I hadn't even thought about that and I should have known better. If I break a hydrometer again I might try it this way :-D
Is it done ?
- Thread starter RightOff
- Start date
-
Love Gotmead and want to see it grow? Then consider supporting the site and becoming a Patron! If you're logged in, click on your username to the right of the menu to see how as little as $30/year can get you access to the patron areas and the patron Facebook group and to support Gotmead!
-
We now have a Patron-exclusive Facebook group! Patrons my join at The Gotmead Patron Group. You MUST answer the questions, providing your Patron membership, when you request to join so I can verify your Patron membership. If the questions aren't answered, the request will be turned down.
I hadn't even thought about that and I should have known better. If I break a hydrometer again I might try it this way :-D
OK - now you know (one of) my dirty little secret(s)!
Guilty of same, but I still will NOT return unused reagents to their containers. Too many years of chemistry labs...
This idea has actually been discussed in some detail in an earlier thread (about 9 months old now, if memory serves). The difficult part comes in trying to find a scale with the capacity to weigh a carboy full of liquid, that still has the precision and accuracy to adequately show small changes in weight. A 23L carboy full of water weighs on the order of 30Kg (accounting for the glass), but the same full carboy at the start of fermentation (assuming a specific gravity of 1.100) weighs 32.3Kg. Most bath scales are only good to about a half kilogram, so it might be difficult to see the additional 300 grams using a bath scale. Further, if this liquid were to ferment to complete dryness, with a finished gravity on the order of 0.997, then the weight would be 29.931Kg. If you were really trying to resolve the difference between a liquid at 0.997 vs one at 1.000, it would be really difficult to see that change of 69 grams in a total of nearly 30Kg. That's why extracting a smaller sample, and weighing with a much more accurate (and precise) scale would probably work better. Still, unless you have access to a lab balance (or a microgram scale), this might be a difficult thing to determine with anything approaching the quantitative accuracy you can get with a simple hydrometer measurement.
Even that's skewed a little bit, I find I get artificially high alcohol content estimations because the amount of ethanol produced (being less dense than water) causes artificially low readings (otherwise removing all the sugar would never result in a SG reading below 1.000), so I always assume everything's only approximate anyway, that's what my spirit indication experiments so far have been suggesting, anyway.
Weighing the fermenter seems to be a smart idea. But I went ahead and bottled two "sample bottles". One I chilled, opened and drank. It was delicious, and totally flat. Very strong, dry and alcoholic. The other, Im keeing in a cooler, away from people and animals, and Im planning to pop it open in a few days, to see if there's any kind of pressure building at all. Just by looking at the bottle, I can tell there arent any bubbles or anything in the liquid... looks perfectly flat to me.
I'll probably let the rest sit in the carboy for another week or so. If my test bottle dosent blow withing that time and dosent show any other sighns of C02, then Im just going to go ahead and bottle it.
Thanks for the concerns, and thanks for the offer of sending a hydrometer! But there's no way in hell I'd ever give personal info to someone on a forum
I'll probably let the rest sit in the carboy for another week or so. If my test bottle dosent blow withing that time and dosent show any other sighns of C02, then Im just going to go ahead and bottle it.
Thanks for the concerns, and thanks for the offer of sending a hydrometer! But there's no way in hell I'd ever give personal info to someone on a forum
It's totally safe, especially via PM! But I can understand some caution on the internet.
Watch out because a week isn't really long enough to judge what's happening, even when bottle fermenting on purpose the process can take 2-8 weeks on avegerage, sometimes even longer. Best bet is to just keep whatever you bottle in the fridge.
The other thing is like many other explosive things, a bottle may not rupture while sitting there, it might need you to touch it to blow.
Someone suggested it earlier, but another really good idea is bottling one bottle (or heck, all of it if you want to be properly cautious) in a plastic pop bottle, just screw the lid on tight. Keep that one somewhere warmer than the rest (like just in the cupboard where you'll see it and remember to check often), and simpy keep checking it (don't open it though) by giving it a little squeeze. I'd check every 3-4 days at first and then ever week or two after that. If it starts getting hard, make sure all your mead is in the fridge and plan on drinking all of it within the week.
Watch out because a week isn't really long enough to judge what's happening, even when bottle fermenting on purpose the process can take 2-8 weeks on avegerage, sometimes even longer. Best bet is to just keep whatever you bottle in the fridge.
The other thing is like many other explosive things, a bottle may not rupture while sitting there, it might need you to touch it to blow.
