The recipe is as follows
Mead, a drink that can take on many characteristics - sweet or dry - depending on the amount of honey used - about 1.5kg (3lb) for a dry wine or about 1.75kg (4lb) for a sweet wine.
Makes approximately 1 gallon (imperial) or 4.5 litres.
Set Honey - 1.5 -1.75 kg/3-4 lb
Cold Tea - 600 ml/1 pint
Campden tablets
Boiled water
Citric acid - 1 teaspoon
Wine Yeast compound OR Special Mead Yeast and Yeast nutrient.
Add tea and 1 campden tablet dissolved in a quarter pint of boiling water
Place in 1 gallon fermentation vessel
Top up to almost three quarters full with boiled water and shake to mix thoroughly
Add citric acid
Prep must (did the original recipe say this or is it just the way my mother wrote it down? i.e. did she mean prepare a starter ???) The yeast mixture as per the instructions on yeast packet/or yeast compound/or the "special mead yeast".
When must (starter) has been fermenting for about 3 - 5 hours it should be added to the fermentation vessel.
Ensure it's mixed well and top up with more cooled water. Fit air lock and put in warm place to ferment.
WATCH IT CAREFULLY
If heavy sediment builds up, syphon mead into separate vessel, taking just a little of the sediment.
When fermentation is complete (4-6 weeks) syphon mead into clean, sterilised vessel i.e. no sediment.
See campden tablet instructions Dissolve 1 or 2 in a little hot water and add to mead. This will ensure fermentation stops and wine clears.
Leave sealed under and airlock till the wine is cleared and sediment formed (you can filter it if you have the equipment available).
Bottle in sterilised bottles, cork and label.
Store for at least 6/12 - The longer the better.
The recipe is one that my mother found in the "Gales Book of Honey" (Gales being a UK brand - now part of those well known food nazis, Nestle). I've previously had no problems with it, but now I have.
After the nearly £20 on heather honey, extensive reading up, considering the various "choice" type things...........
Then coming to actually put the batch together and it's still going to a SoS!
For reasons that I currently can't fathom.
I've followed the procedure, correctly, as far as I can tell (well that'd be as closely as possible, given the differences between "modern" materials and what is suggested by the recipe for example, I'm using Lalvin 71B for the yeast, and the nutrient is Gervins' "Minavit") i.e.
Honey into DJ/brew jar, rinsing the jars in warm tap water.
Shaking it to mix/dissolve the honey.
Great, it seems to have done that.
Then, following the instructions on the box of Minavit - opting for the 6 grammes per litre suggestion, because of the suspected high gravity, and taking into account that honey is notoriously low in nutrient so as it's a gallon DJ/4.5 litres, that equates to 27 grammes.
The cold tea - well OK, not that cold but still a pint of it.
Then the campden tablet - crushed and dissolved.
Then the top up to about 3 quarters full (mineral water i.e. locally sourced but with lower than "tap" calcium, from a "low calcium" spring - I live in a hard water/high chalk area).
Excellent.
For there on (apart from the 5 minutes agitation for aeration purposes) it goes into "mystery mode"/SoS/WTF etc.
Why?
Because the intention was to measure the gravity and pH at this point.
The gravity, as expected is about 1135, but the pH is showing as 6.67 i.e. damn near neutral. WTF is going on?
Stress sets in.
OK, get the 7.00 buffer solution and check the calibration of the pH meter. OK it seems to be a couple of hundredths out - set it so that it reads 7.00
Rinse it with water, shake it off and try again.
No! still showing 6.66 - hell that can't be right? surely? (baring in mind that 3.3 would be a good level to start the ferment?).
OK, check the stage of the recipe, and the only thing that isn't in it at this point, is the citric acid.
1 teaspoon full? Yes, that's what it says. So measure out 1 tsp and dissolve in a little water. Add it to the must, cork the DJ/brewing jar and shake to mix.
Measure pH again? OK, except it now seems to be showing 6.37, still way out.
So, what to do? OK, clean everything off, wipe down, cork the DJ/brew jar and leave it (oh and rinse the 71B that was re-hydrating in a glass with 2oz's of water down the damn sink).
The only thing that I can think of that might be giving incorrect readings is due to temperature.
I haven't measured it (apart from making sure of the temp of the water for rehydrating the yeast) yet. Though using blood temp as a guide, the must isn't warm (suggesting over 37 C), but it's not cold either.
The buffer solution came out of the fridge (apparently it's better kept in there) so might be as low as 2 to 4 C. So for the moment, rather than screw everything up, leave it to come up to room temp and the must to come down (that's if it's high) to room temp.
I'm convinced that I can't be that far out with the must. Because I've not had any occassion where it would need such a potentially huge amount of acid addition (being so far - currently - away from the apparently ideal 3.3 or thereabouts).
I'm a bit irritated at having to dump the yeast, but it's the cheaper option than panicing dumping the must.
Hum? Confused, dazed, stressed, etc etc.
