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Perfecto! Thank you for the clarification.
Well... My first mead and looks like I screw up on OG....
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Oak in secondary also aids in clearing. Bentonite in primary, cold crash, rack to secondary. Stabilize, back sweeten. The sweetening honey adds some honey haze. Sit on oak for 3 months and watch the mead take on a golden glow and clear nicely.
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MightyMosin said: "Experience also seems to show that oak in primary might have some benefit for speed of clearing"
Maylar said:"Oak in secondary also aids in clearing"
Now my head is spinning.... So, is i it OK to add oak to secondary or I had do it for primary? Like I mentioned above, I think I have only one and a half or maybe two weeks left till primary comes to it's end...
Secondly, talking about adding oak to the mead (which I was thinking about before).... I am a little hesitate doing that because I afraid that oak can mess with taste of honey. Don't get me wrong - I love oak taste in wines but mead is a different animal with it's own, distinguished taste... Also, if I decide to add oak - what would you recommend: oak infusion spirals or oak cubes? Also, what type of oak: American, French or some others types? As always, I really appreciate your help! Thank you!
Maylar said:"Oak in secondary also aids in clearing"
Now my head is spinning.... So, is i it OK to add oak to secondary or I had do it for primary? Like I mentioned above, I think I have only one and a half or maybe two weeks left till primary comes to it's end...
Secondly, talking about adding oak to the mead (which I was thinking about before).... I am a little hesitate doing that because I afraid that oak can mess with taste of honey. Don't get me wrong - I love oak taste in wines but mead is a different animal with it's own, distinguished taste... Also, if I decide to add oak - what would you recommend: oak infusion spirals or oak cubes? Also, what type of oak: American, French or some others types? As always, I really appreciate your help! Thank you!
Oak adds tannins and complexity. Unless you overdo it it doesn't overwhelm the honey. I oak all my meads for 3 months in secondary. Never done primary. Cubes at about 0.6 oz. per gallon. Medium + toast American seems to be best with a traditional. Melomels and other flavored meads might benefit from French or Hungarian but I have no experience with them. Avoid chips, they're one-dimensional. My current preference is with Xoaker spheres, 4 per gallon for 3 months.
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Great! Thank you, Maylar. I may go with cubes because it's easier to order them from Amazon (they don't have Xoaker spheres) or I have to drive to my local MoreBeer store to get Xoaker spheres.... Anyways I have some spare time for this...
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Maylar, I just checked this site and looks like it's even cheaper then if I go with More Beer (considering coupon discount 15%)... Shipping cost of $16 is a killer.... Thank you for the tip!
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Hi everyone! I am not sure if I should open another thread as more questions building up from me.... On the other hand this is the same batch (my first one) I started this thread with...
Here is my question for you and I hope you'll help me out on this: I am close to the end of primary fermentation which is left to last for one-two weeks but this is my assumption. Hydrometer readings will show. When fermentation is complete I will be racking mead from two 3 gallon carboys into six one-gallon ones... As you can see from the picture, there is extra headspace in both carboys which is not a problem for primary fermentation.
When I rack the mead into one gallon carboys there will be too much of headspace in two out of six carboys and this is not OK for secondary fermentation.... After I made some research on Google and this forum I found that there are few methods I can use and a few I cannot:
1. Adding glass marbles
2. Adding some more liquids (juice, water and vodka (3:1 ratio)
I cannot add CO2 because I don't have proper equipment
I cannot use All-in-one pump because I don't have it and it is kind of costly to buy...
I am looking for your advice and.... Thank you!
Here is my question for you and I hope you'll help me out on this: I am close to the end of primary fermentation which is left to last for one-two weeks but this is my assumption. Hydrometer readings will show. When fermentation is complete I will be racking mead from two 3 gallon carboys into six one-gallon ones... As you can see from the picture, there is extra headspace in both carboys which is not a problem for primary fermentation.