Someone suggested it earlier, but another really good idea is bottling one bottle (or heck, all of it if you want to be properly cautious) in a plastic pop bottle, just screw the lid on tight. Keep that one somewhere warmer than the rest (like just in the cupboard where you'll see it and remember to check often), and simpy keep checking it (don't open it though) by giving it a little squeeze. I'd check every 3-4 days at first and then ever week or two after that. If it starts getting hard, make sure all your mead is in the fridge and plan on drinking all of it within the week.
On, Im going to be cautious when I open the bottle. Im fairly sure it all done... I think montrachet ferments out to 12-14 percent.... and judging by my tastes, its about right on. Of course I realize that istn ver scientific.
I plan to be extremely careful when opening the bottle! And If within a week, I dont see any sort of pressure, then I imagine that it would probably take so long for an explosive amount of pressure to build up in this totally, completely flat bubleless mead.... it would have to take too long , the alco content would HAVE to be high enough to kill the yeast if its already so hihg over like a YEAR in a bottle....
I do plan to immediately refridgerate the bottles. Is it true this would stop or in esscence "stall" any activity going on?
To be honest, the mead was so delicious, Im thinking of trying to build a home mead hydrometer with materials I have on hand, so I have an excuse to safely open the other test bottle and enjoy it tonight.
And to enjoy two hydrometer samples later in the week. Haha. I'm a craft beer guy, not big on wines, cept for sake.
Never tried mead till last night. Im hooked. Right up my alley.
I plan to be extremely careful when opening the bottle! And If within a week, I dont see any sort of pressure, then I imagine that it would probably take so long for an explosive amount of pressure to build up in this totally, completely flat bubleless mead.... it would have to take too long , the alco content would HAVE to be high enough to kill the yeast if its already so hihg over like a YEAR in a bottle....
I do plan to immediately refridgerate the bottles. Is it true this would stop or in esscence "stall" any activity going on?
To be honest, the mead was so delicious, Im thinking of trying to build a home mead hydrometer with materials I have on hand, so I have an excuse to safely open the other test bottle and enjoy it tonight.
And to enjoy two hydrometer samples later in the week. Haha. I'm a craft beer guy, not big on wines, cept for sake.
Never tried mead till last night. Im hooked. Right up my alley.
P.S. I thought about the soda bottle Idea but, one I dont drink soda or really use any disposable plastic containers cept like...peanutbutter jars.
Also, I dont really think I could bring myself to do this. Rather see a crown cap fly off or, out of simple curiosity, a bottle bust, quite honestly.
Also, I dont really think I could bring myself to do this. Rather see a crown cap fly off or, out of simple curiosity, a bottle bust, quite honestly.
Be careful with cold crashing. It does not completely stop yeasties. I keep my spent lees in a plastic container in the fridge, and it often blows its top...
Tasting for ABV definitely scientific is not! Especially considering that for the first year of a mead's life it will often have more "alcohol hot" taste than is appropriate for it's ABV, that takes time to smooth out. So however alcoholic it tastes, it ain't that high!
We're all not giving you a hard time for the sake of it, a bottle exploding (cap won't come off, it's got a stronger hold than that) can cause permanent loss of vision, and realistically could kill you (I haven't heard of anyone dying, but I have heard of shards ripping through 2 layers of drywall, and drywall is tougher than flesh!). We honestly worry - which is why Wayne would rather ship you a hydrometer for free than have to worry about you without one. I don't normally even give advice on how to minimize risks when bottling an unstabilized mead, I just tell people not to do it at all, but I can tell when someone's just gonna do it anyways, so might as well minimize the risk.
Keeping them in the fridge isn't a guarantee to stall them, but it's definitely an excellent precaution that will if nothing else at least slow down fermentation.
If you do get your hands on a pop bottle this is probably the single best tool for keeping an eye on them to see if fermentation is occuring (bubbles you probably wouldn't see much of anyways), and it won't harm your mead. Food grade plastic does let small amounts of O2 through, but unless it's in there for a year it's not going to do any damage.
The good news is that you'll probably drink all of it faster than slower. That's the best advice I can give, drink what you've got, and then the next time you're going to start a batch get yourself a hydrometer and away you go.
We're all not giving you a hard time for the sake of it, a bottle exploding (cap won't come off, it's got a stronger hold than that) can cause permanent loss of vision, and realistically could kill you (I haven't heard of anyone dying, but I have heard of shards ripping through 2 layers of drywall, and drywall is tougher than flesh!). We honestly worry - which is why Wayne would rather ship you a hydrometer for free than have to worry about you without one. I don't normally even give advice on how to minimize risks when bottling an unstabilized mead, I just tell people not to do it at all, but I can tell when someone's just gonna do it anyways, so might as well minimize the risk.
