Heya, just wanted some input on what to do next and also rant a little
Recipe:
4,5 liter total volume (Added 0,5l water after first racking to top up container so current total is 5 liter)
1.33kg mixed supermarket semi-solid honey
Safale US-05 ale yeast ~5g (added in 2 parts, 24 hours between)
Handfull of unwashed raisins (12-15 pcs)
Starting gravity 1.080
Everything was cleaned with PBW and rinsed/sanitized with StarSan prior to meadmaking.
Must/Honey was not heated up.
Yeast was activated in tapwater for about 1-4 minutes on the first try, which it apparently didn't like, so i tried pitching again after a day with must for a full 30min and then it started working same day.
After 7 days it was at 1.050 gravity and i used the meadcalculator which told me it was around 4.2% alcohol now, and i considered that to be perfect for me so i racked it and topped off the new carboy and put it in the fridge.
Now it's been in the fridge for 2 days and i'm pretty sure i'm going to have to either buy tablets or use a sous vide to pasteurize(heat it) to 50 celsius before trying to bottle it for ageing and i don't know which would be best?
Is it actually viable to do it like i just did/am about to do, or do i absolutely have to let it ferment for weeks/month and have to live with high abv in the endproduct?
Sidenote, the reason i got into making mead finally was citysteading on youtube (hey guys!)
Watching various mead videos reminded me of a honey-drink i got once as a child in a renaissance/medieval faire (medieval week in Karlstad, Sweden), bottled in a old-timey looking stone/ceramic bottle and it tasted sweet of honey, was clear yellow and had slight carbonation.. but now i'm pretty sure it was not proper mead since it had 0% alcohol or even the taste/smell of yeast/fermentation.. i wonder what it could've been?
Recipe:
4,5 liter total volume (Added 0,5l water after first racking to top up container so current total is 5 liter)
1.33kg mixed supermarket semi-solid honey
Safale US-05 ale yeast ~5g (added in 2 parts, 24 hours between)
Handfull of unwashed raisins (12-15 pcs)
Starting gravity 1.080
Everything was cleaned with PBW and rinsed/sanitized with StarSan prior to meadmaking.
Must/Honey was not heated up.
Yeast was activated in tapwater for about 1-4 minutes on the first try, which it apparently didn't like, so i tried pitching again after a day with must for a full 30min and then it started working same day.
After 7 days it was at 1.050 gravity and i used the meadcalculator which told me it was around 4.2% alcohol now, and i considered that to be perfect for me so i racked it and topped off the new carboy and put it in the fridge.
Now it's been in the fridge for 2 days and i'm pretty sure i'm going to have to either buy tablets or use a sous vide to pasteurize(heat it) to 50 celsius before trying to bottle it for ageing and i don't know which would be best?
Is it actually viable to do it like i just did/am about to do, or do i absolutely have to let it ferment for weeks/month and have to live with high abv in the endproduct?
Sidenote, the reason i got into making mead finally was citysteading on youtube (hey guys!)
Watching various mead videos reminded me of a honey-drink i got once as a child in a renaissance/medieval faire (medieval week in Karlstad, Sweden), bottled in a old-timey looking stone/ceramic bottle and it tasted sweet of honey, was clear yellow and had slight carbonation.. but now i'm pretty sure it was not proper mead since it had 0% alcohol or even the taste/smell of yeast/fermentation.. i wonder what it could've been?