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StuartFromMelb

NewBee
Registered Member
Sep 7, 2012
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Hi Guys,

Eight days ago I made up a few batches of mead, this is the first time I have done this since 1997... see what marriage does to you!! anyways... here is a rough description of what I created.... they are all experiments conjured from the ether... I used EXC-1118 yeast.

Sweet Mead 30L - 5kg Honey, .500grms sugar, Granny Smith Apples (lots), water (bubbling away fine right now)

Sweet Mead 5L - 2.5kg Honey, Pink Lady Apples, water (bubbling away fine right now)

Dry Mead 5L - 1kg Honey, .100grms sugar, .250grms Blueberries, some raisins, water *(stopped bubbling this morning)*

Spiced Mead 5L - 1.5kg Honey, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, Pink Lady apples, water *(stopped bubbling this morning)*

So, after 8 days, would you expect the dry and spiced mead to have stopped bubbling? If I look very closely I can see "bits" rising and falling in the spiced mead... but the dry has no "floaties' so i can't tell what is happening... it is a beautiful colour though :)

My guess is that both have stopped bubbling because they have used all of the available nutrients?? I am just surprised as i though i had to wait about 4 weeks before stacking? They all smell fantastic! especially the spiced one :)

Here are my questions...

1. Should I add anything to either non-bubblers?
2. Should I just stop freaking out about nothing and be patient?
3. Is it too late to use my Hydrometer? I only got it today so do not have starting details...
4. How early is too early to stack for the first time?

Thanks heaps,
Stuart.
 
Okay i need to clarify something... after close inspection they have stopped bubbling out og the air trap thing but are still bubbling slightly inside the bottle...

Moral of my story? be patient.... :)
 
Hey Stuart, welcome to the forum!

Looking at your honey amounts, yeah, I would expect them to be quitting any time now. 1.5 kg in 5 litres should be done the bulk of its fermentation in a week, especially using EC-1118, and those batches will be pretty dry if you taste them. I expect your "sweet mead" with the Granny Smiths to be next to quit, the ratio of sugar in there's not particularly high either unless it was a LOT of apples (like, 20 lbs lots).

You're either going to need to keep adding more honey until it stops eating it, or stabilize it and backsweeten if you want residual sweetness.

If you check out the Mead Calculator over there to the left, you can see what percent alcohol you should get with each of these, and it won't be anywhere near the 16-18% that this yeast can handle. Although to have an accurate estimation, you really need a hydrometer.
 
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Hi Chevette Girl! and thanks for your reply!

Is it possible to just add sugar instead of adding honey? or is that just "not done"??

Honey is a little expensive around my neck of the woods... this is the main reason I only added the amounts I mentioned... I have half a kilo of brewing sugar in stock..

Also, i just checked the 30L "Sweet mead" batch and it is at 1.035 Specific Gravity... is that an okay value for day 9?? It smells sooo nice :) I added 4 kilograms of apples which is about 8.8lbs in your language :)

Thanks,
Stuart
 
CG is Canadian, so she speaks metric. So do a lot of we Americans. :)

You could add sugar, but you're better off using honey if you're making mead. Both are gobbled up by the yeast, but honey tastes better. :) it's expensive everywhere, unless you're lucky enough to grow your own.

So to speak. :)

Yeast also devour apples with alacrity. Mmmmmm...
 
I think I am going down a deep dark path here.... I am currently seeking out local bee keepers in search of cheap honey... just for reference, here is the honey price at the local large supermarket. It is the cheapest i have found so far...

2.5L @ $7.40 (AU) per Kilo - Sugar 82.5g
5.51lbs @ $3.40 (US) per Pound- Sugar 82.5g

Is this sugar content of this one okay? what sort of sugar content is best?

Thanks,
Stuart.
 
Who mention patience????

So I just tried a little bit of the "dry mead"... At almost the 10 day mark, should it make the tip of my tongue go numb?? Man it has a kick to it! It has a real fruity taste from the blue berries but obviously needs to age big time... I am so loving making mead :)

I promise I will not touch them now for 3 weeks which is when I want to do the first racking :)

Stuart.
 
Interesting. We don't usually rate the net sugar content as an equivalent weight up here. Instead you'll see concentrations listed (78.9% by weight, for example) or specific gravity (1.418, etc) quoted.

That sugar content - is that normalized to one Kg (or more likely to 100g) of honey? If that is 82.5g per 100g, then you have some relatively dry (and high sugar content) honey by comparison with most North American varieties.
 
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hello, */ *- /-* /* /- *

the ratio of sugar in there's not particularly high either unless it was a LOT of apples (like, 20 lbs lots)............

:cool::cool:
 
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