Hey fellow fermenters!
I'm started, soon a month ago, a wild fermentation 5 different batches. I have to point it down at the beginning that I don't have a hydrometer yet, I know the major of my questions, doubts would be answered by that, but, for now, I don't have one.
Soo. The primary fermentation stage I left it for half a moon cycle (from new moon to full moon) around 2 weeks, stirring few times a day. In one of the batches (around 4l water to a bit more than half kg honey from a beekeeper friend) since the beginning I added a bit more than Cup of dandelion yellows. The rest is traditional mead recipe with more honey (I made few different ones I explain more in the secondary ferment part..) and in some I added some organic raisins..
Than strated the secondary phrase, the dandelion mead racked into carboy, added some extra honey (roughly a kg in total maybe less) than airlock on top. Its still bubbling well.
Soo the rest, I Ve some issue or doubt, I couldn't find anything specific as much I read about on forums or pages about wild ferment or other mead..
One of the batch is around a 20 l spring water (all of them spring water what flows next to our yurt in the forest..) and around 4-4,5 kg honey, plus some extra raisins and the juice of around 2 smaller oranges.
The second is a metheglin of roughly 10 l of water around 2 kg honey raisins lil orange juice with Hawthorne (only) flowers and elderflower.
3. Same as last but with mint and instead of orange, its with a little of a juice of lemon.
The last is a small batch of metheglin 2 l of water some half kg honey a quarter of an orange juice and with wild violet flowers.
Since the beginning, except the 1. And 2. Batches were okay, they were bubbling (I mean in the airlock ), the mint was super active, the dandelion steady and still bubbling, and the Violet flower one was very slow.
Now, after a week since the racking, only the dandelion is active, the 2 other have stopped the bubbling , the first 2 didn't even started (in the airlock), though I can see that all of them are sparkling from inside, and things sometimes moving up and down Soo I can see the fermentation is working.
I was thinking why the airlocks are still (in some though I can see the pressure is moving the level of the water in the airlock every once in a while but no air bubble goes trough), what I could think, that I used (pre senitized) wooden corks and they might leak the air, pressure out? I tried to seal them with melted beeswax with little but not much change.
I'm wondering shall I be worried? If anyone reads it and have any insight or recommendation what shall I do or just wait or read etc. very appreciated!
Also read about temperature, for sure in a yurt is not constant but around 13-18degree depends on night or day, though before summer heats coming I'll bring them up to a stone house in the neighborhood for more constancy.
Well, all the best for all of u out there hope making amazing meads !
I'm started, soon a month ago, a wild fermentation 5 different batches. I have to point it down at the beginning that I don't have a hydrometer yet, I know the major of my questions, doubts would be answered by that, but, for now, I don't have one.
Soo. The primary fermentation stage I left it for half a moon cycle (from new moon to full moon) around 2 weeks, stirring few times a day. In one of the batches (around 4l water to a bit more than half kg honey from a beekeeper friend) since the beginning I added a bit more than Cup of dandelion yellows. The rest is traditional mead recipe with more honey (I made few different ones I explain more in the secondary ferment part..) and in some I added some organic raisins..
Than strated the secondary phrase, the dandelion mead racked into carboy, added some extra honey (roughly a kg in total maybe less) than airlock on top. Its still bubbling well.
Soo the rest, I Ve some issue or doubt, I couldn't find anything specific as much I read about on forums or pages about wild ferment or other mead..
One of the batch is around a 20 l spring water (all of them spring water what flows next to our yurt in the forest..) and around 4-4,5 kg honey, plus some extra raisins and the juice of around 2 smaller oranges.
The second is a metheglin of roughly 10 l of water around 2 kg honey raisins lil orange juice with Hawthorne (only) flowers and elderflower.
3. Same as last but with mint and instead of orange, its with a little of a juice of lemon.
The last is a small batch of metheglin 2 l of water some half kg honey a quarter of an orange juice and with wild violet flowers.
Since the beginning, except the 1. And 2. Batches were okay, they were bubbling (I mean in the airlock ), the mint was super active, the dandelion steady and still bubbling, and the Violet flower one was very slow.
Now, after a week since the racking, only the dandelion is active, the 2 other have stopped the bubbling , the first 2 didn't even started (in the airlock), though I can see that all of them are sparkling from inside, and things sometimes moving up and down Soo I can see the fermentation is working.
I was thinking why the airlocks are still (in some though I can see the pressure is moving the level of the water in the airlock every once in a while but no air bubble goes trough), what I could think, that I used (pre senitized) wooden corks and they might leak the air, pressure out? I tried to seal them with melted beeswax with little but not much change.
I'm wondering shall I be worried? If anyone reads it and have any insight or recommendation what shall I do or just wait or read etc. very appreciated!
Also read about temperature, for sure in a yurt is not constant but around 13-18degree depends on night or day, though before summer heats coming I'll bring them up to a stone house in the neighborhood for more constancy.
Well, all the best for all of u out there hope making amazing meads !
