Mead sanitation

[nlwnathan]

So I'm a first time mead brewer and got a simple recipe yeast, a gallon of water, 2.5 pounds of honey, and about 25 raisins. I think that's everything. I cleaned out the bottles with the proper amount of bleach to water ratio but I can't remember if I rinsed out afterwards. I know I placed them upside down and air dried. The batch is only 2 weeks in and 1 is substituted with a bottle of apple juice instead of water. I noticed a milky consistency on the bottom of both of the bottles and wondered if that's normal. My main concern is about the bleach though and if that if any was left and dried if it would cause issues.

I transfered the water batch to another jug and dumped out most of the milky substance and was planning on restarting again in the original bottle after cleaning. I was hurried the first time so less then ideal ingredient.

 

[mannye]

the "milky" stuff should be the yeast piling up on the bottom. Next time aside from not using bleach, if you do use it, make sure you rinse very well at least three times.

But before you get discouraged I highly recommend reading both the newbie guide and the JAOM recipe. Those will get you started on the right foot.

 

[Chevette Girl]

If you let it dry, you're probably safe from the bleach. If you saw any activity at all (fizzing, etc) then there definintely wasn't enough bleach left over to hurt your yeast.

You should have cloudiness in your fermenting mead, that's the yeast doing its thing. If you racked it off all the yeast, you may need to add more to get the fermentation to finish.