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Holy Fermentation Batman

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K

krazitrain

NewBee
Registered Member
Jul 18, 2014
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This is my first batch of strawberry mead. I'm making one gallon. I used spring water, 3 pounds of local wildflower honey that I purchased at a farmers market and Lalvin 71b-1122. I also put in 1.25 grams of go-ferm.

I cut the stems off the strawberries, put them in the freezer and pulled them out when they were needed. I puréed them up in a blender before adding to my honey (I know that a lot of people do the primary fermentation and then add fruit, but the recipe I copied did it this way). Water was added next. Then shook it all up and added the yeast and starter. placed it in my basement where it is fluctuating between 72 and 77° F.

1 to 2 days later, the yeast is rockin 'n rollin, and some of the must is overflowing out of my airlock. I wish I had taken a hydrometer reading, but I did not have a test tube to use.

Should I fill this back up with some water or just leave it for a while?
 
In the early stages of fermentation the yeast like to be very excited and energetic so if you fill it back up before it relaxes a bit it may just do this again. Top it off once it decides it's done going crazy. And take a hydrometer reading! It is very important so that you know where your mead is in the fermentation.


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When you still have a lot of sugars in your must you can put the sanitized hydrometer right in the carboy, it's only when you're getting close to 1.000 that it can get difficult to get it back out again (or risk hitting the bottom and cracking). I use waxed dental floss tied tightly to the top of the hydrometer so I can lower it in gently and pull it back out again if it goes in too far.

And there is nothing at all wrong with fermenting your fruit in primary :) But the strawberry glop will trap a lot of CO2 that the yeast is producing, and it will as you've seen make its way up the airlock. Buckets are highly recommended for primary fermentations involving fruit for this reason... As Fatbloke says, you will want to gently stir it to get some of the bubbles out of the strabwberry gunk. Don't stir it with the hydrometer no matter how tempting an idea it is, they're just too dang fragile for that, the last thing you want is broken glass in your first mead.
 
Thanks all! Stirring and used the dental floss idea.

Going to add fermaid k in a couple of days.
 
I experienced my first high-explosive strawberry fermentation while monkeying around with the JAOM and I too added strawberries into the primary. Hahaha, what a mess! I didn't back-sweeten so the brew is very tart, which I kind of like. I just hope that aging knocks some of the yeast taste out.

I would definitely go easy with whatever you do, as the other members here have advised. Those strawberries were much more volatile than any orange.
 
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