Hello there!
I've been lurking here for several weeks while I was waiting for the rest of my equipment and such to arrive, just looking over recipes and reading various threads, trying to learn what I can. Seems as though the first real thing to learn was RDWHAHB, and to let the yeast just do their thing, since they've been at it a long time.
I just started my first batch this past Wednesday, and while I was at first worried that it didn't seem to be doing anything, reading over various threads here have assuaged my fears that I screwed up this first attempt. I used the basic recipe from The Compleat Meadmaker to start, with a couple minor modifications, due to space and ingredient restrictions. The recipe I ended up with is as follows:
3-4 pounds wildflower honey (had to estimate by pouring from a 5 pound container, put as close to 4/5ths as I could)
1 gallon water
.5 tsp yeast nutrient
.25 tsp yeast energizer
1 packet Lalvin EC-1118
I was initially nervous that I screwed something up, as the only thing my airlock's done is shift the vodka in it slightly to the left (away from the bucket). Reading here has convinced me I likely just have a leak around the lid somewhere, so the CO2's getting out elsewhere. I'm assuming the airlock being uneven still means there's a positive pressure inside the fermenter. Please feel free to let me know if I'm making any false assumptions.
As for the questions I have, they've been brought to mind from reading around on the forums.
1. What exactly is yeast starter, and what's it used for? I did a quick search on the site I ordered my equipment and yeast from, but didn't see anything called a starter.
2. What is "back sweetening?" I assume it means adding some additional sugar (in the form of more honey?) after a certain point in the process, but I could be completely wrong.
3. Given that my airlock hasn't got much movement, is there any other easy way to tell if the yeast's doing what it should be? I'd rather not wait several weeks only to open it up and find out it didn't ferment properly. Assuming I followed the recipe as listed above, should it be working ok?
I think that's it for now. I've been enjoying looking over various recipes and such, and have quite a list of them to try out. Already very excited about this hobby!
I've been lurking here for several weeks while I was waiting for the rest of my equipment and such to arrive, just looking over recipes and reading various threads, trying to learn what I can. Seems as though the first real thing to learn was RDWHAHB, and to let the yeast just do their thing, since they've been at it a long time.
I just started my first batch this past Wednesday, and while I was at first worried that it didn't seem to be doing anything, reading over various threads here have assuaged my fears that I screwed up this first attempt. I used the basic recipe from The Compleat Meadmaker to start, with a couple minor modifications, due to space and ingredient restrictions. The recipe I ended up with is as follows:
3-4 pounds wildflower honey (had to estimate by pouring from a 5 pound container, put as close to 4/5ths as I could)
1 gallon water
.5 tsp yeast nutrient
.25 tsp yeast energizer
1 packet Lalvin EC-1118
I was initially nervous that I screwed something up, as the only thing my airlock's done is shift the vodka in it slightly to the left (away from the bucket). Reading here has convinced me I likely just have a leak around the lid somewhere, so the CO2's getting out elsewhere. I'm assuming the airlock being uneven still means there's a positive pressure inside the fermenter. Please feel free to let me know if I'm making any false assumptions.
As for the questions I have, they've been brought to mind from reading around on the forums.
1. What exactly is yeast starter, and what's it used for? I did a quick search on the site I ordered my equipment and yeast from, but didn't see anything called a starter.
2. What is "back sweetening?" I assume it means adding some additional sugar (in the form of more honey?) after a certain point in the process, but I could be completely wrong.
3. Given that my airlock hasn't got much movement, is there any other easy way to tell if the yeast's doing what it should be? I'd rather not wait several weeks only to open it up and find out it didn't ferment properly. Assuming I followed the recipe as listed above, should it be working ok?
I think that's it for now. I've been enjoying looking over various recipes and such, and have quite a list of them to try out. Already very excited about this hobby!