruit added to this one. when tipped theres nothing that gets disturbed except a little bit of yeast dead at the bottom.no film on the top layer.the temps were from the winter so they were way high at around 80-82. ingredients were 20 pounds honey,5 gallons water,yeast nutrients(unknown exactly from a premade packet)4 teaspoons of diammonium sulfite and 4-5g kv1116. i know i know...its a monster experiment,lol
 
docdean1 said:
,but now a few months later it seems to have hazed up again a bit,i know the yeast isnt kicking anymore...
Click to expand...

Thank's for the additional info. With that high of an alcohol and sugar level, it is unlikely that any spoilage organism can take over this mead.

Since it was not stabilized, I wouldn't rule out the yeast kicking back up again. With strong sweet meads they are prone to do this as the temperature warms up. I'd follow the gravity over another month to make sure it is stable.

It is not uncommon for a big change in temperature to create some haze. Commercial wines often do both a cold stabilization and may use short term heating to make sure that no haze will develop in the bottle while it sits in the less-than-ideal conditions of a store shelf (or someone's pantry). I'd give it time and see if it will settle on its own. If it doesn't you can treat with a fining agent, but again, I'd probably consider Bentonite myself.

Good luck with it.

Medsen
 
thanks much,i'll try the bentonite in a few days when i get a chance.i forgot to say i stabilized with 5 campden tablets and potassium sorbate before putting it back into the carboy to bulk age.
 
I just used Sparkaloid for the first time and oh, my, the stuff that precipitated out overnight is AMAZING. You tap the carboy and it falls to the bottom. It's a lot clearer, too.

Is it okay to leave the mead on that stuff or should I rack it off into another carboy?
 
Thanks, Medsen. It's still precipitating out, so no reason to do it now anyway, I just wanted to make sure it would not add off-flavors etc.

I love this site!
 
The recommendation I've seen is to let it sit for a month before racking, to make sure it has all settled and to let the lees/gunk compact. Sparkolloid can be kind of fluffy if you try to rack it too soon, but it will solidify a bit over time. I've still racked after only two weeks, you just have to be gentle.
 
It is fluffy, but it's only been a day. It's the lingonberry mead (and no, I haven't done the brewlog yet), and them things are LOADED with pectin. I left a lot of it on the bottom of the tub, and added the sparkaloid in the hopes to get even more of it to precipitate out, which it did. I'm glad it'll compact a bit as time goes on.

It's still making the airlock blip two or three times a minute as well, which is fine with me, as I'd like it to go back as dry as it was before I racked over the berries.

Thanks Aaron!
 
wildoates said:
It's still making the airlock blip two or three times a minute as well, which is fine with me, as I'd like it to go back as dry as it was before I racked over the berries.
Click to expand...

Move it to where you're going to rack a couple days before racking. The bottom stuff will churn up when it's moved.

How old is this? It might "fog" up again if it's still fermenting..........
 
Not very...lemme check the brewlog that I at least have on paper...rifles through papers on desk...pitch 6-15. Got it down below what my hydrometer would measure (.990) and racked it over 11 pounds of lingonberries (sadly, with sugar, as that was all I could find affordable) which booted it up to about 1.010 or thereabouts again. Kicked off fermentation again until it was to 1.01, when it slowed to nevermind, which is when I racked it on Tuesday. Lots of pectin--I mean LOTS--which is mostly why I racked it (that and the berries were pale ghosts of their former selves--only took a few days to do that). I was hoping the sparkalloid would help drop some more of the gunk out, which clearly it has.
 
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