When I rack the mead into one gallon carboys there will be too much of headspace in two out of six carboys and this is not OK for secondary fermentation.... After I made some research on Google and this forum I found that there are few methods I can use and a few I cannot:
1. Adding glass marbles
2. Adding some more liquids (juice, water and vodka (3:1 ratio)
I cannot add CO2 because I don't have proper equipment
I cannot use All-in-one pump because I don't have it and it is kind of costly to buy...
I am looking for your advice and.... Thank you!
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Fill 5?
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This is what I would prefer at this moment... What juice would you recommend? I was thinking about Concord grape. What say you?
This is what I would like to avoid: in this case I will loose about two and a half quarters of mead - this is what will be left over... Of course, I can just drink it but this is not going to be real mead - just foggy alcoholic beverage. If I have any other options I definitely prefer top use them as a fist remedy.
The 6th, the very yeasty leftovers, will continue to compact down and you'll be able to draw more mead off it.
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Thank you, DB but... I am sorry for my ignorance - I am just a beginner with a limited theoretical knowledge and zero experience....
Would you mind to explain a bit more on how I will be able "to draw more mead off it"? Do you mean I should just leave so called "leftovers" (it's about 0.75 gallon) in one gallon vessel with a lot of headspace and let it ferment further?
If out of 3G you can rack off 2.5G of clean clear mead, you will be left with lees swimming in 1/2G of murky mead.
Take both of the leftover 1/2Gs (leave the solid mass at the bottom behind) and put them in the same jug to continue its conditioning (not fermentation, that's over and done with). Over time, the lees will continue to compact and eventually you might get an extra 1/4G of clean clear mead. This can be bottled and drank, or it becomes your top off mead for a future batch.
Take both of the leftover 1/2Gs (leave the solid mass at the bottom behind) and put them in the same jug to continue its conditioning (not fermentation, that's over and done with). Over time, the lees will continue to compact and eventually you might get an extra 1/4G of clean clear mead. This can be bottled and drank, or it becomes your top off mead for a future batch.
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Oh, I got it. Actually, I like your idea to rack the leftovers from both 3 gallon carboys (approximately 1/2 g from each) into 1 gallon carboy....
The only thing I have to ask is - I used different type of yeast for each of 3 gallon carboy - would it be OK to mix those two different yeasts together in one gallon carboy? I assume it will impact the taste of the final product but not much ABV... Correct?
Thank you for your patience with me!
The only thing I have to ask is - I used different type of yeast for each of 3 gallon carboy - would it be OK to mix those two different yeasts together in one gallon carboy? I assume it will impact the taste of the final product but not much ABV... Correct?
Thank you for your patience with me!
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At that point fermentation is done and the yeast will not be competing with each other. You will be mixing the flavors and any other esters produced by the yeast; so it will be a blend of those flavors and ABV if differentOh, I got it. Actually, I like your idea to rack the leftovers from both 3 gallon carboys (approximately 1/2 g from each) into 1 gallon carboy....
The only thing I have to ask is - I used different type of yeast for each of 3 gallon carboy - would it be OK to mix those two different yeasts together in one gallon carboy? I assume it will impact the taste of the final product but not much ABV... Correct?
Thank you for your patience with me!
This is why I start with more than I need, to accommodate racking. It's also why I have some 1/2 gallon glass jugs.
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This is the way!
My "5 gallon" PET carboys are actually something like 5 3/8+ gallon, so if I want to fill into the neck area I have to have made more than a 5 gallon batch to start with and I need to account for racking loss as well as displacement if I intent to add honey to back sweeten. It is the same thing with my 3 gallon batches.
I think the 1 gallon FerMonsters are 1.25 gallon to get into the neck area.
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Perfect! Thank you.
Thank you, Maylar! This is called "Experience"... and I am not in this area just yest but.... lesson learned. I will definitely take this in consideration for my next batch!
So, from what you all advised me to do, adding fruit juice or placing glass marbles in a carboy shouldn't be considered as a "good" or "preferrable" option and you are advising against it? Is this correct?
