I posted here a short while ago regarding my first batch of mead-you can look up my old posts for the specs. I hadn't seen any bubbles in the carboy for a few days, and I had started the whole process at the autumn equinox. So, I decided it was time to bottle. I used carefully sanitized wine and liquor bottles that friends had given me, and a hand-pump auto filler. Of course, I drank as I went. Maybe that's why, when I ran out of bottles, I used some mason jars I found under the sink. A friend of mine left them there a couple of years ago. I did give them a quick rinse-out, but I was anxious to get finished. I noticed the mead in the wine bottles still had some bubbles in the top, so I popped all the containers of mead in the fridge for a couple of days.
Last night, I pulled out one of the mason jars and drank it. My alcohol tolerance is pretty low-three pints of beer and I'm blitzed. I forgot to measure the alcohol content of said mead, but a friend helping me with the bottling said he thought it was around 13-14%. It definitely has a kick to it. But I didn't drink more mead than was in the mason jar, which was 20 ounces. i felt a pretty good buzz, and I went to a local pub and drank three pints of Hefenwizen...
Okay, mixing alcohols, not smart. I was definitely, painfully hung over. However, here it is 18 hours after I stopped drinking, and I am sicker than I've been in a long time. The effects of the alcohol should be gone. But I ache all over, including a splitting headache and a rolling stomach. I throw up every few hours. I'm seriously considering going to the hospital. What I'm wondering is, what the hell happened?
Botulism in the jars? They were empty and untouched for 2 years.
Active yeast in the mead? The stuff in the jars DID come from the bottom of the pickle barrel (I racked it one last time from the carboy and ran the mead through a coffee filter, but who knows?)
I am burping a lot, which tells me that there is CO2 present-could the yeast be living in my stomach?
Last night, I pulled out one of the mason jars and drank it. My alcohol tolerance is pretty low-three pints of beer and I'm blitzed. I forgot to measure the alcohol content of said mead, but a friend helping me with the bottling said he thought it was around 13-14%. It definitely has a kick to it. But I didn't drink more mead than was in the mason jar, which was 20 ounces. i felt a pretty good buzz, and I went to a local pub and drank three pints of Hefenwizen...
Okay, mixing alcohols, not smart. I was definitely, painfully hung over. However, here it is 18 hours after I stopped drinking, and I am sicker than I've been in a long time. The effects of the alcohol should be gone. But I ache all over, including a splitting headache and a rolling stomach. I throw up every few hours. I'm seriously considering going to the hospital. What I'm wondering is, what the hell happened?
Botulism in the jars? They were empty and untouched for 2 years.
Active yeast in the mead? The stuff in the jars DID come from the bottom of the pickle barrel (I racked it one last time from the carboy and ran the mead through a coffee filter, but who knows?)
I am burping a lot, which tells me that there is CO2 present-could the yeast be living in my stomach?