Didn't use camden tablets or boil

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Hey guys made my 2nd batch of mead last night. First batch was 5 gallons and I followed the instructions exactly as the recipe called for that I got at my LHBS. This time I did it a little differently. Well I threw the water, honey, and grapefruit in the carboy, put the yeast in it's seperate bowl to prepare itself, and suddenly realized I forgot to put the crushed camden pill in the concoction.

Thinking it probably won't matter, I just pitched the yeast and the rest of the water. Now I didn't boil anything and looking back on it I think I should have for sure. Did I ruin my mead?
 
Sounds like you're on the road to a great batch of mead. I didn't boil my first batches, but did heat them up more than I should have (this was a year ago, before I knew NOT to heat the honey above 100-110F)... Still got some solid mead from those batches. This year's first batch went into primary today. 4 gallon batch with a gallon of very local wildflower honey in it. Added nutrient, energizer, O2 and pitched the rehydrated yeast in (Lalvin 71B-1122)... I only used a small amount of warmed water to get the honey to get into solution easier/faster.

I've not used camden tablets in my must. I used some to stabilize part of what I made last year. Don't plan on doing that ever again though. I have a brew fridge now, so I can cold-crash the batch/batches (inside of kegs) and then bottle (also off of keg).

How much grapefruit did you add to your batch? You might want to check the PH of the must to make sure it's not too low.
 
Sounds like you're on the road to a great batch of mead. I didn't boil my first batches, but did heat them up more than I should have (this was a year ago, before I knew NOT to heat the honey above 100-110F)... Still got some solid mead from those batches. This year's first batch went into primary today. 4 gallon batch with a gallon of very local wildflower honey in it. Added nutrient, energizer, O2 and pitched the rehydrated yeast in (Lalvin 71B-1122)... I only used a small amount of warmed water to get the honey to get into solution easier/faster.

I've not used camden tablets in my must. I used some to stabilize part of what I made last year. Don't plan on doing that ever again though. I have a brew fridge now, so I can cold-crash the batch/batches (inside of kegs) and then bottle (also off of keg).

How much grapefruit did you add to your batch? You might want to check the PH of the must to make sure it's not too low.

The grapefruit was smaller than a usual one and I added about 3/4th of it. Thanks for the response.
 
If this batch is also 5 gallons, then the 3/4 of a grapefruit addition shouldn't make an impact. Actually, since you added it before fermentation started, it will probably make zero flavor impact in the batch.

My batches for this season are starting off as more traditional recipes. I have the first traditional batch started. I'm getting ready to mix up a maple mead (targeting a 14% ABV there too). I'll be starting my Mocha Madness rev.2 batch soon (21% target). Not a single one of these will be boiled/cooked. At most, I'll use a bit of warmed water to get the jugs/containers empty (honey and maple syrup)... That's it.
 
This batch is only 1 gallon. Should I be putting the fruit in the secondary instead of the primary?

Also damn that's a lot of alcohol. Is it just the amount of honey, and the strain of yeast that affects the ABV?
 
also, you ever throw in sugar to build the ABV%?
 
Try your batch when fermentation is complete... After it has some time to get better, then see if you want/need to add more grapefruit to it. You'll get different effects from adding flavor elements either during fermentation, or after.

You get strength (ABV%) by both making the must high enough in OG and picking a strain that can work to that point. I'm not mixing up a must that will go above ~14% from the start. So, the one destined for 21% will start at about 14% (give or take), with enough room left (volume) for the additional honey to get it to 21%. Basically, you 'step feed' it more sugars/honey to get it to the higher level.

Just keep in mind, the higher the ABV%, the longer it will need to mellow/age in order to become something great to drink. My 18% ABV batches made last year (just before Thanksgiving 2010) are really, really good right now. I can only imagine how they'll be as they age more. Of course, it's not going to be easy to hold onto bottles to try as the years pass.
 
also, you ever throw in sugar to build the ABV%?

For my meads, the ONLY 'sugar' I'll add is the original sugar used. Such as honey or maple syrup. I won't use any processed sugars in my batches. I did make a blackberry melomel last year, so it had sugar from the fruit, but that was the only other addition other than honey.
 
Cool thanks a bunch for answering my questions
 
Why add sugars step wise instead of just adding up front? What is the benefit of adding in steps? I just made a mead with OG of 1.130 which should get to 20%. It was my first attempt so I hope I did not mess up. Used red star champaign yeast bc that's what I had.
 
