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A Question about Areation

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gamespy10

gamespy10

NewBee
Registered Member
May 5, 2017
29
0
1
33
Sheffield
Hi Very new person here

I recently bough a starter mead kit this one (https://goo.gl/odCbKr) and i am going to make my first batch soon. I just have one minor concern about the first stages of the fermentation. I read in the Guide that "To avoid stressing the yeast during their growth phase, it is important to provide them with the oxygen they need. Aerate the Must a couple of times a day for the first three days".

My issue is that i work away from home in the week so at max i will have only 2 days to aerate the mixture. Is there any solution to this and if not will it be okay or will my final product be negatively affected?

Sorry if this has been asked before i did try searching the forum but i couldn't find anything that answered this for me.

Thanks for taking the time to read this :)
 
So you could do better if you had more time to do this but you should still be ok.

Welcome to the forum. Stick around and learn some. Then ask for clearification before you start your next batch.
 
Hi Squatchy thanks for taking the time to answer me in the end the recipe in the kit only called for you to shake up the must once before just leaving it alone (i believe its a UK version of the JOAM without the spices).

For my next batch i want to do it more correctly though so i have been looking round the forum, iv read the whole newbee guide and i have looked into the calculator, Nutrients Vs Raisins debate, oaking, back sweetening and a few other things i'm going to continue to have a look around before starting my first proper batch but is there anything you'd recommend particularly reading?

I was thinking for my first proper mead id maybe do a vanilla mead and possibly oak it slightly. Once i have a proper plan and have used the calculator to work out the amount of honey etc. will i be okay to post up the recipe and my steps to get advice and guidance?

Also im just curious as to why the first recipe your recommended to try is one that is apparently bad practice?

Thanks again :)
 
It'll be fine, mate. I didn't know anything about aeration etc until I'd already made a bunch of batches and they all turned out fine. Aeration, degassing, TOSNA etc basically make the difference between a good mead and a great mead.

I'm just over t'Pennines in Manchester by the way. Welcome!
 
Hi nice to meet you :)

Its good to have the reassurance that itl be fine, i'm just a bit nervous about doing it properly. Also I did a food science degree so i may be going a bit too anal about the proper method.
 
gamespy10 said:
Hi Squatchy thanks for taking the time to answer me in the end the recipe in the kit only called for you to shake up the must once before just leaving it alone (i believe its a UK version of the JOAM without the spices).

For my next batch i want to do it more correctly though so i have been looking round the forum, iv read the whole newbee guide and i have looked into the calculator, Nutrients Vs Raisins debate, oaking, back sweetening and a few other things i'm going to continue to have a look around before starting my first proper batch but is there anything you'd recommend particularly reading?

I was thinking for my first proper mead id maybe do a vanilla mead and possibly oak it slightly. Once i have a proper plan and have used the calculator to work out the amount of honey etc. will i be okay to post up the recipe and my steps to get advice and guidance?

Also im just curious as to why the first recipe your recommended to try is one that is apparently bad practice?

Thanks again :)
Click to expand...

JAOM is a very easy recipe. If you lile the results you can get better practices but its the simplest recipe out there. Perfecr for begginers. What happens in jaom is not exactly bad practice, is just particular. Works well in jaom and nearly only jaom.

You should read the newbee guide and if you have doubts use the searh engine since most questions are already answer. That being said if anything is unclear many people here are happy to amswer questions.

Posting your recipe before starting id a great way to learn. Dont be afraid to experiment. Also posting the recipe before buying the ingredients might save you some money.

Also a tip. You can add the spices to jaom at any time if you feel like it. Nothing happens of you dont add them at the start of the ferment.

Mead usually always turns out at least ok. So dont worry too much

Other topics you might want to read about: sanitation, stabilizing, backsweetening, aereating and degassing, SNA (staggered nutrient additions, more specifically tosna if you can get fermaid O) and rehidration of dry yeast. This covers most aspects of meadmaking. Make sure to read modern articles and post about them all. If you are starting the posts about achieving balance in mead from squatchy and swordnut's alternative know-how are great. Both are sticked in the free subforums. In fact, anything that is sticked, is worth at least a glimpse. I tell you all this because you asked, but take it with patience and dont go mad. Most of us did not so great batches without knowing all this. You dont need to know it all. I'd start with the swordnut post, sanitation, SNA and rehidration.
 
Thanks Dadux

I will definitely have a look at those posts you mentioned, thank you :) and don't worry I'm really happy to experiment its one of the things that attracted me to this in the first place. I'm especially looking forward to testing batches at different ages to see the changes.

I already read some things about staggered nutrient addition but as i'm only around on the weekends i'm not going to be able to do it like that until i get a job closer to home. For now my workaround was put in halved raisins to act as nutrient, i have seen the debates about this and i know its not the best way of doing it but if it works and allows me to make mead for now i'm happy. I want to it the best i can and to do it right but i have to work with the limitation that i'm only around Friday evenings, Saturday & Sunday.

Im going to plan out a recipe tonight and post it up to get advice.
 
Another suggestion, if you're really worried about aeration, you can buy an aerator (w/ stone), drill an extra hole in the lid, and put the aerator on a timer. Have it go off a few times a day for half an hour.

For degassing, buy a cat, and tie a cat toy to the fermenter. The rocking will periodically trigger a gas release. ;)
 
MrMooCow said:
Another suggestion, if you're really worried about aeration, you can buy an aerator (w/ stone), drill an extra hole in the lid, and put the aerator on a timer. Have it go off a few times a day for half an hour.

For degassing, buy a cat, and tie a cat toy to the fermenter. The rocking will periodically trigger a gas release. ;)
Click to expand...

Il have a look into this, it isnt a bad idea even if it may cause the whole thing to explode haha
 
MrMooCow said:
Another suggestion, if you're really worried about aeration, you can buy an aerator (w/ stone), drill an extra hole in the lid, and put the aerator on a timer. Have it go off a few times a day for half an hour.

For degassing, buy a cat, and tie a cat toy to the fermenter. The rocking will periodically trigger a gas release. ;)
Click to expand...

GOD, i pictured that and laugher hard
 
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