I have a metheglin batch that has had some problems. It survive a heat wave, it got stuck, I didn't give it the thrashing-aeration it deserved, or the SNA it should have had. Yet, those yeasties keep munching along... at a slower rate than if I had paid them the attention they need, but along they go. It's still fizzing. I need to receive my replacement hydrometer to be sure, but my guess at current ABV is 12%
It's now at day 72. It is not past primary fermentation, although I did rack it to a clean primary around day 45 or so. Since then, I have fed it some Fermaid K and DAP, and after the halfway (and after the new re-starter kicked in) I switched to Fermaid O and boiled bread yeast. So far, no funny smells, and the tastes that I have sampled seem like it is coming along cleanly. In fact, it is slowly starting to clear... or get less cloudy at least.
For the last 20-25 days, its been developing a new set of well-degassed and stirred lees, but before that it had a couple weeks on "sickly", less cared-for lees.
The general question is: how to judge when enough time has passed sitting on primary ferment lees? I don't want it to develop buttery or rubbery tastes.
Yeast (original and re-starter) is K1V.
It's now at day 72. It is not past primary fermentation, although I did rack it to a clean primary around day 45 or so. Since then, I have fed it some Fermaid K and DAP, and after the halfway (and after the new re-starter kicked in) I switched to Fermaid O and boiled bread yeast. So far, no funny smells, and the tastes that I have sampled seem like it is coming along cleanly. In fact, it is slowly starting to clear... or get less cloudy at least.
For the last 20-25 days, its been developing a new set of well-degassed and stirred lees, but before that it had a couple weeks on "sickly", less cared-for lees.
The general question is: how to judge when enough time has passed sitting on primary ferment lees? I don't want it to develop buttery or rubbery tastes.
Yeast (original and re-starter) is K1V.
