General Advise/Help Needed new bee

[EB Taylor]

Hello all been lurking here for a while.
I followed the recipe found here (except I added 17 pounds of local raw honey) http://www.instructables.com/id/Easy-Mead/
Its been 16 days and the airlock is bubbling about once every 20 seconds now.
should I just keep waiting? or should I check the gravity (1st reading was 1.12)
Its my first batch and any experienced help would be appreciated.
the foamy nasty stuff on top of it looks gross.
Thanks in advance.

 

[mannye]

Hello all been lurking here for a while.
I followed the recipe found here (except I added 17 pounds of local raw honey) http://www.instructables.com/id/Easy-Mead/
Its been 16 days and the airlock is bubbling about once every 20 seconds now.
should I just keep waiting? or should I check the gravity (1st reading was 1.12)
Its my first batch and any experienced help would be appreciated.
the foamy nasty stuff on top of it looks gross.
Thanks in advance.

If you look to the left, you will see a honey colored column with green lettering. 5th down on that list is the "NewBee Guide" which should answer most of your questions/help you relax.

That's actually a really large batch for a first timer, but hey, I wish I had made more than a gallon my first time too, so you might be OK!

I haven't looked at the instructable, but they are usually pretty good at describing projects so you might be OK.

 

[fatbloke]

Sort of concur, though instructables only help IMO to point you in the right direction and get you started.

No mead will ever be "easy" and the instruction will likely be in their generic format for ease of conveyance of info. There's likely a lot left out so as not to confuse their format.

Go ahead and check the gravity as it is now. Meads are considerably more resistant to oxidation than wines, beers etc. And you would need to know where its at, so not to panic if and when it does stop bubbling.......which it will.

 

[loveofrose]

Definitely check the gravity. The combo of Wyeast Sweet Mead yeast and upfront acid blend addition could be problematic.

Let us know and we will help anyway we can!

 

[fatbloke]

Didn't check the instructable, but suggesting the use of the unpredictable wyeast 4184 says it was written without any consideration to ease of use IMO, maybe something like 71B would have been a better idea......

 

[mannye]

I took a look and it's a very basic guide. He's more concerned with the quality if the honey than the method or other ingredients. The whole mixing thing is a little clumsy, but other than that (aside from the yeast) he should be OK.

I would have done a gallon instead of five but whatever. It's fine.

Someone should do an instruct able on 1 gallon oAf JAOM.


Sent from my galafreyan transdimensional communicator 100 years from now.

 

[EB Taylor]

Thanks for the replies just got back from vacation and did a reading it was 1.10 started with a reading of 1.12 bubbles are about 1 min apart.
Should I wait ? rack it? or has it stopped ?

 

[fatbloke]

Well it does seem painfully slow..... I'd be aerating the hell out of it either a stick blender or a balloon whisk and thinking of another teaspoon of energiser......

Oh and if its a bit on the cool side temperature-wise, then bring it in somewhere warmer......

 

[EB Taylor]

Sounds like a plan I will pick up some energizer when I am in town.
As for aeration its in a 6.5 gallon carboy do I siphon out some of the must into smaller containers (or a blender) and aerate it that way?
Its been kept at a pretty constant 72 degrees fahrenheit .
Thanks again for the help.

 

[fatbloke]

Sounds like a plan I will pick up some energizer when I am in town.
As for aeration its in a 6.5 gallon carboy do I siphon out some of the must into smaller containers (or a blender) and aerate it that way?
Its been kept at a pretty constant 72 degrees fahrenheit .
Thanks again for the help.

Well I routinely start my batches in a bucket, but I've used sanitised liquidiser, stick blender, the handle of a plastic brewing spoon, etc etc and aerated that way.

If you do decide to take some out, into a sanitised bucket and stick blender.

Because if the batch is too close to the bottom of the carboy neck any agitation could cause an eruption.....

If its a 5 gallon batch in a 6.5 carboy you'd likely have enough airspace to stir slowly for a couple of minutes to nucleate the worst of the dissolved CO2 safely and not cause an eruption then after that, stir the bejesus out of it......

