Hello all, first post from a relatively new mead maker. Trying my first 5 gal batch of a sweet holiday spice mead I’ve come up with.
My usual OG for the small 1 Gal test batches I’ve done is 1.11, using Lalvin EC 1118 I usually “finish” at 1.02-.03 (super-chill the must in a deep freezer to halt fermentation at that point, then bottle and keep/serve chilled). Comes out desert sweet but balanced.
However when trying my hand at a larger batch for the first time, I didn’t account for the added volume of the additional honey (14#) and nearly overflowed my 5 Gal stock pot after adding a little over 3 gallons of water - my OG is a whopping 1.22!
I pitched the EC 1118 anyway and at 48 hours it is fermenting happily for the time being, but even if the yeast ferments to 100% potential ABV it’ll be sitting at 1.08 FG! Nearly like drinking syrup I’d guess.
My carboy does not seem to have the space to add an extra gallon of water to get my calculations closer to on point, so my plan is to let the fermentation run its course and dilute with water as I bottle. That will obviously reduce the alcohol content alongside the spec. gravity, creating a potential for additional fermentation/carbonation in the bottles if any yeast survive... right?
Can any of you old-hats please steer me in the right direction here on how to salvage this batch and end up with a roughly 1.02 mead? Is that even a possibility at this point?
thanks in advance!
My usual OG for the small 1 Gal test batches I’ve done is 1.11, using Lalvin EC 1118 I usually “finish” at 1.02-.03 (super-chill the must in a deep freezer to halt fermentation at that point, then bottle and keep/serve chilled). Comes out desert sweet but balanced.
However when trying my hand at a larger batch for the first time, I didn’t account for the added volume of the additional honey (14#) and nearly overflowed my 5 Gal stock pot after adding a little over 3 gallons of water - my OG is a whopping 1.22!
I pitched the EC 1118 anyway and at 48 hours it is fermenting happily for the time being, but even if the yeast ferments to 100% potential ABV it’ll be sitting at 1.08 FG! Nearly like drinking syrup I’d guess.
My carboy does not seem to have the space to add an extra gallon of water to get my calculations closer to on point, so my plan is to let the fermentation run its course and dilute with water as I bottle. That will obviously reduce the alcohol content alongside the spec. gravity, creating a potential for additional fermentation/carbonation in the bottles if any yeast survive... right?
Can any of you old-hats please steer me in the right direction here on how to salvage this batch and end up with a roughly 1.02 mead? Is that even a possibility at this point?
thanks in advance!
