No signs of fermentation, should I worry?

  • PATRONS: Did you know we've a chat function for you now? Look to the bottom of the screen, you can chat, set up rooms, talk to each other individually or in groups! Click 'Chat' at the right side of the chat window to open the chat up.
  • 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.
Are you certain the pH is 6? that's actually not very acidic at all, as neutral is 7.:confused:

Yes. It's acually more like 5 or directly between the 4 and the 6 which I assume is still 5...lol

The SG we now have...it's nearly 1...I mean it might be a smidge different like 1.02 or 1.06; but so close to 1 I could shave with it. We tasted, and I like what I'm getting. I think I'll rack it. What I tasted had a slight aftertaste of pears...nice...
 
Don't feel bad, I just put together two batches of what will be lambic today and totally forgot to check the temp of the water and Gro-ferm before tossing the yeast in; it was probably too cool, oh, well. :)
 
...and I know now where I messed up. I feel like a dummy. I'm not even gonna tell you all why my airlock showed no activity. I'll leave it to your imagination; but it has something to do with what did not get added to the airlock. I'm not blonde. Promise. Remember, this is my first baby...lol

LOL, we all do dumb things from time to time, blonde is recessive :)

Don't sweat too much about the temperature corrections for your hydrometer, if you take the SG measurement at roughly the same temperature (ie, room temp), the difference between the two should be accurate since a temperature correction would add or subtract the same amount from both values. It's really the change in SG that we're interested in anyway :) You can try playing with tap water, if you let it acclimatize to room temperature it should be 1.000 or fairly close. Add a bit of hot water, it'll be different, add a bit of ice water, it'll be different the other way... just don't expose your hydrometer to sudden temperature changes.

Oh, and with pH, a higher number is less acidic than a lower number, yeast can tolerate somewhere down to 3.2 or so before it's too acidic for them.
 
Okay...First rack is finished. Dang...I wish I could suck the syphon hose...lol Getting it to work on gravity alone takes some skill. I'll be lettin that rubber hose sit out in the sun a bit this summer. The curly thing gets on my nerves.

Have the mead sitting in a closet...I'm told for 30 to 45 days; but as long as it sat before first racking, I don't know if it should go that long.

Thanx everybody!