Keeping them in the fridge isn't a guarantee to stall them, but it's definitely an excellent precaution that will if nothing else at least slow down fermentation.
If you do get your hands on a pop bottle this is probably the single best tool for keeping an eye on them to see if fermentation is occuring (bubbles you probably wouldn't see much of anyways), and it won't harm your mead. Food grade plastic does let small amounts of O2 through, but unless it's in there for a year it's not going to do any damage.
The good news is that you'll probably drink all of it faster than slower. That's the best advice I can give, drink what you've got, and then the next time you're going to start a batch get yourself a hydrometer and away you go.
Yeah... i mean by common sense I can just tell its not going to go off like a pipe bomb. At least not in a day, or a week. I definately get that yall arent trying to give me a hard time. I probably will end up building a hydrometer before I bottle the rest of it. Im honestly pretty sure its done. I havent seen any airlock activity in basically a week and a half at this point... and I mean Its not like im bottling this after 2 weeks of vigorous fermetnig, when it first slowed a bit and started bubbling like twice a day (for about 3 months) I was just pretty anxious to try it... you know to know wether or not I like the stuff that been taking up closet space for nearly half a year.
It got shifted and sloshed about plenty in the carboy (And jesus christ I know about oxidation so thanks in advanced for anything you felt compelled to write about how this was a mistake) so im hoping that if there is any co2, that little activity will have helped to "De gas " the mead.
Haha I know tasting for ABV is no real mark, Im not an idiot. But I do drink ALOT of 8-12% abv beers, regularly, and achieved a similar effect off of 12 oz of my mead drunk in a similar time frame so... cant be that far off.
Im probably going to crack that bottle open "got it chilling" build a hydrometer this weekend, test, and probably, (based on my every instinct and everything yall have helped me to learn to look for), end up bottling. Which will have made this a heuge waste of time, thought, energy and effort but hey....
When you near the end of a project, thats when you're always the most nervous about screwing it up right?
It got shifted and sloshed about plenty in the carboy (And jesus christ I know about oxidation so thanks in advanced for anything you felt compelled to write about how this was a mistake) so im hoping that if there is any co2, that little activity will have helped to "De gas " the mead.
Haha I know tasting for ABV is no real mark, Im not an idiot. But I do drink ALOT of 8-12% abv beers, regularly, and achieved a similar effect off of 12 oz of my mead drunk in a similar time frame so... cant be that far off.
Im probably going to crack that bottle open "got it chilling" build a hydrometer this weekend, test, and probably, (based on my every instinct and everything yall have helped me to learn to look for), end up bottling. Which will have made this a heuge waste of time, thought, energy and effort but hey....
When you near the end of a project, thats when you're always the most nervous about screwing it up right?
About 10 years ago, I started experimenting without any research on making cidre.
It was enough to stop me...
I had a bottle bomb, that heard go off in my shed, when we were in the lounge watching TV. Thats 10 metres and two Walls, one soundproofed.
The bottle took out the ceiling light in the shed, broke a window and left shards 4 metres away. No wall damage ensued, but the walls were brick...
It really can be dangerous. At the very least put them in a box where they can pop without damaging anything.
Also be aware. A happy looking bottle can stay that way until disturbed. My brother used to make very low alcohol ginger beer, and these would sometimes pop. 90% popped between fetching the bottle and opening it.
Please be very careful, and dont die.
It was enough to stop me...
I had a bottle bomb, that heard go off in my shed, when we were in the lounge watching TV. Thats 10 metres and two Walls, one soundproofed.
The bottle took out the ceiling light in the shed, broke a window and left shards 4 metres away. No wall damage ensued, but the walls were brick...
It really can be dangerous. At the very least put them in a box where they can pop without damaging anything.
Also be aware. A happy looking bottle can stay that way until disturbed. My brother used to make very low alcohol ginger beer, and these would sometimes pop. 90% popped between fetching the bottle and opening it.
Please be very careful, and dont die.
You know, some of these stories are hillarious. If theres not any airlock activity, by what principle do yall figure its just going to go off like a bomb and kill me, in like 24 hours?? I've done far more dangerous things than this, on purpose, for fun. So.
Also, it's locked inside a gun-safe, in a shed. Is that secure enough, you think?
