newbie/learner with dumb Q?

[motts]

hi motts

good to see another kiwi on here.
a big thing is what yeast was used?


the temps here are often ok for quite a lot of yeasts (except for the places that have been hitting the 30's), its just not all that good for flavor and certainly not good for long term storage. try and find a nice cool place for it to sit.

at a guess your mead has finished and i would rack it off into a carboy and let it age.

i've just bottled a burnt manuka/bush mead and its just like mud !

go NZ!!!
yeast - the only yeast I could find was a mead/wine yeast from brew your own liquor in Hamilton - what yeast do you use??? I'm in Thames and there isn't exactly much choice lol. Friend of mine used to brew manuka mead - I'd say it'd be pretty pricey, but she said it was lovely... I'm just going basic, as I'm a first timer - but damn I looove mead ;D

 

[gray]

rito - done that, 180g water and 20g sugar, it reads either 35 or 3.5? Maybe this is of some use - the hydrometer has 'diabetes' written on the side? 'H" at 20 (2?) and 'S" at 30 (3?) and the temp at 60 degrees F. ????? Perhaps it's for diabetics and reads sugar content??? BTW, I've ordered a proper 'nowdays' hydrometer too ;D

I think I got it this time
It's a urinometer.

Reading through google books and here's more info (per Medical lexicon: A dictionary of medical science ..By Robley Dunglison). It looks like the "H" and "S" are for "Healthy Standard" and indicate the healthy range for urine samples.

On the urinometer each number is added to 1000, being the gravity of water. So a reading of 35 would be a s.g. of 1.035.

 

[gray]

Using your urinometer Via this

To determine specific gravity, proceed as follows:
1. Clean urinometer as described in the following CLEANING section.
Urinometer
cylinder
float
top
stem
scale graduations

2. Fill the urinometer cylinder to about one inch from the top with urine specimen; measure and record specimen temperature.

3. Hold the urinometer float by the top and slowly insert it into the cylinder. Avoid wetting the float stem above the liquid line; excessive wetting of the stem will cause the float to sink below the true test reading.
4. Impart a slight spin to the float as it is released.
5. Read the float scale at the lowest portion of the urine's meniscus. Be sure to keep the float away from sides of cylinder while reading.

Note: If it is necessary to read the top of the meniscus, as in the case of an opaque specimen, add 0.002 to the specific gravity reading to correct for viewing error.

5. Apply temperature correction as necessary. For example:
a. The urinometer shows a Sp.G. of 1.015 and the measured urine specimen temperature is 82°F. Again, for every 5.4°F (3°C) that the urine temperature is above calibration temperature, add .001 to the hydrometer reading.
b. Subtract: 82°F - 60°F = 22
c. Divide: 22/5.4 = 4.07 = 4.00 (rounded)
d. Add: 1.015 + .004 = 1.019
e. Corrected measurement: 1.019

 

[motts]

a urinometer!!!! haha....perhaps they didn't have proper hydrometer's for brewing way back in the old days? Guess it will do the same job - thanks for that, you have solved the riddle....now I've got to decipher the reading I got of 4, considering the temp here is around 24 degrees C - that's the 'coolest' room I can find for my carboy's..

 

[gray]

a urinometer!!!! haha....perhaps they didn't have proper hydrometer's for brewing way back in the old days? Guess it will do the same job - thanks for that, you have solved the riddle....now I've got to decipher the reading I got of 4, considering the temp here is around 24 degrees C - that's the 'coolest' room I can find for my carboy's..

So 60°F = 15.55°C and you're at 24 soooo
24-15.55 = 8.45
8.45 / 3 = 2.81 (round up to 3 ;D)
initial reading of 4 = 40 = 1.040
1.040 + .003 = 1.043

I think. Math is not my strong suit
But I believe that also puts your 180g water and 20g sugar right about where Medsen said it should be. And that's good.

 

[akueck]

Hmm, well that is fairly amusing. Can't say I'd really want to be measuring the SG of urine on a daily basis.

Ok so you're at 1.040ish now. One part honey to two parts water...by volume? So a 1 gallon (US gallon I assume?) batch that's 1/3 gallon of honey or 4ish lbs and water to a gallon. Ok so your starting gravity is probably around 1.140 and your current abv is about 14%. Sounds like your yeast did a good job, and your mead is probably done at this point. Rack it, age it, enjoy it. ;D

 

[motts]

Thanks Gray - my maths is crap, but sounds like you know what you're doin!! OOOOO....that was a pretty quick ferment then wasn't it?! I kinda expected it to take a few months, not one! I moved it into a new carboy yesterday, so I guess I'll let it age now. I read somewhere that you should rack it every month? Does that sound right?! And that sometimes the yeast will activate again? Sorry for all the stupid questions :bom:

 

[motts]

Hmm, well that is fairly amusing. Can't say I'd really want to be measuring the SG of urine on a daily basis.

Ok so you're at 1.040ish now. One part honey to two parts water...by volume? So a 1 gallon (US gallon I assume?) batch that's 1/3 gallon of honey or 4ish lbs and water to a gallon. Ok so your starting gravity is probably around 1.140 and your current abv is about 14%. Sounds like your yeast did a good job, and your mead is probably done at this point. Rack it, age it, enjoy it. ;D

lol - I'm just hoping that it was never used in 'urine' testing

8)

 

[gray]

I don't necesarily rack mine every month. I tend to rack based on sedimentation and fermentation activity. After racking to secondary I usually rack based on taste and my plans to bottle or age. Yeast can activate again, but its not a guarantee. I almost always throw an airlock on the new carboy/jug/whatever following racking just to see what it does and if it looks pretty quiet I'll swap for a solid stopper.

