If I didn't know about nutrients I would have panicked about some of my batches, too...because when it gets that smell, it does smell like all is lost--until you put in a few grams of nutrient, and voila! The smell goes away like magic.
stuff - Need Help
- Thread starter onanguiste
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Well onanguiste, that's a good price for the honey.
Though I'm already thinking that you need to take more of a "winemaking approach".
For instance, some yeasts need more nitrogen than others, and I'm thinking that the eggy, or hydrogen sulphide (H2S) smell is more than likely caused by the yeast getting stressed.
The copper pipe trick mentioned earlier, is, as I understand it, a way of removing some of it, though I'd also suggest that when, or if you notice the smell, that quite often, a way of sorting that is to add a little more nutrient and give it a damn good stir.
The problem with using Youngs yeast compound is that it's very much a "general purpose" yeast, and even with wines, it does the job but not spectacularly so. Plus Youngs yeast nutrient, is more of a "yeast energiser" than a nutrient i.e. it's really meant for a grape or other fruit/country wine, that presumes that the other nutrients are present and that the wine is just short of nitrogen. Hence it also "does the job" as per the yeast.
So, I'd suggest, too start with, that as far as yeast is concerned, you look to your HBS. If they only stock Youngs yeasts, then you should be trying the High Alcohol/Dessert wine yeast - or you may be lucky enough that they stock Lalvin yeasts (or maybe Gervin yeasts).
My local one tends only to stock Youngs stuff, as he's really only wine and beer orientated. So I have to get the Lalvin yeasts mail order (you could also register at WaH as Bob who runs them, often has some of the Lalvin yeasts or Karl (Duffbeer at WaH) runs a home brew shop, might have some. I'll direct you toward Lalvin K1V-1116, which is a robust yeast that does work well with meads and was good enough to be the yeast that Brother Adam of Buckfast Abbey fame used before his passing in the 90's.
As for nutrient, well yes, you can also do like I did and find some FermaidK, but that definitely isn't easily available in the UK (if at all), so has to come mail order from the US, but you can get Tronozymol, either from the local HBS or mail order easily enough.
If you read through threads here that talk about staggered nutrient addition, well where they mention using FermaidK, just substitute that with Tronozymol, where they mention using yeast energiser or DAP, just use the Youngs yeast nutrient.
If you still have a gallon that is stinky/smelly, then use a little of the Youngs yeast nutrient, and give it a good stir to see if that helps.
If not, then just plan ahead a little more to make sure you've got some of the rather better materials available.
As for the honey, well I'd have to take "polyfloral" to be wild flower. Also, at 900gms per gallon, you'd end up with a dry mead that's not too high in alcohol. I'd suggest that you go for at least 1.36kg per gallon, a.k.a. 3lb per gallon, as a minimum. I regularly use 3 and 1/2 to 4lb per gallon.
The yeast should be hydrated as per instructions (Lalvin ones have the instructions on the back of the pack).
The nutrient, well if you had FermaidK available (and GoFerm, which is different from "normal" nutrient - it's purely for rehydrating yeasts to make a bit like a yeast starter) then it's done in a slightly different way, but with Tronozymol I'd suggest that you add the stated dose at the start, before you pitch the yeast - it's something like 1 teaspoon per gallon. Then using your hydrometer to check, when it's fermented about 1/3 of the sugar in the honey (use the numbers i.e. if you had an initial gravity reading of 1.100 and take "dry" as 1.000, then there's a 100 point drop total a 1/3 sugar break reading would be about 1.067 - so between 1.070 and 1.060 is fine) I'd be adding something like 1/4 of the suggested amount of tronozymol and the same amount of youngs yeast nutrient stirred in.
That can be done as far as the 1/2 sugar break level i.e. 1.050 using my analogy above.
Also, you can use something to stir/agitate the fermenting must to about the same levels (from the numbers) as in the early stages, yeast will actually need oxygen to do it's thing. I stop agitating/stirring at the 1/2 sugar break level.
I'm thinking that the honey you have isn't going to be over processed like the cheapo stuff you can get at the local tesco/morrisons/asda etc, but it's "set". So you should be able to get a respectable mead out of it, but, I'd suggest that you don't use boiling water to dilute/let it down. Leave it to dissolve either in the tub/drum/bucket/whatever, in a sink of hot tap water, or as a good method of aerating the must before you pitch yeast, you can always sanitise a liquidiser, and put largish spoonfuls of the honey in, with some hot tap water (and you can also add any other ingredients, like acid, tannin, nutrients etc) and give it a good whizz. Once all the honey you want to use in the recipe is done like that, then you can mix it to the right levels with water (dunno what the water is like in your part of the country, down here it's hard as nails, with very high calcium, as it comes through the chalk).
If you're into getting it right enough, then have a look through amazon market place, for a book called "Making Mead" by Ashton and Duncan. It was an "amateur winemaker" book, then same as CJJ Berrys' "First Step", but it's out of print so you have to get a used copy - I think mine was about £1 plus the postage. It's got plenty of info about tannins, acids and other nutrients etc. Plus about the benefits of using "varietal" honey.
I'm hoping that lot will be of some use.
Anyway, good luck
regards
fatbloke
p.s. and don't forget, once it's "made", don't expect your mead to be brilliant. It might even be horrible tasting with a number of tasting faults. Just get it into it's own DJ that can be left alone for 12 months and put it away somewhere so you won't touch it. With mead, one of the biggest factors in how it tastes is how long it's been aged for.
