Hey all!
I’ve been lurking here for a week or so, reading constantly and assimilating as much knowledge as possible. You guys are awesome, and this community gives me hope for the internet!
So going by other posts on this forum, I’ll go ahead and write out the recipe I used and the process and observations up to this point:
1 gallon Carboy
~3lbs Desert Wildflower Raw Honey (purchased at Costco, researched it and it seemed to be pure and unprocessed. I would say there was about 3-4 spoonfuls missing when I made the must, as I had used some of it on various foods to “examine” the flavor
)
1/2 gallon Icelandic Glacial Spring Water
1 packet D47
Fermax Nutrient
Day 1
Filled up the carboy with water and a capful of IoStar sanitizer, shook it up, and let it sit while I prepared the ingredients. I realize now that I should have spent the extra money for a non-iodine solution, but hindsight is 20/20 at this point. I used a pitcher filled with hot water from the sink and set each bottle of water in it one at a time to warm them up to room temp ~68F (they were in the refrigerator at the convenience store I bought them from). I also warmed the honey bottle this way. After sanitizing the carboy and cap I put the honey and water in the carboy, capped it, and shook vigorously to oxygenate and mix the must. After that I sanitized the airlock and bung, hydrated the yeast briefly (I could have done this better, just put the yeast packet in water and stirred it for a few seconds), and pitched the yeast. Capped it again, shook it vigorously, and then put the airlock on and let it sit. After maybe 20 minutes I added 1/2tsp Fermax and aerated again. Temperature in the house is a constant 68F. Signs of fermentation appeared after 6-8 hours.
Day 2
Fermentation started to pick up a bit, bubble popped in the airlock every 15 seconds or so. I know that it’s not a reliable indicator, but I don’t have a Hydrometer so that’s my indicator for now! Added another 1/2tsp Fermax about 24 hours after pitching and aerated again. Degassing every 2 hours with the airlock on because I can’t stop watching it! Sweet smell from the top, just slightly bready/yeasty, but in a pleasant way. Late at night I poured a tiny sample to taste, and it was smooth and slightly carbonated, and I swear I felt a little warmth in my chest, although that seems crazy fast for enough alcohol to have appeared. By the end of the day the airlock is bubbling every 3-5 seconds, but I’m degassing every 2 hours or so. Speeds back up quickly after degassing though, so my little friends are doing work! Tasted again and it’s very smooth, a bit more carbonated now, and seems very palatable. Definitely a bit of warmth to it in the chest, but no bite on the mouth. I’m noticing a bit more Lees before each degassing now.
Day 3
Came down to see it bubbling away, although it seemed a little slower today. Degassed and smelled, and I was surprised to find it smelled like orange juice?! Almost a sickly sweet smell. Not “oh my god no” unpleasant, but not as nice as the day before. I degassed again and ran to check this forum for ideas. I read a few posts that spoke of sulphuric/rotten eggs smell, and that that indicated the yeast were having a rough go of it and more nutrients could help. While the smell my batch is giving off isn’t that horrible, I decided to add 1/4tsp of Fermax and aerated/mixed it a bit. It’s bubbling away again now and the smell seems to have *mostly* gone away. Still a good amount of Lees settling relatively quickly after degassing.
So my 2 questions:
1. What was that smell, and have I done a decent enough job to hopefully mitigate it? I know that ph and hydrometer readings would be the way to tell, but as of right now any guesses or advice? The smell wasn’t overly pungent, but it smelled like a bottle of orange juice to me, and I didn’t expect it so now I’m worried.
2. Anything to know about amount of lees at the bottom of my batch? At this point in fermentation should I be seeing a bunch or is this abnormal? I lose sleep over my little guys dying in a toxic environment, so I’m just wanting to make sure that they’re not dying off. Hoping they’re just fat and lazy and a good stir every few hours is all they need.
Thanks much for any insights!
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
I’ve been lurking here for a week or so, reading constantly and assimilating as much knowledge as possible. You guys are awesome, and this community gives me hope for the internet!
So going by other posts on this forum, I’ll go ahead and write out the recipe I used and the process and observations up to this point:
1 gallon Carboy
~3lbs Desert Wildflower Raw Honey (purchased at Costco, researched it and it seemed to be pure and unprocessed. I would say there was about 3-4 spoonfuls missing when I made the must, as I had used some of it on various foods to “examine” the flavor
)1/2 gallon Icelandic Glacial Spring Water
1 packet D47
Fermax Nutrient
Day 1
Filled up the carboy with water and a capful of IoStar sanitizer, shook it up, and let it sit while I prepared the ingredients. I realize now that I should have spent the extra money for a non-iodine solution, but hindsight is 20/20 at this point. I used a pitcher filled with hot water from the sink and set each bottle of water in it one at a time to warm them up to room temp ~68F (they were in the refrigerator at the convenience store I bought them from). I also warmed the honey bottle this way. After sanitizing the carboy and cap I put the honey and water in the carboy, capped it, and shook vigorously to oxygenate and mix the must. After that I sanitized the airlock and bung, hydrated the yeast briefly (I could have done this better, just put the yeast packet in water and stirred it for a few seconds), and pitched the yeast. Capped it again, shook it vigorously, and then put the airlock on and let it sit. After maybe 20 minutes I added 1/2tsp Fermax and aerated again. Temperature in the house is a constant 68F. Signs of fermentation appeared after 6-8 hours.
Day 2
Fermentation started to pick up a bit, bubble popped in the airlock every 15 seconds or so. I know that it’s not a reliable indicator, but I don’t have a Hydrometer so that’s my indicator for now! Added another 1/2tsp Fermax about 24 hours after pitching and aerated again. Degassing every 2 hours with the airlock on because I can’t stop watching it! Sweet smell from the top, just slightly bready/yeasty, but in a pleasant way. Late at night I poured a tiny sample to taste, and it was smooth and slightly carbonated, and I swear I felt a little warmth in my chest, although that seems crazy fast for enough alcohol to have appeared. By the end of the day the airlock is bubbling every 3-5 seconds, but I’m degassing every 2 hours or so. Speeds back up quickly after degassing though, so my little friends are doing work! Tasted again and it’s very smooth, a bit more carbonated now, and seems very palatable. Definitely a bit of warmth to it in the chest, but no bite on the mouth. I’m noticing a bit more Lees before each degassing now.
Day 3
Came down to see it bubbling away, although it seemed a little slower today. Degassed and smelled, and I was surprised to find it smelled like orange juice?! Almost a sickly sweet smell. Not “oh my god no” unpleasant, but not as nice as the day before. I degassed again and ran to check this forum for ideas. I read a few posts that spoke of sulphuric/rotten eggs smell, and that that indicated the yeast were having a rough go of it and more nutrients could help. While the smell my batch is giving off isn’t that horrible, I decided to add 1/4tsp of Fermax and aerated/mixed it a bit. It’s bubbling away again now and the smell seems to have *mostly* gone away. Still a good amount of Lees settling relatively quickly after degassing.
So my 2 questions:
1. What was that smell, and have I done a decent enough job to hopefully mitigate it? I know that ph and hydrometer readings would be the way to tell, but as of right now any guesses or advice? The smell wasn’t overly pungent, but it smelled like a bottle of orange juice to me, and I didn’t expect it so now I’m worried.
2. Anything to know about amount of lees at the bottom of my batch? At this point in fermentation should I be seeing a bunch or is this abnormal? I lose sleep over my little guys dying in a toxic environment, so I’m just wanting to make sure that they’re not dying off. Hoping they’re just fat and lazy and a good stir every few hours is all they need.
Thanks much for any insights!
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
