nwaite

Recipes 

First time using it and doing mead. I did a blackberry. The sg was 1.062 . Is that ok...? It was a one gal bach with 2 lbs honey . Any thought or feedbacks welcome .

BoxMan

Recipes 

Is that the original gravity?

2 lbs of honey should make for a dry mead. As for whether that's "ok" or not, it's all personal taste. I'd say taste it after a while and see how it turns out. You can always add more honey in secondary or backsweeten if you need to. Or if you like really dry mead, you should be spot on.

fatbloke

Recipes 

+1
2lb of honey will mean its probably gonna be as dry as a buzzards arse!

I'd add a further pound to a pound and a half.......

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"What the large print giveth, the small print taketh away". Tom Waits.

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nwaite

Recipes 

Should I add it now or when I rack it?

nwaite

Recipes 

Here's a pic of it this morning

fatbloke

Recipes 

Presuming all the debris above the liquid is fruit and foam, I'd pop the airlock, then give it a gentle stir so you don't get an eruption of foam (fermenter in the sink?) then add it. Don't worry if it settles at the bottom as the yeast should sort it out - unless you want to take a new gravity reading, if you do, just give it another gentle stir till its mixed in.

__________________
"What the large print giveth, the small print taketh away". Tom Waits.

Oh, and here's some blog stuff!

nwaite

Recipes 

Cool thanks dude.. you have been a good help thumbs up

nwaite

Recipes 

Oh and what should a good sg reading be for a mead in the sweet side.

fatbloke

Recipes 

So you know what the SG was at start, test before adding more honey so you know how far its dropped, then test again after adding the extra honey. Record the numbers.

Then once its finished, measure it. You can then work out the total drop and logically the percentage alcohol.

To work out what levels of sweetness you like, you rack the finished brew onto sulphite and sorbate. I like to leave it for a day, then with a fifty fifty water honey syrup, I add a little bit, about a quarter pint, then stir gently before testing again and tasting. Once you get a level of sweetness you like (i like mine between 1.010 and 1.015) you can then think about getting it cleared, either time/naturally or with finings. Once its cleared then you can either bulk age it in a carboy or bottle it and age it that way (i do mine in bulk).

Leave it for at least 6 months before tasting.

Oh and don't forget, green/young meads often taste bloody horrible. And you'll be amazed in the changes that time brings to it. Making it a nice drinking experience.

__________________
"What the large print giveth, the small print taketh away". Tom Waits.

Oh, and here's some blog stuff!