Hey, All - so, lurked here for a few days, thought I'd speak up.
I recently started my first batch (go figure! another first timer thread!), per stormthecastle's "quick, easy, cheap" guide.
I followed everything to a "T", as it were, but I think I'm running in to a problem with climate control. See, I live in a basement apartment, and the controls for the central air / heat are upstairs. Typically this isn't a problem, other than it gets a little cold at night.
I've got my first batch of mead in primary, and I noticed that over night (on those few nights when it's actually cold), fermentation would slow down considerably, then it would pick up during the day.
So, I thought "why not move the mead to the living room, where the heater vents are?" It was working out fine, until today - where for some reason, the heat was much warmer than usual - felt at least 80 degrees, if not higher. I was gone for a few hours, and when I got back, the jug was warm to the touch. Not sure how hot it was, and I'm not sure how long for - maybe 4, 5 hours tops?
I took a whiff of the fumes coming off of it, and it doesn't smell any different than usual. I know that's not the best indicator, but it's all I have to go by.
So the big questions is did it get too hot, for too long, and is my first batch screwed? . Will I be able to tell any time during primary, secondary, or will I only know when it's time to bottle it?
I recently started my first batch (go figure! another first timer thread!), per stormthecastle's "quick, easy, cheap" guide.
I followed everything to a "T", as it were, but I think I'm running in to a problem with climate control. See, I live in a basement apartment, and the controls for the central air / heat are upstairs. Typically this isn't a problem, other than it gets a little cold at night.
I've got my first batch of mead in primary, and I noticed that over night (on those few nights when it's actually cold), fermentation would slow down considerably, then it would pick up during the day.
So, I thought "why not move the mead to the living room, where the heater vents are?" It was working out fine, until today - where for some reason, the heat was much warmer than usual - felt at least 80 degrees, if not higher. I was gone for a few hours, and when I got back, the jug was warm to the touch. Not sure how hot it was, and I'm not sure how long for - maybe 4, 5 hours tops?
I took a whiff of the fumes coming off of it, and it doesn't smell any different than usual. I know that's not the best indicator, but it's all I have to go by.
So the big questions is did it get too hot, for too long, and is my first batch screwed? . Will I be able to tell any time during primary, secondary, or will I only know when it's time to bottle it?