Are my recipes viable?

[Jordan Martin]

Hello all.

After a first brew that I am sure is a disaster for now, 10 days into the fermentation it has been acting very irratic. I have identified many of the things i did wrong. So here is my second go. Also i will highlight my questions in bold.

Today I will be brewing 2..... YES THAT'S RIGHT!! Amateur hour over here (points to self) is brewing not one but TWO different meads. (Also I know this is not a big deal, it just gets me excited is all )

Both will be 1 gallon carboys of must. A Blueberry blossom and a Clover Honey respectively. Aimed to be lower abv sweet meads, i plan to start with 2lbs honey filled to a gallon, but saw many sources that said to go by SG reading instead 1.100 is a good place to start for a sweet mead apparently. What do you recommend?

Components:
Lalvin 71b, Blueberry blossom honey and clover honey respectively, Go Ferm, Fermaid O. Cinnamon sticks, Cloves, Nutmeg Powder

Step 1: Cleaning:
1.1) 140 grams of PBW into a 5 gallon bucket to clean only carboys caps, airlocks, stoppers, measuring cups.... (should I add the auto siphon and pipes too, as well as the hydrometer?)
1.2) 0.40 oz of star san to a 2 gallon bucket. (i will put one spray bottles worth aside for later) Everything including by shaking thumb will go into this.

Step 2: The Must:
2.1) Blueberry - Planning to start with 2lbs of honey or add to SG of 1.100. I am considering to leave 2 inches from the top of this to later add blueberries, cinnamon, clove and nutmeg.
2.2) Clover - Planning to start with 2lbs of honey or add to SG of 1.100
2.3) Adding drinkable tap water (as it is supposed to be pretty good here in BC) but I shall run it through my britta filter before using to get rid of excess chlorination.
2.4) Will shake as required to get the honey mixed and check the bottom for unmixed honey.
Big Question here ... I read somewhere that every mead should have an acid compenent to it. is this true and at what point should that be added in? I would love to use lemons with the blueberry and perhaps some fresh orange juice with the clover if so. Thoughts?

Step 3: Pitching
3.1) I am using the Tosna calculator to undewrstand the go ferm and fermaid stuff which is brand new to me i have attached my calcultions.
So from what i understand - Go Ferm is needed only when pitching yeast and as per the calcuations I will need 2 grams of my yeast set aside. and dilute 2.5 grams of go ferm in 50 ml of water at 110F temperature.
3.2) Once cooled to 104F - add the Lavlin 71b, mix well. Le sit and cool for 20 minutes and stir occasionaly to break clumps. Finally add to must.
All good so far? wanted to confirm that i will infact need 2 grams and not the full packet of 5 grams.
Additionally i do already have one batch of mead that was started on Nov 17th with D47 and i maintain a cool 66-68F temperature to keep it going, i may need ot bump this up to 75F for the 71B yeast, will that be fine?



Step 4: Nutrients
4.1) Fermaid-O - What i understand from the calculator is that i will need 3.6 grams of fermaid-o all added in 0.9 gram increments.
So the Schedule i plan is Day 1, Day 2, Day 3 and then at the 1/3rd sugar break which is at SG 1.067. or i could just add it at day 5. thoughts?

Step 5: Let it rest before the test
5.1) Plug it all up, set the airlock and ride it out until clear.
5.2) test the SG, backsweeting if needed and maybe add some potassium sorbate.
5.3) for the blueberry, i will add the fresh blueberries and spices after it clears along with the potassium sorbate.
I think thats it. i have attached the tosna calculations. But let me know what oyu all think. I am cleaing and sterilizing as we speak and should set this up in a few hours. Wish me luck

 

[fluketamer]

nice -

i cant help much i am not a consistant mead maker. however i often use the juice of lemon or lime for cider acid addition and it works well. . i think the 2 grams of yeast is enough. 71b at 75 might throw off flavors. d47 in the 70's had a lot of off flavors for me. but 66-68 should be good for you. also, stepped nutrient additions are the key to making palatable mead that wont take years of aging to be drinkable.

cheers

 

[Jordan Martin]

nice -

i cant help much i am not a consistant mead maker. however i often use the juice of lemon or lime for cider acid addition and it works well. . i think the 2 grams of yeast is enough. 71b at 75 might throw off flavors. d47 in the 70's had a lot of off flavors for me. but 66-68 should be good for you. also, stepped nutrient additions are the key to making palatable mead that wont take years of aging to be drinkable.

cheers

according to eaton.com the fermentation temps for 71b is 71.6 f to 82.4 F and other sources say differently, so im never sure with all the false information out there. same with how some places say to aerate mead once to twice per day througout fermentation while other people and sources say its an anaerobic process and no need to aerate. just light swirling. and some state not to even swirl. so very lost with what the facts are. eaton has technical data sheets to support the above temp ranges but apparently there are multiple sheets claiming otherwise.

 

[Raptor99]

@Jordan Martin you are at the beginning of a grand adventure! A few thoughts:

1. Acid: for most of my meads, I need to add some sort of acid to get the pH to a reasonable level. i usually aim for a pH of around 3.4-3.6). Mix everything up, and before adding the yeast measure the pH with a pH meter and add acid as needed. If you don't have a pH meter, find a good recipe and follow it. If you are making up your own recipe you really need a pH meter.

Lemon juice is a good choice for adding acid to blueberries. It adds citric acid, which is the main acid in blueberries. I'm not sure about how orange juice would taste with blueberries. I would add the juice of 1 lemon to a gallon of mead, then check the pH.

2. Nutrients: The schedule for adding nutrients is only an estimate. What really matters is what stage the yeast are at. Yeast don't look at the calendar or the clock. The speed of the ferment depends on many factors, including the yeast strain, temperature, ph, and SG.

I usually make a yeast starter to get things going, and sometimes by day 3 I am already at the 1/3 sugar break. So I have started moving up the schedule, adding nutrients at Day 0 (at pitch), Day 1, and Day 2. I might speed that up or slow that down, depending on how fast the yeast are working. The best way to be sure how far the ferment has progressed is to check the SG.