Can I pitch the yeast now?

Hello,
I'm making my first mead and am waiting for it to cool down. I'm at 106 F is this too hot still? Should I wait till I'm under 80F ? Thanks in advance!

yes, over 100 is too hot. I'd wait at least until under 90.

Thanks! I pitched it at about 87F and it seems like its going good.

I like to pitch as close to my expected fermentation temperature as possible, so the yeast doesn't get shocked.

In the same vein, I have a batch of pomengranate mead I'm about to pitch, but the specific gravity seems way too high.
Current reading is 1.175+ (The hydrometer is actually riding right on the edge of the bulge where the float bellies out, which is above any reading.)

I've got 1 gallon of honey, just under one gallon of pom juice, and just under one gallon of water, all sitting at about 85 degrees right now.

I've done mixes to this proportion before, but didn't take hydrometer readings. I just mixed some spiced apple cider, honey and water to virtually the same proportions, and the SG was 1.155 at 80 degrees.

Blackbyrd2 said:

In the same vein, I have a batch of pomengranate mead I'm about to pitch, but the specific gravity seems way too high.
Current reading is 1.175+ (The hydrometer is actually riding right on the edge of the bulge where the float bellies out, which is above any reading.)

I've got 1 gallon of honey, just under one gallon of pom juice, and just under one gallon of water, all sitting at about 85 degrees right now.

I've done mixes to this proportion before, but didn't take hydrometer readings. I just mixed some spiced apple cider, honey and water to virtually the same proportions, and the SG was 1.155 at 80 degrees.

Click to expand...

WOW! Pom juice is way high in sugar content. If you could do this in a 5 gallon batch it would bring it down to around 1.4. If not use a strong fermenter like Lalvin 1118 and make sure you have a starter with at least 75% must.

You may have to watch this one as the sugar might over power the yeast. This will be a great dessert wine and strong!!

I have an OG of 1.10 Is this too weak?
12 1/2 lbs honey
allspice
cinnamon sticks
raisins
cloves
1118 yeast
And I'm thinking about racking onto some raspberries that I have frozen from last year. I plan to just put them in the secondary after they thaw (about 2-3 lbs) What do you think? Do I need sanitize them somehow or boil them before do this?

67coupe390 said:

I have an OG of 1.10 Is this too weak?
12 1/2 lbs honey
allspice
cinnamon sticks
raisins
cloves
1118 yeast
And I'm thinking about racking onto some raspberries that I have frozen from last year. I plan to just put them in the secondary after they thaw (about 2-3 lbs) What do you think?

Click to expand...

Seems about right. I make wines at 1.095-1.100 and they turn out great, without needing years to age out. That would give you 13-14% ABV. Of course, adding raspberries will boost that, too, because they do contain fermentable sugar.

If the berries are frozen, they are sanitized. Thaw them just before you put them into your carboy, then rack on top of them. You might want 2-3 lbs per gallon....

NurseNan said:

You might want 2-3 lbs per gallon....

Click to expand...

Wow! O.K. I'll have add some from this years crop. Thanks!!!

mgayer said:

WOW! Pom juice is way high in sugar content. If you could do this in a 5 gallon batch it would bring it down to around 1.4. If not use a strong fermenter like Lalvin 1118 and make sure you have a starter with at least 75% must.

You may have to watch this one as the sugar might over power the yeast. This will be a great dessert wine and strong!!

Click to expand...

I haven't diluted this down yet, and yesterday we pulled a quart off for sampling with friends. I neglected to get a reading before we started, and we drank the sample all up. The carboy has been bubbling along very slowly for the last few months. So slowly that I thought it was all done months ago. However, we saw carbonation in the bottle we put the sample in, and the product was delicious; only slightly sweet, with a nice pom tartness. It hit the palate with a nice honey flavor, then just sort of evaporated off the tongue as you swallow.

I'm debating diluting it now, as it tastes so very good. I am going to leave it to cook for another few months at least, and if it is still carbonated then, maybe dilute it with a couple more gallons of water and leave it to cook some more. This is the best stuff I've made yet, and my last batch was pretty darned tasty.

Blackbyrd2 said:

In the same vein, I have a batch of pomengranate mead I'm about to pitch, but the specific gravity seems way too high.
Current reading is 1.175+ (The hydrometer is actually riding right on the edge of the bulge where the float bellies out, which is above any reading.)

I've got 1 gallon of honey, just under one gallon of pom juice, and just under one gallon of water, all sitting at about 85 degrees right now.

I've done mixes to this proportion before, but didn't take hydrometer readings. I just mixed some spiced apple cider, honey and water to virtually the same proportions, and the SG was 1.155 at 80 degrees.

Click to expand...

holy hell... you do realize thats 12 pounds of honey and a gallon of juice on top of that????

sirsloop said:

holy hell... you do realize thats 12 pounds of honey and a gallon of juice on top of that????

Click to expand...

Yes. It's been a fairly successful recipe for me so far. I did apple with it recently, which took months to finish cooking. When it quit bubbling entirely, I added a couple gallons of water, mixed it all up and let it cook another couple months. That batch turned out a little sweet, even after the dilution, but it tastes wonderful. All told, it ran over 18 months to finish.

I'm anticipating similar results with this batch, although it's already less sweet than the apple. I figure I should be able to safely add a couple gallons of water, but it is extremely drinkable as is.

NurseNan said:

If the berries are frozen, they are sanitized.

Click to expand...

No they need to be microwaved to guarantee that they are sanitized. Freezing slows bacterial growth, it does not kill or stop germs