Toggle sidebar

Acidex?

  • PATRONS: Did you know we've a chat function for you now? Look to the bottom of the screen, you can chat, set up rooms, talk to each other individually or in groups! Click 'Chat' at the right side of the chat window to open the chat up.
  • Love Gotmead and want to see it grow? Then consider supporting the site and becoming a Patron! If you're logged in, click on your username to the right of the menu to see how as little as $30/year can get you access to the patron areas and the patron Facebook group and to support Gotmead!
  • We now have a Patron-exclusive Facebook group! Patrons my join at The Gotmead Patron Group. You MUST answer the questions, providing your Patron membership, when you request to join so I can verify your Patron membership. If the questions aren't answered, the request will be turned down.
Barrel Char Wood Products
P

PJH

NewBee
Registered Member
Feb 23, 2011
16
0
0
Hello mead gurus,

my latest batch of traditional mead has gone as such so far:

6kg honey
3tsp DAP (added after lag phase)
2tsp yeast energizer
1 vanilla bean
D47 yeast
Well oxygenated until 1/3 sugar break, then added airlock.

After 2 weeks, it seems to have stalled. SG is 1.044 and not changing for a few days. Very few bubbles (one every 5 minutes? out of airlock) and very few bubbles rising up in the must seen through the carboy. The lees seem to be settling very quickly after shaking the carboy. I know people say don't go by bubbles, but I'm very sure there are no leaks in the airlock (I made a custom plug using o-rings).

So in a moment of panic I put in 2 tsp of sodium bicarbonate (it's all I had on hand) to test the theory that that the pH is too low. It seems to working; now 1 bubble every 10 seconds out of airlock. So I'm pretty sure that was the problem (don't own pH meter, but can borrow one next week).

My plan is now to wait until I get a pH meter and then do further adjustments if necessary with something other than sodium bicarbonate. I went to my LHBS, but they didn't have calcium carbonate, only "acidex". On the package it says it contains calcium carbonate, calcium malate, and calcium tartrate. I also have some climbing chalk (magnesium carbonate).


Question 1: will sodium bicarbonate at these levels have noticeable negative taste or other negative effects?

Question 2: what should I use for further adjustments if needed? Acidex or magnesium carbonate?

Thanks!
 
Size of batch and starting gravity?

Check the SG again before adding more sodium bicarb, the bubbling you're seeing might just be from it reacting with acid, it might not actually be increased yeast activity, and 2 tsp shouldn't be noticeable unless it's a small batch (I'm expecting it's around a 5-gal batch?) but you'll probably want to use this "acidex" stuff if it is a pH problem (looks like a blend of stuff that will help).
 
Having o-rings added on is also irrelevant in my opinion. Any decent stopper bought these days will be air-tight. As a test of mine, at work I plugged the air lock hole and gave mine pressure in a test jig and it took almost 15 psi before it popped out, so I trust it's ability to stay sealed for some time. Save some money and time, just get a quality one and trust the manufacturer has good molds for his wares.

Also, a seconed for the above. Good luck with the batch!
 
Being airtight is not necessary for primary fermentation (some folks still use open buckets), and if you use a bucket instead of a carboy, well, some buckets just don't hold pressure no matter how good your stopper is... but you definitely don't want any leaks for secondary fermentation after it's mostly stopped releasing carbon dioxide. And if you're have a hydrometer anyway, you don't need to count bubbles :)
 
Chevette Girl said:
Being airtight is not necessary for primary fermentation (some folks still use open buckets), and if you use a bucket instead of a carboy, well, some buckets just don't hold pressure no matter how good your stopper is... but you definitely don't want any leaks for secondary fermentation after it's mostly stopped releasing carbon dioxide. And if you're have a hydrometer anyway, you don't need to count bubbles :)
Click to expand...

I stand amended Chevette Girl. My only real point was the stopper being good enough as is is. And also we still need to know the batch size.
 
Oh yeah, sorry, the batch is 23L. OG not actually measured, but mass of honey was measured accurately. I'm sure the rubber stoppers work fine, the only reason I made my own with o-rings was because my local store only had cork stoppers with no holes in the middle for the airlock. I tried drilling out a hole in the cork stopper, but made a mess of it, so ended up just machining a plastic stopper with some o-ring grooves. Either, way, my point was simply that I was sure that the fermentation had practically stopped.

Anyway, it's still bubbling away since the addition of the sodium bicarb, now 24hrs later, so it's more than just the sodium bicarb reacting with the acid I think. Of course there was an original surge of bubbles which can be attributed to that effect.

Thanks for the answers. No one else has heard of or used acidex, or knows much about calcium malate or calcium tartrate? I find it funny how my store had only this product, but no one else seems to have heard of it.
 
I might also recommend buying some Ph test strips. They're considerably cheaper than a Ph meter (and far less twitchy from what I can tell)

I think my bottle of test strips ran about $4 from midwest supplies and gets you a close enough idea of the acid level.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Barrel Char Wood Products

Viking Brew Vessels - Authentic Drinking Horns

Top Bottom