Hi all been searching past posts to no avale . I have many buckets of fermented hunny , you can smell the funkyness . I’m ready to make some mead . Read some post to throw some fruit it it to hide any off flavors.Do I pasteurize it at lower temps , or do I sulfate it to kill the wild yeast? Thanks very much for any help.
Fermented hunny
- Thread starter Nitro1
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Never dealt with this problem personally. Not sure I'd trust it to be honest. If your goal is good, enjoyable mead, why risk it with inferior ingredients? I'd recommend losing the spoiled honey, getting fresh honey, and trying to figure out what caused the spoilage. One thing I can say is if your honey crystallizes, that creates pockets where the sugars are more diluted (more water) which makes ir susceptible to infection. Like when you dilute it to make mead!
If you're desperate to make mead with this honey, I'm sure there are others who could guide you as to how best to sanitize your must before pitching. Boiling or chemicals or a combination of both. But I wouldn't, personally. Good luck.
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If you're desperate to make mead with this honey, I'm sure there are others who could guide you as to how best to sanitize your must before pitching. Boiling or chemicals or a combination of both. But I wouldn't, personally. Good luck.
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I would go the heat method. Making a mead from this is not absurd, there have been many mazers who attempted to make sour meads. I haven't seen a very reliable way to make one posted though. You might succeed, or maybe not.
You need to have good mead making practices though. If you start with something a bit funky, then add some funk of your own because of bad practices I imagine the result is more likely to be undrinkable
You need to have good mead making practices though. If you start with something a bit funky, then add some funk of your own because of bad practices I imagine the result is more likely to be undrinkable
@Nitro1
What makes you think the honey is fermenting? The smell might be the result of some funky nectar bees picked up somewhere.
What is the story of this honey? Was it extracted to soon, before bees had a chance to drive out all the moisture from this honey?
@Mazer828
Crystallization of honey does not create "pockets" of moisture. Some liquid honey between crystals only means that the liquid portion of the honey has different chemical composition, different kind of sugar, which crystallizes at different time or temperature. This happens a lot when bees collect nectar from different sources.
What makes you think the honey is fermenting? The smell might be the result of some funky nectar bees picked up somewhere.
What is the story of this honey? Was it extracted to soon, before bees had a chance to drive out all the moisture from this honey?
@Mazer828
Crystallization of honey does not create "pockets" of moisture. Some liquid honey between crystals only means that the liquid portion of the honey has different chemical composition, different kind of sugar, which crystallizes at different time or temperature. This happens a lot when bees collect nectar from different sources.
I get what you're saying Crispy, but respectfully disagree. If you start with homogeneous honey, the sugar and water and other trace ingredients are evenly distributed. In this state, honey is very resistant to infection. The moment the crystals start to form however that balance is upset. The crystal becomes nearly 100% sugar, and what's left becomes slightly more aqueous. In a closed system this is undeniable.
My experience has shown numerous times honey will crystallize, resulting in the crystals precipitating to the bottom of the container, and leave a very liquid, swampy puddle on top. If exposed to contaminants, or if contaminants are already present (likely in raw honey) this environment is more friendly to yeast/bacteria growth than the homogeneous honey.
That's my only point. I suggest a wise mazer should acknowledge this as a factor, at least, if not a risk.
Peace out.
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My point is that the liquid portion in crystallized honey does not in any way causes fermentation or makes it more "friendly to yeast/bacteria growth".
The liquid portion of crystallized honey is simply a different form of sugar with addition of some enzymes and other compounds.
Here is the explanation of the crystallization process.
Another source here.
