Hello all!
First, let me start by introducing myself. My name is Storm, and I'm from New York. I've always wanted to try my hand at brewing, and just started recently (like within the past month I've been getting together all my equipment).
I recently put up four batches of mead (my first ever). On August 27th I started a pumpkin spice mead and an orange spice mead. The pumpkin spice I started in a 2 gallon bucket and the orange I started in a 1 gallon carboy. First thing I noticed was that the airlock on the pumpkin was not bubbling at all, while the airlock on the orange started within hours. So I let it sit a day and the pumpkin started, but very very slow. On August 31st I put up another two batches, another pumpkin that I prepared slightly differently, and apple cinnamon. This time both new meads started bubbling within hours.
Yesterday I noticed that the bubbling in the apple stopped completely. So I got out my refractometer and tested all the meads.
The 8/27 pumpkin had a Brix of 8
The 8/27 orange had a Brix of 11
The 8/31 pumpkin had a Brix of 13
And the 8/31 apple had a Brix of 14
These all seem off, no?
To top it off, I took a reading tonight on the apple, and it seems to have dropped to 12. Is this even possible?
One thing I didn't prepare for was checking the pH. Tonight I ordered pH test strips and potassium carbonate from Amazon with rush shipping, so it should be here by Friday. I also added another teaspoon full of yeast nutrient to the 8/27 pumpkin on September 2nd, and tonight I added nutrient to the apple.
So, here are my questions.
How bad did I screw these batches up?
Are they salvageable or did I waste 15lbs of honey?
What are the readings that I should be getting from the refractometer? I also have a hydrometer if that would be better.
How can I correct these readings now? Should I pitch more yeast? Add more nutrient?
I would really appreciate any help you can offer. Thanks in advance everyone!
First, let me start by introducing myself. My name is Storm, and I'm from New York. I've always wanted to try my hand at brewing, and just started recently (like within the past month I've been getting together all my equipment).
I recently put up four batches of mead (my first ever). On August 27th I started a pumpkin spice mead and an orange spice mead. The pumpkin spice I started in a 2 gallon bucket and the orange I started in a 1 gallon carboy. First thing I noticed was that the airlock on the pumpkin was not bubbling at all, while the airlock on the orange started within hours. So I let it sit a day and the pumpkin started, but very very slow. On August 31st I put up another two batches, another pumpkin that I prepared slightly differently, and apple cinnamon. This time both new meads started bubbling within hours.
Yesterday I noticed that the bubbling in the apple stopped completely. So I got out my refractometer and tested all the meads.
The 8/27 pumpkin had a Brix of 8
The 8/27 orange had a Brix of 11
The 8/31 pumpkin had a Brix of 13
And the 8/31 apple had a Brix of 14
These all seem off, no?
To top it off, I took a reading tonight on the apple, and it seems to have dropped to 12. Is this even possible?
One thing I didn't prepare for was checking the pH. Tonight I ordered pH test strips and potassium carbonate from Amazon with rush shipping, so it should be here by Friday. I also added another teaspoon full of yeast nutrient to the 8/27 pumpkin on September 2nd, and tonight I added nutrient to the apple.
So, here are my questions.
How bad did I screw these batches up?
Are they salvageable or did I waste 15lbs of honey?
What are the readings that I should be getting from the refractometer? I also have a hydrometer if that would be better.
How can I correct these readings now? Should I pitch more yeast? Add more nutrient?
I would really appreciate any help you can offer. Thanks in advance everyone!