If, when it's all settled down, it's still such a high pH, what would the next step be ?
regards
fatbloke
Mead, a drink that can take on many characteristics - sweet or dry - depending on the amount of honey used - about 1.5kg (3lb) for a dry wine or about 1.75kg (4lb) for a sweet wine.
Makes approximately 1 gallon (imperial) or 4.5 litres.
Set Honey - 1.5 -1.75 kg/3-4 lb
Cold Tea - 600 ml/1 pint
Campden tablets
Boiled water
Citric acid - 1 teaspoon
Wine Yeast compound OR Special Mead Yeast and Yeast nutrient.
Add tea and 1 campden tablet dissolved in a quarter pint of boiling water
Place in 1 gallon fermentation vessel
Top up to almost three quarters full with boiled water and shake to mix thoroughly
Add citric acid
Prep must (did the original recipe say this or is it just the way my mother wrote it down? i.e. did she mean prepare a starter ???) The yeast mixture as per the instructions on yeast packet/or yeast compound/or the "special mead yeast".
When must (starter) has been fermenting for about 3 - 5 hours it should be added to the fermentation vessel.
Ensure it's mixed well and top up with more cooled water. Fit air lock and put in warm place to ferment.
WATCH IT CAREFULLY
If heavy sediment builds up, syphon mead into separate vessel, taking just a little of the sediment.
When fermentation is complete (4-6 weeks) syphon mead into clean, sterilised vessel i.e. no sediment.
See campden tablet instructions Dissolve 1 or 2 in a little hot water and add to mead. This will ensure fermentation stops and wine clears.
Leave sealed under and airlock till the wine is cleared and sediment formed (you can filter it if you have the equipment available).
Bottle in sterilised bottles, cork and label.
Store for at least 6/12 - The longer the better.
The recipe is one that my mother found in the "Gales Book of Honey" (Gales being a UK brand - now part of those well known food nazis, Nestle). I've previously had no problems with it, but now I have.
After the nearly £20 on heather honey, extensive reading up, considering the various "choice" type things...........
Then coming to actually put the batch together and it's still going to a SoS!
For reasons that I currently can't fathom.
I've followed the procedure, correctly, as far as I can tell (well that'd be as closely as possible, given the differences between "modern" materials and what is suggested by the recipe for example, I'm using Lalvin 71B for the yeast, and the nutrient is Gervins' "Minavit") i.e.
Honey into DJ/brew jar, rinsing the jars in warm tap water.
Shaking it to mix/dissolve the honey.
Great, it seems to have done that.
Then, following the instructions on the box of Minavit - opting for the 6 grammes per litre suggestion, because of the suspected high gravity, and taking into account that honey is notoriously low in nutrient so as it's a gallon DJ/4.5 litres, that equates to 27 grammes.
The cold tea - well OK, not that cold but still a pint of it.
Then the campden tablet - crushed and dissolved.
Then the top up to about 3 quarters full (mineral water i.e. locally sourced but with lower than "tap" calcium, from a "low calcium" spring - I live in a hard water/high chalk area).
Excellent.
For there on (apart from the 5 minutes agitation for aeration purposes) it goes into "mystery mode"/SoS/WTF etc.
Why?
Because the intention was to measure the gravity and pH at this point.
The gravity, as expected is about 1135, but the pH is showing as 6.67 i.e. damn near neutral. WTF is going on?
Stress sets in.
OK, get the 7.00 buffer solution and check the calibration of the pH meter. OK it seems to be a couple of hundredths out - set it so that it reads 7.00
Rinse it with water, shake it off and try again.
No! still showing 6.66 - hell that can't be right? surely? (baring in mind that 3.3 would be a good level to start the ferment?).
OK, check the stage of the recipe, and the only thing that isn't in it at this point, is the citric acid.
1 teaspoon full? Yes, that's what it says. So measure out 1 tsp and dissolve in a little water. Add it to the must, cork the DJ/brewing jar and shake to mix.
Measure pH again? OK, except it now seems to be showing 6.37, still way out.
So, what to do? OK, clean everything off, wipe down, cork the DJ/brew jar and leave it (oh and rinse the 71B that was re-hydrating in a glass with 2oz's of water down the damn sink).
The only thing that I can think of that might be giving incorrect readings is due to temperature.
I haven't measured it (apart from making sure of the temp of the water for rehydrating the yeast) yet. Though using blood temp as a guide, the must isn't warm (suggesting over 37 C), but it's not cold either.
The buffer solution came out of the fridge (apparently it's better kept in there) so might be as low as 2 to 4 C. So for the moment, rather than screw everything up, leave it to come up to room temp and the must to come down (that's if it's high) to room temp.
I'm convinced that I can't be that far out with the must. Because I've not had any occassion where it would need such a potentially huge amount of acid addition (being so far - currently - away from the apparently ideal 3.3 or thereabouts).
I'm a bit irritated at having to dump the yeast, but it's the cheaper option than panicing dumping the must.
Hum? Confused, dazed, stressed, etc etc.
If, when it's all settled down, it's still such a high pH, what would the next step be ?
regards
fatbloke