Why add sugars step wise instead of just adding up front? What is the benefit of adding in steps? I just made a mead with OG of 1.130 which should get to 20%. It was my first attempt so I hope I did not mess up. Used red star champaign yeast bc that's what I had.

With an OG of 1.130, you're looking at (a max of) 17.6%, assuming it goes to dry at .998 FG. Don't assume it will go beyond that, but be prepared in case it does. Actually, I just looked that yeast up... NOT a good choice for your batch. Since it's tolerance is 13-15% ABV, your batch is also going to finish sweet, and not near 20%. Well, not unless you hit it with another yeast strain, which is not nearly as easy as you might think. You're probably looking at a FG of 1.017-1.033...

As for why to step feed the sugars, it's to give the yeast less stress. Putting yeast into a must with a high OG means it will be stressed from the start. I did that on my initial batches and it took it much longer than it would have if I had step fed it.

I hope you gave your must nutrient, energizer, and plenty of oxygen at the start (jtrux)... Otherwise, you could have an uphill battle on your hands to get it to finish, or finish without taking a couple of extra months. My initial batches were still creeping to 18% after over four months in fermenter. At six to seven months, they were at 18% and done. They did finish sweet, which helps to balance the 18% ABV.

For a 21% (or anything close to that) batch, you're best off NOT making the must with that high of an OG. You need to formulate the recipe by the final ABV level (and OG that it would take to get there), use the same level of water, and less honey/sugars. That way, when you add the additional honey later, the volume actually hits the target to get the ABV level.

BTW, ALWAYS research your yeast before selecting it for a batch. This is a prime example of NOT using the correct yeast for a batch. To get to 20% you need to use something like Wyeast Eau de Vie (goes to 21%), or a strain that you have a chance of 'pushing' beyond it's normal range. There are stories of people pushing yeast like Lalvin EC-1118 or K1-V1116 beyond 18%, closer to 20%, but those are experienced mazers that did everything correctly to get there.
 
Thanks for the reply. I didn't think about stressing the yeast. I did however add grated ginger, energizer, nutrient and Irish moss. Was following a recipe I found in the The Joy of Brewing by Papazian. Recipe just said dried champaign yeast so I didn't think about researching the yeast better. Guess I will know better next time. Thanks again for the reply. Batch been going for 6 days and getting bubble in airlock every 1-3 seconds.
 
Irish moss has zero place, or effect, in mead.

The batch I pitched the yeast into, around 12:30 today, is already post-lag.

I would advise going over to the Got Mead? site before you make another batch. Go into the forums there, and look at the mead-log postings.

IMO, that Papzaian book is a horrible reference for making mead. I read the recipes too, but I asked on Got Mead? before I even thought about making any. Glad I did too.
 
Golddiggie, can you explain what you do when you step-feed your meads to push the ABV? How many feedings do you do beyond the initial must mix? Do you add nutrients at the same time as the feedings? How do you calculate your ABV--just base it on the amount of honey you add? Do you mix the additional honey with water, or just add it directly to the fermenter? Do you rack between feedings? Do you do anything to stir the new honey in? Lotsa questions, I know!
 
Golddiggie, when you step feed, do you add pure honey to the fermenter after fermentation slows or do you thin it out with water or apple juice first?
 
I typically just warm the honey in a bucket of warm tap water and pour it in. No thinning of it with anything, unless I have compensated for that in the batch volume size. I usually have the total amount of water mixed with the original honey (or what I'm using) volume. As long as you don't wait too long the yeast will find the new sugar and tear through it pretty fast.
 
Lots of good info from Goldiggie. Researching your yeast choice IMO is huge, from knowing what it's best temps for fermentation are to how high abv it will ferment.
One thing raised a red flag for me was adding grapefruit. I say that because honey has a low pH already and then you add gf to the must lowering the pH even more. For a good ferment you should try to get the pH to 4 or above or you will end up with those really long ferments that everyone talks about and then more time to come into its own.
 
Apples are slightly acidic, can adding apple juice negatively affect the pH of a mead/cyser.
 
For fermentations using Lalvin yeast, I make sure the PH is above 3.2... In my first attempt at hard lemonade, the original PH was below 3. I got it up to about 3.2-3.4 and it started fermenting in a reasonable amount of time.

IMO, if you're going to add fruit, or acid, while the yeast needs to work, check the PH before pitching the yeast. Then fix the PH as needed.