And if you look around you may be able to find a commercially made mead, but the only problem with most of the ones available here is that they tend to be cloyingly sweet "dessert" meads. You can make better than that quite easily......
Though I'm already thinking that you need to take more of a "winemaking approach".
For instance, some yeasts need more nitrogen than others, and I'm thinking that the eggy, or hydrogen sulphide (H2S) smell is more than likely caused by the yeast getting stressed.
The copper pipe trick mentioned earlier, is, as I understand it, a way of removing some of it, though I'd also suggest that when, or if you notice the smell, that quite often, a way of sorting that is to add a little more nutrient and give it a damn good stir.
The problem with using Youngs yeast compound is that it's very much a "general purpose" yeast, and even with wines, it does the job but not spectacularly so. Plus Youngs yeast nutrient, is more of a "yeast energiser" than a nutrient i.e. it's really meant for a grape or other fruit/country wine, that presumes that the other nutrients are present and that the wine is just short of nitrogen. Hence it also "does the job" as per the yeast.
So, I'd suggest, too start with, that as far as yeast is concerned, you look to your HBS. If they only stock Youngs yeasts, then you should be trying the High Alcohol/Dessert wine yeast - or you may be lucky enough that they stock Lalvin yeasts (or maybe Gervin yeasts).
My local one tends only to stock Youngs stuff, as he's really only wine and beer orientated. So I have to get the Lalvin yeasts mail order (you could also register at WaH as Bob who runs them, often has some of the Lalvin yeasts or Karl (Duffbeer at WaH) runs a home brew shop, might have some. I'll direct you toward Lalvin K1V-1116, which is a robust yeast that does work well with meads and was good enough to be the yeast that Brother Adam of Buckfast Abbey fame used before his passing in the 90's.
As for nutrient, well yes, you can also do like I did and find some FermaidK, but that definitely isn't easily available in the UK (if at all), so has to come mail order from the US, but you can get Tronozymol, either from the local HBS or mail order easily enough.
If you read through threads here that talk about staggered nutrient addition, well where they mention using FermaidK, just substitute that with Tronozymol, where they mention using yeast energiser or DAP, just use the Youngs yeast nutrient.
If you still have a gallon that is stinky/smelly, then use a little of the Youngs yeast nutrient, and give it a good stir to see if that helps.
If not, then just plan ahead a little more to make sure you've got some of the rather better materials available.
As for the honey, well I'd have to take "polyfloral" to be wild flower. Also, at 900gms per gallon, you'd end up with a dry mead that's not too high in alcohol. I'd suggest that you go for at least 1.36kg per gallon, a.k.a. 3lb per gallon, as a minimum. I regularly use 3 and 1/2 to 4lb per gallon.
The yeast should be hydrated as per instructions (Lalvin ones have the instructions on the back of the pack).
The nutrient, well if you had FermaidK available (and GoFerm, which is different from "normal" nutrient - it's purely for rehydrating yeasts to make a bit like a yeast starter) then it's done in a slightly different way, but with Tronozymol I'd suggest that you add the stated dose at the start, before you pitch the yeast - it's something like 1 teaspoon per gallon. Then using your hydrometer to check, when it's fermented about 1/3 of the sugar in the honey (use the numbers i.e. if you had an initial gravity reading of 1.100 and take "dry" as 1.000, then there's a 100 point drop total a 1/3 sugar break reading would be about 1.067 - so between 1.070 and 1.060 is fine) I'd be adding something like 1/4 of the suggested amount of tronozymol and the same amount of youngs yeast nutrient stirred in.
That can be done as far as the 1/2 sugar break level i.e. 1.050 using my analogy above.
Also, you can use something to stir/agitate the fermenting must to about the same levels (from the numbers) as in the early stages, yeast will actually need oxygen to do it's thing. I stop agitating/stirring at the 1/2 sugar break level.
I'm thinking that the honey you have isn't going to be over processed like the cheapo stuff you can get at the local tesco/morrisons/asda etc, but it's "set". So you should be able to get a respectable mead out of it, but, I'd suggest that you don't use boiling water to dilute/let it down. Leave it to dissolve either in the tub/drum/bucket/whatever, in a sink of hot tap water, or as a good method of aerating the must before you pitch yeast, you can always sanitise a liquidiser, and put largish spoonfuls of the honey in, with some hot tap water (and you can also add any other ingredients, like acid, tannin, nutrients etc) and give it a good whizz. Once all the honey you want to use in the recipe is done like that, then you can mix it to the right levels with water (dunno what the water is like in your part of the country, down here it's hard as nails, with very high calcium, as it comes through the chalk).
If you're into getting it right enough, then have a look through amazon market place, for a book called "Making Mead" by Ashton and Duncan. It was an "amateur winemaker" book, then same as CJJ Berrys' "First Step", but it's out of print so you have to get a used copy - I think mine was about £1 plus the postage. It's got plenty of info about tannins, acids and other nutrients etc. Plus about the benefits of using "varietal" honey.
I'm hoping that lot will be of some use.
Anyway, good luck
regards
fatbloke
p.s. and don't forget, once it's "made", don't expect your mead to be brilliant. It might even be horrible tasting with a number of tasting faults. Just get it into it's own DJ that can be left alone for 12 months and put it away somewhere so you won't touch it. With mead, one of the biggest factors in how it tastes is how long it's been aged for.
And if you look around you may be able to find a commercially made mead, but the only problem with most of the ones available here is that they tend to be cloyingly sweet "dessert" meads. You can make better than that quite easily......
