Badird
Member
- Joined
- May 13, 2019
- Messages
- 8
- Reaction score
- 2
Thanks to everyone here I have been able to acquire a cursory knowledge of what to do for my first two batches. And I have learned a lot from my mistakes already , but had a few more questions to iron out. Sorry in advance for the length.
My first batch, a strawberry melomel (2.2lbs honey, 2lbs strawberry, tap water, D-47, finished primary fermentation after about 2.5 weeks. OG was around 12.5% (I dont remember the reading but its written down at home) and I was using a 14% yeast. The truth is, because I am fermenting in 1gal glass carboys (my first mistake) I ran out of room to get all of my desired honey (my second mistake), so I added more 0.8 lbs honey, water, and 1lb strawberries to the secondary and filled to the neck of the carboy. As predicted, fermentation started up again and has progressed for about a week. I plan to try to cold crash when fermentation stops to help clarify and rack into a 3rd container where it will age.
Question 1: Is the third rack necessary? There will be some lees at the bottom of the secondary, however.
Question 2: Id like it to have a strong and sweet strawberry flavor. Do I need another 1lb of strawberries for the 3rd rack/age? I dont know of a way to get the newer strawberries out of the secondary and into the 3rd, though I could siphon off the lees and dump the strawberries?
Question 3: any prediction for how long Ill have to wait for it to age? I tasted during first rerack and it was very boozy. The nose on the secondary smells MUCH better and Im already excited to taste it!
Question 4: Am I at risk for contamination by racking 3 times, even though everything should be sanitary/sterile?
My second batch, a peanut butter raspberry mead was a bit trickier (3lbs honey, 3 lbs raspberry, tap water from 2 lbs of boiled peanuts, D-47). I realize I should have waited to try more advanced recipes (my third mistake), but I listened to a mead podcast where the Garagiste meadmaker says he boils peanuts for 3-4 hours and uses the remaining water as his must. And his results are among my favorite! Didnt sound difficult, but I never got the oil/water to separate properly. My final product, even after skimming the top layer off, looked like Miso soup! But I carried on anyway.
The must tasted amazing, had an OG around 20%. It finished fermenting after about 2 weeks and I reracked at 3 weeks due to a busy schedule. It clarified pretty nicely, but I had a tremendous amount of lees (partly due to the peanut water, Im certain) and a bit of peanut scum on top. I have reracked, added another 1lb of whole raspberries, and found that I only have about 2/3 of a gallon. Final gravity was 1.006. This also tasted and smelled very boozy and dry like wine.
Question 5: Its bad to keep 1/3 gal of air in the secondary fermenter, right, because of oxixation? But if I add more water, it will dilute the mead and could result in fermentation again due to the sugars in the raspberries. And while I prefer to avoid sulfites, are they necessary to stop fermentation if I add fruit to the secondary?
Question 6: How should I progress with batch 2?
Question 7: When should I degas my meads?
Question 8: Id prefer to stay away from sulfides, clarifiers, etc. Are they necessary to make mead taste the best, or is it more aesthetic?
Lessons learned-- Please feel free to add/recommend beyond this:
1) Use filtered water. My tap water is excellent, but it has some Chlorine.
2) Use Go-Ferm for rehydration of my yeast
3) Add yeast nutrient at different times of the initial fermentation
4) Brew in a bucket that holds more than 1 gallon
5) Aerate the mead on a schedule, not randomly
My first batch, a strawberry melomel (2.2lbs honey, 2lbs strawberry, tap water, D-47, finished primary fermentation after about 2.5 weeks. OG was around 12.5% (I dont remember the reading but its written down at home) and I was using a 14% yeast. The truth is, because I am fermenting in 1gal glass carboys (my first mistake) I ran out of room to get all of my desired honey (my second mistake), so I added more 0.8 lbs honey, water, and 1lb strawberries to the secondary and filled to the neck of the carboy. As predicted, fermentation started up again and has progressed for about a week. I plan to try to cold crash when fermentation stops to help clarify and rack into a 3rd container where it will age.
Question 1: Is the third rack necessary? There will be some lees at the bottom of the secondary, however.
Question 2: Id like it to have a strong and sweet strawberry flavor. Do I need another 1lb of strawberries for the 3rd rack/age? I dont know of a way to get the newer strawberries out of the secondary and into the 3rd, though I could siphon off the lees and dump the strawberries?
Question 3: any prediction for how long Ill have to wait for it to age? I tasted during first rerack and it was very boozy. The nose on the secondary smells MUCH better and Im already excited to taste it!
Question 4: Am I at risk for contamination by racking 3 times, even though everything should be sanitary/sterile?
My second batch, a peanut butter raspberry mead was a bit trickier (3lbs honey, 3 lbs raspberry, tap water from 2 lbs of boiled peanuts, D-47). I realize I should have waited to try more advanced recipes (my third mistake), but I listened to a mead podcast where the Garagiste meadmaker says he boils peanuts for 3-4 hours and uses the remaining water as his must. And his results are among my favorite! Didnt sound difficult, but I never got the oil/water to separate properly. My final product, even after skimming the top layer off, looked like Miso soup! But I carried on anyway.
The must tasted amazing, had an OG around 20%. It finished fermenting after about 2 weeks and I reracked at 3 weeks due to a busy schedule. It clarified pretty nicely, but I had a tremendous amount of lees (partly due to the peanut water, Im certain) and a bit of peanut scum on top. I have reracked, added another 1lb of whole raspberries, and found that I only have about 2/3 of a gallon. Final gravity was 1.006. This also tasted and smelled very boozy and dry like wine.
Question 5: Its bad to keep 1/3 gal of air in the secondary fermenter, right, because of oxixation? But if I add more water, it will dilute the mead and could result in fermentation again due to the sugars in the raspberries. And while I prefer to avoid sulfites, are they necessary to stop fermentation if I add fruit to the secondary?
Question 6: How should I progress with batch 2?
Question 7: When should I degas my meads?
Question 8: Id prefer to stay away from sulfides, clarifiers, etc. Are they necessary to make mead taste the best, or is it more aesthetic?
Lessons learned-- Please feel free to add/recommend beyond this:
1) Use filtered water. My tap water is excellent, but it has some Chlorine.
2) Use Go-Ferm for rehydration of my yeast
3) Add yeast nutrient at different times of the initial fermentation
4) Brew in a bucket that holds more than 1 gallon
5) Aerate the mead on a schedule, not randomly