RedCabbage
Active Member
Hello.
Inexperienced, incompetent brewer attempting to make inexpensive, interesting mead.
First attempt last year was laughable, earning my concoction the title "Death Mead". I should copywrite it. I think it must have gone mouldy, but it might have just been a slow ager.
This year I've started three 1-gallon batches in plastic demijons:
1) Ultra-budget: Tesco value honey, chopped up orange, raisins to give the yeast something to munch on.
2) Mid range: Royce honey, chopped up orange, yeast nutrient, bit of cinnamon.
3) "Special": Good greek honey, citric acid, yeast nutrient, a single scotch bonnet chili for sh*ts'n'giggles.
Batch 1 fermented quite slowly (glugging for over a week), batches 2 and 3 were lightning fast (3-4 days of rapid movement then nothing). After racking batch 1 (maybe day 10) it was crystal clear within a week. I left it for a while and then bottled it around day 40. Batches 2 and 3 have been racked (batch 2 racked twice because it was still sludgy) but they are still really murky (but no sediment at the bottom) after six weeks showing no signs of clearing down.
All three batches were kept at room temperature the whole time (i.e. in a room) and I haven't taken any gravity readings.
My questions are: Should I be worried about the lack of clarity from batches 2 and 3? Do all non-broken meads go clear eventually? Should I keep racking? Am I just being terribly impatient?
Thx in advance for any advise.
Edit: Just read the basic mead making FAQ and it's a very different method to the one I used. From what I could glean it's batch 1 that's the freak by going clear so quickly. The cheapass honey has probably been processed to within an inch of its life and has nothing to bring to the mead. I may have just made a gallon of pale brown water.
I'll try the method here in one-gallon batches for comparisson.
Inexperienced, incompetent brewer attempting to make inexpensive, interesting mead.
First attempt last year was laughable, earning my concoction the title "Death Mead". I should copywrite it. I think it must have gone mouldy, but it might have just been a slow ager.
This year I've started three 1-gallon batches in plastic demijons:
1) Ultra-budget: Tesco value honey, chopped up orange, raisins to give the yeast something to munch on.
2) Mid range: Royce honey, chopped up orange, yeast nutrient, bit of cinnamon.
3) "Special": Good greek honey, citric acid, yeast nutrient, a single scotch bonnet chili for sh*ts'n'giggles.
Batch 1 fermented quite slowly (glugging for over a week), batches 2 and 3 were lightning fast (3-4 days of rapid movement then nothing). After racking batch 1 (maybe day 10) it was crystal clear within a week. I left it for a while and then bottled it around day 40. Batches 2 and 3 have been racked (batch 2 racked twice because it was still sludgy) but they are still really murky (but no sediment at the bottom) after six weeks showing no signs of clearing down.
All three batches were kept at room temperature the whole time (i.e. in a room) and I haven't taken any gravity readings.
My questions are: Should I be worried about the lack of clarity from batches 2 and 3? Do all non-broken meads go clear eventually? Should I keep racking? Am I just being terribly impatient?
Thx in advance for any advise.
Edit: Just read the basic mead making FAQ and it's a very different method to the one I used. From what I could glean it's batch 1 that's the freak by going clear so quickly. The cheapass honey has probably been processed to within an inch of its life and has nothing to bring to the mead. I may have just made a gallon of pale brown water.
I'll try the method here in one-gallon batches for comparisson.
