rs4life
Well-Known Member
Today I made a mead that was 4 pounds wild honey and like a pound of amber blue agave nectar with about 3/4 gallon of water. My thief doesnt fit into the jar so i just need an estimate, i also dont own beersmith.
sonofgrok said:4 liter jug? Champagne yeast might help dry it out a bit more and increase the ABV a couple points. It all depends on what kind of mead you are going for I guess.
Arpolis said:From what little I know of carlo rossi wine jugs yours should be 4 liters. That gives you an estimated gravity of 1.166. Without a champagne yeast this will be super sweet. Champagne yeasts like:
Red Star Pasteur Champagne
Lalvin K1V-1116
Lalvin EC-1118
Wyeast 4021-Pasteur Champagne
White Labs WLP715 Champagne Yeast
All can probably hit 18% - 19% ABV which would drop your gravity down to the 1.015 - 1.025 area. That will put you in the sweet to almost desert wine category. But if you are adding this after fermentation then you will really need to do a starter to help the yeast go. The starter may shave a few points off actually so may be able to hit your semi sweet goal. With racking off of the D47 you should have some head space to add this:
Start with 1 cup of warm water
1/4 tsp of yeast nutrients
1/4 cup of honey (Cheap clover honey works for this)
5 cut up raisins
Mix everything up well and sprinkle the yeast packet on top, do not stir in. Cover with paper towel and ruber band and wait 2 hours. Add in 1/4 cup of your fermented must and wait another two hours. Repeat the last step 3 more times. Through the 10 hour ordeal you should notice fermentation at the second hour and it should stay active looking the whole time. Pitch the yeast after the 10 hours and strain out the raisins if you want.
Making a starter like this acclimates the yeast to the high ABV environment you are about to introduce them to. If you just pitch the yeast dry or just follow the rehydration instructions then the fermentation will likely not start. Even if you buy liquid yeast you still need this starter recipe to give your new yeast the best fighting chance.
vespa2t said:Wow that's a hella high OG. I think I would cut it with some AJ or even water. You'd have a tough time getting that to not be cloying when done
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