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Help meeeee :(... 2nd batch.

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kiwi-norseman

NewBee
Registered Member
May 1, 2013
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My rec.

Approx 5 ltrs water.
1.5kgs of honey
500g strawberrys.
raisins for nutes.
half tsp champagne yeast.

Well she kicked off early and good bubbling away and then just over a week passed so I decided to siphon and take out all the crap the berrys and raisins had left behind, So I did that, Put into a secondary carboy, Washed and sterilised my primary brewing bucket, then put back into primary(because the carboy didnt hold it all)

Its been about 3-4 days now and hasnt started back up, I was wondering if I should put another half tsp in and warm her up? Very cold in NZ 6 degrees but even with the heater it didnt start back up. all answered will be appreciated..
 
Do you have a hydrometer? If so, take a reading. It might be done, or it might be stalled. Impossible to say without measuring.

If you don't have a hydrometer, pick one up. Very handy tool!
 
With that title, I keep wanting to pick up a rock and throw it at you before the spider gets to you!

I second the akueck's advice... despite the cold temps, it may be done.
 
Hey, No need to be like that im just starting out and im picking up and buying things as I need them ok.

I don't think its done because it was still bubbling before I extracted the sediment. Hydrometer next batch when I have the extra money :) ill go off the bubbles and times as I did with last batch. just need advice to keep this one back in.
 
and another question if I do add the extra half tsp. of yeast. will it affect the taste or anything
 
Adding yeast now probably won't do anything. If it's fermented a fair bit already, the yeast you dump in will mostly die from shock when they hit alcohol. On the other hand, the dead yeast will provide food for any live ones, so that might not be so bad.
 
akueck said:
Adding yeast now probably won't do anything. If it's fermented a fair bit already, the yeast you dump in will mostly die from shock when they hit alcohol. On the other hand, the dead yeast will provide food for any live ones, so that might not be so bad.
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How about priming it with a 1:1 water/honey solution? Maybe an ounce or two of each? That might get it going again?
 
kiwi-norseman said:
Hey, No need to be like that im just starting out and im picking up and buying things as I need them ok.

I don't think its done because it was still bubbling before I extracted the sediment. Hydrometer next batch when I have the extra money :) ill go off the bubbles and times as I did with last batch. just need advice to keep this one back in.
Click to expand...
I'm in the same boat as you. I'm picking things up as I can.

But trust me, if there was one thing I wish I had done first, it would be to get a hydrometer. I started off cheap, making JAOM (almost) without any chemicals or equipment. Bit by bit, I have accumulated some of the things that the 'real' mazers here talk about. All of that has worked out okay, except for the hydrometer. That is one thing that I wish I had gotten right away.

Hell, if you were close enough (I'm in Connecticut), I would let you borrow my backup. The question you asked about it being done can really only be answered by checking the SG over a period of a bunch of days. Ive got a batch that is no longer fermenting (its been sitting at 1.001 for 2 weeks now), but it still bubbles and fizzes... its outgassing from the lees and dissolved CO2. But I would have no way of knowing that if it weren't for the hydrometer.

As a matter of fact, I don't want to double your expenses, but if you can possibly swing it, buy two hydrometers. Being glass, you're just a mis-step or unexpected table jiggle to being without one again. Mine broke a little while ago, and I was scratching my butt for a week because the local supply house was out of them and had them on backorder.

Nobody's cranking on anyone here. As a matter of fact, this is one of the nicest forums I've ever been a part of, and my online forum days go back to about 1996.

Hang in there. We'll both get there and, with this forum, probably much much faster than we would have otherwise.


See ya,

Joe
 
Yeah, that is an essential piece of equipment. It not only lets you know when your ferment is done, it also gives you a hint of what your final % alcohol will be. If you ferment dry then it's a pretty close hint! I think they cost an average of 40 bucks for a good one that comes with a plastic tube to float it in...

If the rock crack was what made you think I was yelling at you, be assured i wasn't... it was a reference to the original "The Fly" where a little fly with a big Vincent Price head is caught in a spider web and is yelling "Help meeeeeee!" and his friend hits him with a rock... jeez... no one watches movie anymore....:p
 
mannye said:
Yeah, that is an essential piece of equipment. It not only lets you know when your ferment is done, it also gives you a hint of what your final % alcohol will be. If you ferment dry then it's a pretty close hint! I think they cost an average of 40 bucks for a good one that comes with a plastic tube to float it in...

If the rock crack was what made you think I was yelling at you, be assured i wasn't... it was a reference to the original "The Fly" where a little fly with a big Vincent Price head is caught in a spider web and is yelling "Help meeeeeee!" and his friend hits him with a rock... jeez... no one watches movie anymore....:p
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Forty bucks? I've bought them at two different places for $10.00 each. Plastic tube included. I use the tube instead of a cylinder for testing.

I wish there was a 'home made' DIY project to replace store-bought hydrometers like using a balloon with a hole in it for an air lock. That got me interested in mead making without having to spend for anything but spring water, an orange and honey.


See ya,

Joe
 
I don't think its done it had only been fermenting just over a week?? should I just suck it up and leave it? I might try 1:1 soloution.
 
kiwi-norseman said:
I don't think its done it had only been fermenting just over a week?? should I just suck it up and leave it? I might try 1:1 soloution.
Click to expand...

If you're used to a beer ferment then you might think there's nothing going on. From what I've been reading (I'm just as much a newbie..maybe more...than you) going clear is a good hint the activity has ceased.

Someone correct me please.
 
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