Day 4
Fermaid k 1.5g
Aerated and punched top every 12 hours.
S.g. 1.050
Day 5
Degassed and punched top every 12 hours. Covered top and airlocked with vodka.
S. G. 1.030
Day 6
Checked gravity hourly. Reached S. G. 1.021 at about 7am of the 6th day. Cold crashed on 3 and a fourth teaspoons of potassium sorbate and a hair over 1/4th a teaspoon of potassium metabisulfate. Strawberries still have a little color to them. Probably let them stew in the fridge another few days before I rack. I'd read 10-14 days was enough, so probably go with 10. Smell is wonderful.
Day 9
Degassed twice a day up to now. Not much foaming at day 9 during degas, so I took a taste of the strawberries. They were flavorless and mostly mush. Drained them and squeezed nearly a quarter gallon of juice out of the bag and dumped that back in the fermenter. Racked into a carboy and airlocked. Time will tell whether I need another dose of potassium or if I should've kept it in the fridge for longer. So glad I bagged the fruit. I only have a 5 gallon carboy and my first mead, a peach mead, ended with nearly a gallon and a half of lees. Probably could've gotten nearly a gallon off the lees with what ended up being left at the bottom of the barrel. Time to age. Taste is already incredible despite being pretty hot. I hope I can keep some of this around til the holidays.
F.G. 1.021/15.61 abv
Day 10
Oh boy did I call it. It started fermenting again. I caught it before it did much however. We're at 1.020 now. Back in the fridge we go. Gonna wait a week, then give it some more potassium, then wait another week in the fridge.
Fermaid k 1.5g
Aerated and punched top every 12 hours.
S.g. 1.050
Day 5
Degassed and punched top every 12 hours. Covered top and airlocked with vodka.
S. G. 1.030
Day 6
Checked gravity hourly. Reached S. G. 1.021 at about 7am of the 6th day. Cold crashed on 3 and a fourth teaspoons of potassium sorbate and a hair over 1/4th a teaspoon of potassium metabisulfate. Strawberries still have a little color to them. Probably let them stew in the fridge another few days before I rack. I'd read 10-14 days was enough, so probably go with 10. Smell is wonderful.
Day 9
Degassed twice a day up to now. Not much foaming at day 9 during degas, so I took a taste of the strawberries. They were flavorless and mostly mush. Drained them and squeezed nearly a quarter gallon of juice out of the bag and dumped that back in the fermenter. Racked into a carboy and airlocked. Time will tell whether I need another dose of potassium or if I should've kept it in the fridge for longer. So glad I bagged the fruit. I only have a 5 gallon carboy and my first mead, a peach mead, ended with nearly a gallon and a half of lees. Probably could've gotten nearly a gallon off the lees with what ended up being left at the bottom of the barrel. Time to age. Taste is already incredible despite being pretty hot. I hope I can keep some of this around til the holidays.
F.G. 1.021/15.61 abv
Day 10
Oh boy did I call it. It started fermenting again. I caught it before it did much however. We're at 1.020 now. Back in the fridge we go. Gonna wait a week, then give it some more potassium, then wait another week in the fridge.
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