I've never adjusted the PH on straight mead and it's always started fermenting as I would expect (normally within 12-24 hours, depending on the OG of the must).

Most LHBS (and the online ones too) have PH test strips/kits for both wine and beer. Since the ranges needed are different between them. You might want to get at least some of the strips to test from time to time (when needed). I've yet to use my beer PH test strips, but I've used the wine ones (as noted above)...
 
For fermentations using Lalvin yeast, I make sure the PH is above 3.2... In my first attempt at hard lemonade, the original PH was below 3. I got it up to about 3.2-3.4 and it started fermenting in a reasonable amount of time.

IMO, if you're going to add fruit, or acid, while the yeast needs to work, check the PH before pitching the yeast. Then fix the PH as needed.

I've never adjusted the PH on straight mead and it's always started fermenting as I would expect (normally within 12-24 hours, depending on the OG of the must).

Most LHBS (and the online ones too) have PH test strips/kits for both wine and beer. Since the ranges needed are different between them. You might want to get at least some of the strips to test from time to time (when needed). I've yet to use my beer PH test strips, but I've used the wine ones (as noted above)...
As with brewing you ask 4 people their opinion and you will get 4 different ways to get it done.
(Disclaimer: I am not argueing, I am simply explaining where I am coming from!)
I find it interesting you shoot for only 3 pH, that is pretty acidic. In the "Complete Meadmaker" Scramm suggests a pH of 3.8 at the beginning for a good ferment and the Mead Panel from the NHBC in Minnesota suggested 4.0 as a beginning pH. The reason is during lag time the yeast absorbs nutrient and amino acids from the must an the pH drops below 3 and sometimes below 2.5 pH.Studies from Morse and Steinkraus show that optimal pH for mead is 3.7 -4.6, with 3.7 being high enough for yeast metabolism and low enough to retard undesirable bacteria. ( quoted from Complete Meadmaker)
Anyway, that's what I try to follow when I make mead and have not been disappointed since using these methods.
 
As with brewing you ask 4 people their opinion and you will get 4 different ways to get it done.
(Disclaimer: I am not argueing, I am simply explaining where I am coming from!)
I find it interesting you shoot for only 3 pH, that is pretty acidic. In the "Complete Meadmaker" Scramm suggests a pH of 3.8 at the beginning for a good ferment and the Mead Panel from the NHBC in Minnesota suggested 4.0 as a beginning pH. The reason is during lag time the yeast absorbs nutrient and amino acids from the must an the pH drops below 3 and sometimes below 2.5 pH.Studies from Morse and Steinkraus show that optimal pH for mead is 3.7 -4.6, with 3.7 being high enough for yeast metabolism and low enough to retard undesirable bacteria. ( quoted from Complete Meadmaker)
Anyway, that's what I try to follow when I make mead and have not been disappointed since using these methods.

I read this quickly and maybe I missed something, but I have some questions. Where does Goldiggie state that he "shoots for only 3 pH"? Also, Goldiggie suggested 3.2 as an absolute minimum and you are comparing that to what Schramm (not Scramm) and the NHC (not NHBC) suggest as an optimum pH. Isn't that the whole apples and oranges thing? Wouldn't you expect the minimum to be lower than the optimum?
 
I've only adjusted the PH on that one batch (hard lemonade). Every other mead I've made has been fine there. So much that I don't even bother to check the PH. I did with that ONE batch because I knew it was probably too acidic to ferment (from what I read of others attempts).

IME, traditional mead recipes, with wildflower honey at least, don't need any PH adjustment. Of course, I do give the yeast plenty of nutrient, degass and oxygenate/aerate.
 
I read this quickly and maybe I missed something, but I have some questions. Where does Goldiggie state that he "shoots for only 3 pH"? Also, Goldiggie suggested 3.2 as an absolute minimum and you are comparing that to what Schramm (not Scramm) and the NHC (not NHBC) suggest as an optimum pH. Isn't that the whole apples and oranges thing? Wouldn't you expect the minimum to be lower than the optimum?

My bad, he did say 3.2. Thanks for correcting my spelling also.
With the amount of time and money spent making mead, beer or wine, I try to aim for optimum.
 
It's advised to not try to increase the PH too much in a solution with the additive I used. I went as far as it said I should, which is why I ended up about 3.2-3.4 (hard to say for certain since I AM color blind).

I might take a PH reading on the next batch of mead I mix up. Will be interesting to see where it's at in the range.
 
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