First time brewer, did I miss something?
- Thread starter Shett
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Awesome... lots of good advice in this thread! I'm working on (by which I mean resisting the urge to move or taste) my first batch of JAO, which is three weeks old this Wednesday. I threw quite a lot of yeast in, a full tablespoon, because I mis-read the directions I had found... but it sounds like it should be fine and any problems I encounter will be solved by aging?
Hey Sprigg, welcome to the addiction-er, hobby ;D
I don't see there being a problem with over-pitching like that, it likely just got it up and running a few hours faster than if you'd only used a teaspoon... although if you make another batch with the correct amount of yeast, you can do a taste comparison and let us know if there's any difference!
(...yes, my own to-do list is full so I'm adding things to other people's lists instead!
)
I don't see there being a problem with over-pitching like that, it likely just got it up and running a few hours faster than if you'd only used a teaspoon... although if you make another batch with the correct amount of yeast, you can do a taste comparison and let us know if there's any difference!
(...yes, my own to-do list is full so I'm adding things to other people's lists instead!
)Well it's now been over a month and it's a dark amber color but looks like it's starting to clear up. I'm hoping that another jug opens up for me soon so I can transfer it, darned economy has kept my ability to buy any equipment down to nil.
I did get a small bottle of mead from a friend of mine, it was a sack mead that he brewed in 2010 and was incredibly sweet. He said he used about 5 pounds of honey per gallon and you could definitely taste it, almost tasted like a liquid boozy honey candy to me. I like drier flavors myself but the wife liked it, which was good for me because it broke down some of her resistance to me brewing more
I did get a small bottle of mead from a friend of mine, it was a sack mead that he brewed in 2010 and was incredibly sweet. He said he used about 5 pounds of honey per gallon and you could definitely taste it, almost tasted like a liquid boozy honey candy to me. I like drier flavors myself but the wife liked it, which was good for me because it broke down some of her resistance to me brewing more
Although this is true, you can get a general idea what you are working with without always consulting conversion scales and looking up density.
One teaspoon is roughly 5ml. 1ml of water = 1g of water. Generally, a solid is more dense than water and most liquids are generally slightly more dense (about halfway between water and an average solid.) This may not be scientific, but we aren't in china so we aren't making mead with lead or rubidium or some heavy metal, so we should be able to live with a little generalized and vague comparison to get us through successfully.
A quick way to determine density is to take the questionable material and put it on the surface of water and if it floats it is less dense and if it falls it is more dense.
We should all have put some yeast on the surface of some water by now and we can see that it's first action is to float on the surface. The yeasty-pellets are less dense that water until they soak up some water. Therefore, one can assume that one tsp of yeast is slightly less than 5g.
Or maybe I have been out of school for too long...
I suspect that pelleted yeast initially floating has more to do with water's surface tension than the yeast's density.
I don't get too worked up about weighing out my ingredients versus using volume measurements because humidity can mess with your readings, and I'm assuming that all my assumptions are approximate anyway. And I'm lazy ;D
I don't get too worked up about weighing out my ingredients versus using volume measurements because humidity can mess with your readings, and I'm assuming that all my assumptions are approximate anyway. And I'm lazy ;D
I had considered that while I was writing my Essay on the Science of Measurement Conversions as Applied to Modern Mead Making...or simply put, that post below.
I put considerable thought into it and decided that the small pellet size, if it was truly denser than water, would be enough to break surface tension. I am fairly sure that those pellets are actually more air than solid and doubt that they are actually densely packed, nuts-to-butts, yeasties. I based this on I how long I think it would take a densely packed cake of yeast to absorb sufficient water and how lumpy it would be vs how quickly the yeast actually do absorb water and create an even solution.
This being said, I reserve the right to be wrong on this and all other matters.
I'm quoting you on that. ;D
Even silt and sand will sometimes float on top of water, despite essentially being rock which we know is denser than water.
It would be easier to just take a measured-weight packet of Lalvin yeast and see what volume it is...
Granted and confirmed. Another bubble frequency thread.
Just weigh it. Otherwise, it's not really an exact science unless you want it to be.
A pinch of this and that works for me until you want to duplcate the recipe.
Then you begin to wonder; why the hell didn't I take notes.