Besides, Im just going to drink that bottle. It's the end of the world tmrw, afterall.
Also, it's locked inside a gun-safe, in a shed. Is that secure enough, you think?
Besides, Im just going to drink that bottle. It's the end of the world tmrw, afterall.
Caution is due, especially when you're new to the whole process and haven't seen some of the weird counter-intuitive things that yeast can do. I think everyone here figures you're only likely to follow a small amount of the advice anyways, so it's better to err on the side more caution. Nobody thinks it'll blow in 24hrs, highly unlikely (not impossible though. It was explained in an earlier post how the simple act of bottling actually can wake the yeast back up when they've previously stopped entirely, partially due to being stirred up, partially because of the fresh O2 they'll be getting. A movement of just 1% ABV is enough to generate too much pressure). People here are a good bunch, nobody wants to feel responsible for an injury - everyone's just giving you the best facts available and their own advice so you can take your pick and make your own decisions. Erring on the side of caution I believe is the phrase.
And yes, gun safe in a shed is plenty good.
And yes, gun safe in a shed is plenty good.
I haven't, I think the main problem would be calibrating the thing, though I guess you could just essentially make up a new system of measurement based on whatever markings you put on it. Knowing which line on it represents the density of water (at a given temperature) would be the main thing of importance.
I don't seem to be particularily inventive today, I'm having trouble thinking of any household items that would work well. A pen has already been suggested, has some major failings but not a terrible idea, glass would be best but I can't think of something that'd work at the moment.
Actually, if you happen to own a floating thermometre (the kid that stands straight up in a liquid rather than lying on it's back) that would be nearly perfect, and it's already got measurements on it (plus it'll tell you the temp at the time you're calibrating it to see where it floats in water, and the temp of the mead you'd be measuring for comparision).
That's the best thing I can think of.
Haha I hope so cause thats the strongest box I got. I also get the whole yall are trying to help. I've just spent alot of time on various internet forums, getting advice on various projects, and find that more often than not, people are less willing to read and think about you're questions than they are to just skim through it and then belch info about the few key words they picked up or the phrases they took out of context (which, no offense, has been all anyone in this thread but chevettegirl and ATOE have done.). So, sorry If Im a bit short. I just usually have the experience of being allright, second guessing myself, asking someone for advice, getting totally useless adivce, and taking twice as long to do something I couldve just figured out myself.
That said thanks for the info. Im going to build a hydrometer. Itll be an excuse to drink more sample bottles hahaha. Anyone ever built a nice one? How'd you do it.
That said thanks for the info. Im going to build a hydrometer. Itll be an excuse to drink more sample bottles hahaha. Anyone ever built a nice one? How'd you do it.
I'm familiar with this experience... just telling a story, hope it didn't upset.
As for a hydrometer,
they're a glass tube, with a lead(?) weight in the bottom. Specially calibrated by empirical means.
How to build a hydrometer:
1. find a test tube or other long cylindrical flask.
2. get some weights.
3. think about it a bit. an sg of 1.00 is less dense than an sg of 1.4 so the hydrometer will sink more.
4. based on 3. add weight until the hydrometer sinks a fair way into a beaker of clean water.
5. measure off 1 litre exactly of water and weigh it. It should come to 1000g if it doesn't then your water has additives.
6. insert your hydrometer into the beaker of 1 litre, and mark the level at which it floats, with the level you measured on your scales
7. Add 50 grams of sugar, mix, and ensure there is only 1 litre in your beaker.
8. repeat steps 6 and 7 until you've added 300g of sugar.
9. with a ruler measure the gaps between your markings, they should all be the same size.
10. average out the gaps, to remove any human measurement error.
11. print out a graduated scale with 4 lines between each marking you made. (don't forget to go a little to the high side, to read 0.995 and up
12. insert the scale inside your testtube and line it up with your initial marks.
Voilla you now have an hydrometer that reads from 0.990 to 1.300 in 0.002 increments.
Have fun.
**Disclaimer. I've never done this, I just invented the procedure, please have it vetted by somebody else.
Im thinking of the pen idea, could work if i seal up one end of it somehow and use some lead sinkers inside of it. Suppose ill just put it in some water, mark it at that level, then make marks based on that measure.
If I can find a glass tube of some sort, or maybe a lighter piece of plastic than a BIC pen tube, that would be good!
Thanks for the advice bro. Bout to log off, and uncap that other test bottle!
Hope yall ride out the appocalypse in style, as I plan to>.>
