I'm new to meadmaking and i'm going to make my first batch right away but was wondering if anyone has had any experience using high alkaline water? I recently bought a water ionizer and can set the ph of the water i'm going to use and i'm wondering which pH would be best?
Has anyone used alkaline ionized water?
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I don't generally balance the pH of my musts in so high tech a fashion 
but in general you should use water that results in a mixed must pH of around 3.4 to 4.0. Much lower than that, and your yeast may be stressed during the course of fermentation (although that also depends somewhat on the strain of yeast used), and much higher than that range allows undesirable spoilage organisms to develop. Welcome to Gotmead, BTW!!
but in general you should use water that results in a mixed must pH of around 3.4 to 4.0. Much lower than that, and your yeast may be stressed during the course of fermentation (although that also depends somewhat on the strain of yeast used), and much higher than that range allows undesirable spoilage organisms to develop. Welcome to Gotmead, BTW!!Thanks Wayne!! I'm thinking i'm gonna be a pioneer and try the pH of about 8.0 as that's the lowest setting on my machine. This water tastes great! Far superior to tap water, RO systems and IMHO, most bottled water. Tea and coffee taste way better! Ionized water has most contaminants removed and contains way more oxygen and minerals in it so i figure it'll kick the fermentation process into high gear? or it'll kick it so hard the bucket will fall over! I will soon find out.. lol!
Keep us informed! But you might have to adjust the acid balance after fermentation is over, because I'm not sure that a mead that high in pH will taste right - but who knows? You may be on to something! ;D
Does it ionize by adding ions of various minerals? Or am I missing something... I don't understand why it would have a higher mineral content after being ionized.
Since water has next to no buffering capacity, you can set the pH of your water as high as you like and as soon as the acids in the honey dissolve and as soon as the yeast start secreting organic acids (and pumping out CO2 - becoming carbonic acid) the pH is going to drop. There is still a good chance you'll still need to adjust the pH upward during fermentation of a traditional mead.
Still, it sounds like an interesting contraption, and if it makes your water taste better, that can only help.
Still, it sounds like an interesting contraption, and if it makes your water taste better, that can only help.
Medsen, I think AToE was alluding to the process that this device uses to change pH, and I think it does add a significant amount of dissolved minerals, which would change the buffering capacity of the water itself. Nevertheless, I think making a batch of mead with this water, while monitoring the pH of the must throughout fermentation, is a worthwhile experiment to try.
I think testing it sounds like a good idea as well.
However, just as it takes only a pinch of acid to drop the pH of water like a stone, it will take only a tiny amount of carbonates (or other alkaline substance) to bring the pH of water up to 8.0 (or even higher). If you add the amount of potassium bicarb we normally require to buffer a mead into a batch of plain water, the pH will shoot sky high.
It's more about minerals in the water being seperated into 2 streams (acidic and alkaline) and the minerals being more concentrated in the alkaline stream. Also, the restructuring of the molecules with addition of the negative oxygen and hydrogen ions - or something like that.. I'm not a chemist by any means. I'll let you all know how it goes!
My personal preference was to take the advice of my mead mentor and go buy spring water from the store. It's a closed source and regulated, so I have very little chance of having the water be an issue when something goes wrong. But I'll follow this thread. Let us know how it does.
Just for reference, I think my city's water has a pH of around 8.1, they add lime to make it taste sweeter. I used to have to hose out the lime slaker every night.
Tap water around here is always above 8, sometimes close to 9.
Experimentation is definitely in order though. My salt test is nearing completion of phase 1, so I can tell you that the amount of ions does affect flavor and fermentation kinetics. Whatever you do, collect some data so we can all live vicariously through your magic water machine. ;D
Experimentation is definitely in order though. My salt test is nearing completion of phase 1, so I can tell you that the amount of ions does affect flavor and fermentation kinetics. Whatever you do, collect some data so we can all live vicariously through your magic water machine. ;D
so my first batch is in the closet hopefully the yeast is doing it thing. I'm thinking the oxygenated water i used will be an asset for the fermentation which I will check within the next day or two but it went well and I did it without heating the must. The O.G. was approx 1.090, pH was approx. 6.2. Now for the hardest part... Waiting! I will keep updating periodically.
