Noob first ever batch

[therion110]

Good afternoon everyone. I have just started my first time homebrewing. I used a simple recipe to start, 1 gal of water and 2 1/2 lbs of honey. I used the Lalvin d47 yeast and nutrients on staggered days. This was around the 16th or 17th of Nov. I didn't know to get the specific gravity at that time. My batch quickly started to ferment within a few days and very quickly changed colors you see here. Today I received a hydrometer and the gravity is .990. It has only been roughly 15 days. The temp in my apartment was around 72ish. What are your opinions on the condition of this batch? I was reading that I cold rack it and then coldcrash it for 24 hours to clear it up then back sweeten it to bring back some of the flavors? Thank you in advance for any advice you can offer me.

 

[James Devary]

It’s dry .
at This point, there’s a few ways you could go. Some folks will stabilize the Mead Now and cold crash then rack Then backsweeten to taste.

cold crashing will help it clear up faster but 24 hrs isn’t enough.

look into clearing agents. Sparkaloid works well. You need to stabilize the yeast so it don’t start to ferment again When you backsweeten.

i would cold crash until clear- rack , in second vessel , stir it really good to degas .
Then I would let it Get some age on it. Or, if you’re thirsty, backsweeten and give it a sip or two.
it’s more than likely going to be “fresh” alcohol forward on the nose and taste. aging mellows it out.

 

[therion110]

I'm going to do that. I racked it yesterday and started to cold crash. Going to leave it alone for a week or so before continuing the process. I want to start a second attempt but I'm not sure what I can do different. Being new to this I was under the impression that it would take roughly 30 days to be "done" this 1 gal experiment seemed to finish fermentation at around 10-11 days. Is this common?

 

[darigoni]

Just because it finished fermentation doesn't mean that it's done. Slow down. Most likely, if you leave your batch alone, all/most of the yeast will settle out on it's own. At that point you should have racked and stabilized. FYI. Most people don't like a dry mead, which is what you have right now. You'll want to stabilize (Potassium Metabisulfite and Potassium Sorbate) and then add some honey to "backsweeten". When you do so, I suggest adding enough honey (approx. 3 oz per gallon) to bring it back up to a gravity of 1.005 and then add more/less to your taste preference.

 

[therion110]

Just because it finished fermentation doesn't mean that it's done. Slow down. Most likely, if you leave your batch alone, all/most of the yeast will settle out on it's own. At that point you should have racked and stabilized. FYI. Most people don't like a dry mead, which is what you have right now. You'll want to stabilize (Potassium Metabisulfite and Potassium Sorbate) and then add some honey to "backsweeten". When you do so, I suggest adding enough honey (approx. 3 oz per gallon) to bring it back up to a gravity of 1.005 and then add more/less to your taste preference.

Is there a way to calculate the amount of stabilizer to use?

 

[darigoni]

There is, but I've always just followed the directions on the packages.

 

[therion110]

There is, but I've always just followed the directions on the packages.

Thank you.

 

[James Devary]

For your next batch, when you’re ready of course. Get a pack of Go-Ferm . This is used to rehydrate your yeast. This helps the cell walls absorb what they need to reproduce “Split” etc. this will shorten your start up time “Lag phase” tremendously. You said it started fast , 3 days. you can get that down under 12 hrs. In most cases.
being new to Mead , your main focus should be on taking care of the yeast from start , until they are done doing what they do. The yeast will tell you if they’re happy or pissed slap off. Use your nose ! In time and experimentation, you will figure out a system that works for you.

 

[therion110]

For your next batch, when you’re ready of course. Get a pack of Go-Ferm . This is used to rehydrate your yeast. This helps the cell walls absorb what they need to reproduce “Split” etc. this will shorten your start up time “Lag phase” tremendously. You said it started fast , 3 days. you can get that down under 12 hrs. In most cases.
being new to Mead , your main focus should be on taking care of the yeast from start , until they are done doing what they do. The yeast will tell you if they’re happy or pissed slap off. Use your nose ! In time and experimentation, you will figure out a system that works for you.

Thank you. I will have to give that a dry.

 

[papabearRN]

Good afternoon everyone. I have just started my first time homebrewing. I used a simple recipe to start, 1 gal of water and 2 1/2 lbs of honey. I used the Lalvin d47 yeast and nutrients on staggered days. This was around the 16th or 17th of Nov. I didn't know to get the specific gravity at that time. My batch quickly started to ferment within a few days and very quickly changed colors you see here. Today I received a hydrometer and the gravity is .990. It has only been roughly 15 days. The temp in my apartment was around 72ish. What are your opinions on the condition of this batch? I was reading that I cold rack it and then coldcrash it for 24 hours to clear it up then back sweeten it to bring back some of the flavors? Thank you in advance for any advice you can offer me.
View attachment 2035

You can roughly calculate your SG with the info provided. A pound of honey will add a gravity of approx. 0.035 to a gallon of water. So 2.5 pounds of honey will give a starting gravity of about 1.088.