 

[mannye]

I use 5 gallon carboys and aerate by getting hold of it and slowly swirling on the floor it like a giant drink. It eventually builds a vortex and foams up letting out the c02. Of course, it's hard to swirl a carboy if you're on carpet, but any hard flooring should give enough "slip" to swirl your carboy. Just don't tell my wife if you spill some via MEA or swirling while drinking...

 

[EB Taylor]

Made a stirrer out of a plastic coat hanger and attached it to a cordless drill.
Had to re-pitch it to get it going again though (or thought I did) used a different yeast wyeast 4632.
Its bubbling away happily now every 3-5 seconds.
After a little bit of research it seemed the yeast I used was finicky especially with the amount of sugar (i used too much) and I probably did not aerate it well enough I chose the 4632 because of the simplicity of the pouch and it has a higher tolerance for alcohol.
The mead I like best is the cheap Chaucers and a local Texas traditional style made in Seguin Tx. so I am assuming I would like the 10-12.5% alcohol content best I guess I will have to sit down and do the math and figure out where to stop the fermentation.
Thanks for the help I wish I had joined this forum before I started my batch.
Happy New Year to all!!

 

[mannye]

You will probably be a bit surprised at how much more flavor your mead will have vs. Chaucer's, which is very sweet and one dimensional. In my opinion, it tastes best when the bottle is steeped with the spice bag and spiked with a shot of whiskey. Then after the first glass, who cares?

However... until I tried real mead, I also liked Chaucer's. It's the "Budweiser" of mead. Both in relative commercial success, as I think it's the most widely sold mead and generally flavorless when compared to the real thing.

 

[EB Taylor]

Hey everybody just took a hygrometer reading I started @ 1.12 its now @ 1.01 so Im gonna rack it in the morning (i think) any last minute advise ?
Thanks in advance.

 

[mannye]

Ia the mead clear? You should take several readings maybe like 3 or 4 days apart to make sure the primary is done. If the reading stays the same after maybe three times (honestly, that's all I have patience for) you should be ok to rack. I would suggest that once you rack into a secondary, get some Super Kleer and prepare to be amazed. After a few days you will have even clearer mead. Then you can rack it a third time into a bulk aging carboy. Have you tasted it yet?


Sent from my galafreyan transdimensional communicator 100 years from now. G

 

[EB Taylor]

No its not clear yet and I am sure its still fermenting But the alcohol level is at 15% and thats about as high as I wanted it to go.
for some reason I was under the assumption racking it into another bulk carboy would slow down the fermentation.
I guess I could wait if thats what you guys think I should do.

 

[mannye]

It will probably slow it down but it won't stop it. What you can do is put it in the fridge to get really cold and that will make the yeast go dormant or at least slow down. Even using sulphites it's very hard to stop an active fermentation.

Here is an article for you:



http://www.eckraus.com/wine-making-stop-fermentation/





Sent from my galafreyan transdimensional communicator 100 years from now. G

 

[GntlKnigt1]

Or, stabilize it by taking 1 cup of your must out, mixing in 1/4 tsp per gallon of potassium metabisulfite and 1/2 tsp of potassium sorbate in it and stir to dissolve. Then dump that into your new container and rack onto it to stop the fermentation (if your alcohol is where you want it to be).

 

[EB Taylor]

Ok I have put it in the fridge for 2 days then used the potassium just added the super kleer.
My next question is about back sweetening it taste dry as heck @ 14.5% -15% abc will it sweeten after bottling? (in about 4 days I presume unless it reactivates)
I guess I am wondering how it is supposed to taste now as apposed to how it will taste after it ages awhile.
Or should I sweeten some and see what happens?
Talked to the guys at home-brew supply here in Austin and they recommended a different yeast so the next batch will be more traditional (hopefully) and I can let it clear off more naturally.
Thanks again for the advise it helps.

 

[GntlKnigt1]

You used both sorbate and metabisulfite (I hope). If you dont use both, you run the risk of creating bottle bombs.....

Once properly stabilized, you add honey a cup or 2 at a time and then taste it. Continue adding until you are satisfied. Then, let it sit to become perfectly clear and to age, and bottle when youre ready.

Welcome to mead making!
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