So i was apparently supposed to take the initial gravity reading before i added the yeast? I took it at the end after all the ingredients were in and that's when i got 1.090. (approx 12.35 alc. by volume). I took it the next day and it was 1.104 and then the next day it was 1.080. I thought this was a bit odd that it fluctuated this way. Now i'm not sure what the alcohol content will be. Am I right to assume it would be roughly between 12 and 14%? Also, is stirring during the fermentation a no no? I've tasted the must/mead and it already tastes good to me! lol! It actually smells like apple cider, (even though there are no apples whatsoever), and tastes like an slightly carbonated honey apple mixture. i'm going to buy a digital pH tester today because my strips don't go lower that 5.0, but i know that the must is lower than that, so that's a good sign.
Measuring it right after pitching the yeast isn't a problem, the main thing is just making sure that you measure it before the yeast start eating.
That upswing in SG is pretty much sure to be one thing: honey that wasn't totally dissolved and then had finished dissolving by the second measurement. So we know your "starting" gravity was at least 1.104, it may have been higher because the yeast might have been eating some while the honey was still dissolving. After that it looks normal, just fermenting away!
Should be around 14% if it ferments to dry is my best guess.
Stirring during fermentation is a yes yes! Make sure you read that newbee guide and read around these forums, that kind of thing comes up super often. Stirring is good, and aerating until the ferment is 1/3 done is good.
That upswing in SG is pretty much sure to be one thing: honey that wasn't totally dissolved and then had finished dissolving by the second measurement. So we know your "starting" gravity was at least 1.104, it may have been higher because the yeast might have been eating some while the honey was still dissolving. After that it looks normal, just fermenting away!
Should be around 14% if it ferments to dry is my best guess.
Stirring during fermentation is a yes yes! Make sure you read that newbee guide and read around these forums, that kind of thing comes up super often. Stirring is good, and aerating until the ferment is 1/3 done is good.
It is always a good idea to get an initial gravity reading before fermentation gets started (although you can take it after you've pitched the yeast - just before or just after doesn't make any difference), both because the bubble formation that occurs once fermentation gets going can artificially raise the SG you read on your hydrometer, if the bubbles stick to it as you take the reading, and because once fermentation really gets going there's no telling how much sugar has been consumed in between the start of fermentation and your reading.
With this batch, the funny jump in SG might be due to those bubbles I mentioned above, or it might be that your honey wasn't completely dissolved the first day, but then finished dissolving over the subsequent 24 hours. Since the sticking bubble thing is such a common occurrence, I'd guess that was the more likely cause of the jump in your must's case (sorry to disagree with you, AToE!).
With this batch, the funny jump in SG might be due to those bubbles I mentioned above, or it might be that your honey wasn't completely dissolved the first day, but then finished dissolving over the subsequent 24 hours. Since the sticking bubble thing is such a common occurrence, I'd guess that was the more likely cause of the jump in your must's case (sorry to disagree with you, AToE!).
Once fermentation starts, you can get erroneously high readings as the bubbles cling to the sides of the hydrometer buoying it up. It is also possible that not all your honey was mixed in uniformly when you took the first reading. Those are the two most common causes for getting a higher reading the day after pitching.
Which yeast are you using? In fact, perhaps you should post up the recipe details.
It is not uncommon to get apple aromas during and after fermentation from acetaldehyde and esters being formed.
Edit - clearly I'm running a little slow today.
Which yeast are you using? In fact, perhaps you should post up the recipe details.
It is not uncommon to get apple aromas during and after fermentation from acetaldehyde and esters being formed.
Edit - clearly I'm running a little slow today.
That sounds about right, the honey may not have been completely dissolved the first day although i did mix the living "you know what" out of it, i didn't heat the must so the room temperature water most likely didn't dissolve as well. I will read all the newbee threads that i can today while i'm doing nothing at work!
I used approx. 13lbs of mainly alfalfa honey, to make a 5 gallon batch. The yeast was Lalvin 1118 and I used the yeast nutrient, i believe it was DAP ( which i'm kind of regretting because i wanted to see what it would do free of all helpers due to the water i'm using), maybe i'll go "au natural" next batch I also won't be sorbating or sulfiting as I want to make the process as clean of chemical intervention as possible. I eat for the most part without perservatives and added colours so that's how i shall drink!
I'm now addicted to the Meadmaking process...
I used approx. 13lbs of mainly alfalfa honey, to make a 5 gallon batch. The yeast was Lalvin 1118 and I used the yeast nutrient, i believe it was DAP ( which i'm kind of regretting because i wanted to see what it would do free of all helpers due to the water i'm using), maybe i'll go "au natural" next batch
I also won't be sorbating or sulfiting as I want to make the process as clean of chemical intervention as possible. I eat for the most part without perservatives and added colours so that's how i shall drink!I'm now addicted to the Meadmaking process...