 

[tweak'e]

go NZ!!!
yeast - the only yeast I could find was a mead/wine yeast from brew your own liquor in Hamilton - what yeast do you use??? I'm in Thames and there isn't exactly much choice lol. Friend of mine used to brew manuka mead - I'd say it'd be pretty pricey, but she said it was lovely... I'm just going basic, as I'm a first timer - but damn I looove mead ;D

test batch is with EC-1118. order over the net from http://www.haurakihomebrew.co.nz/ really fast ferment (5 days) but also very robust.

last two batches are with Vinters Harvest SN9 yeast. a lot of local shops stock brewcraft gear but also can be ordered online.
SN9 took about 2 weeks for main ferment, another 2 weeks to finish and lees to drop.

 

[Medsen Fey]

a urinometer!!!! haha....

:laughing4: :sign10:

I reckon Grandpa gotcha on that one!
Of course that could be the secret ingredient for making great mead.

ottytrain3:

Little wifey hates me leaving jugs of mead out on the counter. She says it looks like urine bottles. She'd have a cow if she saw me using a device like that (I might have to order one).

 

[motts]

:laughing4: :sign10:

I reckon Grandpa gotcha on that one!
Of course that could be the secret ingredient for making great mead.

ottytrain3:

Little wifey hates me leaving jugs of mead out on the counter. She says it looks like urine bottles. She'd have a cow if she saw me using a device like that (I might have to order one).

perhaps I wasn't his fav grandkid I made sure it was sterilized before I used it - and the mead doesn't taste pissy :laughing6: yet

 

[motts]

test batch is with EC-1118. order over the net from http://www.haurakihomebrew.co.nz/ really fast ferment (5 days) but also very robust.

last two batches are with Vinters Harvest SN9 yeast. a lot of local shops stock brewcraft gear but also can be ordered online.
SN9 took about 2 weeks for main ferment, another 2 weeks to finish and lees to drop.

awesome, thanks, I wasn't too sure about the yeast I used - just looked a bit 'general' to me....think I'll have a go with one of the ones' you've suggested ;D

 

[motts]

I don't necesarily rack mine every month. I tend to rack based on sedimentation and fermentation activity. After racking to secondary I usually rack based on taste and my plans to bottle or age. Yeast can activate again, but its not a guarantee. I almost always throw an airlock on the new carboy/jug/whatever following racking just to see what it does and if it looks pretty quiet I'll swap for a solid stopper.

I thought once a month was a bit of an overkill... Bit worried about the reactivation part, since mine seemed to brew so quickly - I'm not sure I want mead bombs! Perhaps I'll just have to drink it out of the carboy instead Think I'll keep the airlock on just incase

 

[akueck]

Definitely keep the airlock on. Racking it by a calendar is not really the way to go, you should rack when the mead wants to be racked. You might rack it tomorrow, and again 3 weeks later, and then not again for a year. Go by sedimentation, clearing, additional ingredients (e.g. oak), etc not your calendar.

By my earlier math you're probably around 14% abv, so many yeasts will be essentially done at that point. Keep the airlock on, let it sit for awhile, and before you bottle I would still recommend some kind of stabilization.

 

[motts]

Definitely keep the airlock on. Racking it by a calendar is not really the way to go, you should rack when the mead wants to be racked. You might rack it tomorrow, and again 3 weeks later, and then not again for a year. Go by sedimentation, clearing, additional ingredients (e.g. oak), etc not your calendar.

By my earlier math you're probably around 14% abv, so many yeasts will be essentially done at that point. Keep the airlock on, let it sit for awhile, and before you bottle I would still recommend some kind of stabilization.

Thanks for the tips - I kind of figured going by the calendar wouldn't make much sense, as it appears every batch is different. I will admit (woefully), that I panicked about 5 days into my first rack and added more yeast/nutrient, but 24 hours later I changed my mind and racked it again.....hopefully that won't bugger it up at all....still tastes ok, so fingers crossed :confused2:

 

[chams]

So, what is the reading on the urinometer now?
(Sorry if I missed it).
Your 1:2 mix shows as OG 1.144 on the mead calculator.
Using EC-1118 it could go to dry (0.995-0.998) and potentially ~18% ABV.

ETA:
I see you are at about 1.035
That's going to be sweet (literally).
You may like it, or next time use a yeast from here: http://www.gotmead.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=625&Itemid=42
to get a dryer mead and higher ABV.

Cheers

 

[motts]

So, what is the reading on the urinometer now?
(Sorry if I missed it).
Your 1:2 mix shows as OG 1.144 on the mead calculator.
Using EC-1118 it could go to dry (0.995-0.998) and potentially ~18% ABV.

ETA:
I see you are at about 1.035
That's going to be sweet (literally).
You may like it, or next time use a yeast from here: http://www.gotmead.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=625&Itemid=42
to get a dryer mead and higher ABV.

Cheers

not too sure - I've decided to not touch it for a few weeks.....thought I'd try a sweet one first (as I believe they take longer to mature) - I bought a dessert mead a few months ago, and it was to die for (can't help but wish I could make one like that!!)

 

[AToE]

I've found that dry meads generally need longer aging to come into their own, as sweetness tends to cover up a lot of problems that are not hidden in a dry mead.

Then again, for all I know after a certain amount of sweetness the need to age goes back up.

 

[motts]

not sure about the manuka - a friend of mine has hives, and she's been making manuka mead for years (till she botched a batch and gave up ) - reckon's it's gorgeous.........?! I can 'nearly' see through my carboy now - the clover batch I did is clearing nicely, made that at the beginning of Jan - obviously that one's doing it's 'thing' properly. Just moved my 'dodgy' batch into a new carboy, might look like crap, but it tastes quite nice....starting to mellow already. Oh...what's the story on 'campden tablets' - is that to stabilize? I heard they can taint the flavour??