Adding fruit juice will make it a different drink. Go for it it's that's what you want. Marbles are a perfectly acceptable method to fill space. As is accounting for losses and making a bigger batch, but that opportunity is past on these 6 gallons.
It's home brew. Each brewer figures out what they prefer. It's how it's supposed to be!
It's home brew. Each brewer figures out what they prefer. It's how it's supposed to be!
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Thank you, DB! Sounds good. This is clear for me now.
@bolepa If you keep watch in the winter/spring, you might find 1/2 glass jugs of apple juice marked down in the grocery stores. I acquired 7-8 of them that way, which I find very useful when need some more space for bulk aging.
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Thanks for the advice, Raptor! Exactly what I was thinking about...
Marbles are a viable option. I've done that before for small amounts of volume.
My Spidel is 20 ltr, which is 5.3 gallons. Start with close to 6 gallons in primary, rack to the Spidel for oaking then to a full 5 gal for aging. Over time I've picked up .5 gal, 1 gal, 3 gal containers so there's always options with no head space. A Little Big Mouth from Northern Brewer is 1.4 gallon so I can get a full 1 gal in secondary.
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I am going to my local MoreBeer store right now to get glass marbles (3 #) and a half gallon jag.... Depending on headspace in my third vessel I will be using either glass marble or half gallon jag...
Like I mentioned before, this is exactly what I am thinking about now. I remember that before I started my first mead I bough 6 gallon plastic carboy but after I read and learned more I realized that I won't be able to shake 6 (or even 5) gallon vessel for oxidation. I returned that carboy. Now I am debating with myself about buying 5 gallon carboy AND a carboy cleaner/stirrer so I don't have to shake it in future for dissolving honey and must oxidation. This is what I am talking about:
Lees stirrer.
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Hi everyone! It's been five weeks and two days since I started my mead and fermentation is either stopped or slowed down significantly...
I was waiting for 30 seconds and did not noticed any bubbling and either fermenters... One week ago SG was:
1.021 for D47
1.041 FOR Red Star Premier Classique
I measured SG today and it changed just a bit:
1.020 for D47
1.040 FOR Red Star Premier Classique
1.020 gravity is a bit sweeter then I wanted but I can live with that. 1.040 is way to sweet.... Should I consider a "stall" with mead? Should I add some nutrients to re-activate fermentation? Is there anything what can be done to reduce sweetness in my mead? Or sweetness can go away with time?
It's my understanding that I should wait for one more week and measure SG again. If SG stays the same - it's time to rack mead to one gallon (in my case) carboys for secondary fermentation. Should I keep fermenting mead for another month, or two and keep taking SG readings weekly? Or should I add some yeast to the carboy with 1.040 SG readings? What is schedule and what it based on? I know - on one hand I am asking too many questions but on another - you cannot learn without asking question...
Thank you all!
I was waiting for 30 seconds and did not noticed any bubbling and either fermenters... One week ago SG was:
1.021 for D47
1.041 FOR Red Star Premier Classique
I measured SG today and it changed just a bit:
1.020 for D47
1.040 FOR Red Star Premier Classique
1.020 gravity is a bit sweeter then I wanted but I can live with that. 1.040 is way to sweet.... Should I consider a "stall" with mead? Should I add some nutrients to re-activate fermentation? Is there anything what can be done to reduce sweetness in my mead? Or sweetness can go away with time?
It's my understanding that I should wait for one more week and measure SG again. If SG stays the same - it's time to rack mead to one gallon (in my case) carboys for secondary fermentation. Should I keep fermenting mead for another month, or two and keep taking SG readings weekly? Or should I add some yeast to the carboy with 1.040 SG readings? What is schedule and what it based on? I know - on one hand I am asking too many questions but on another - you cannot learn without asking question...
Thank you all!
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Hi guys and galls! It's me again and I really need your help with my situation.... Still waiting for your advice and guidance.... Clock is ticking and I am not sure what I should do next: just rack the mead for secondary fermentation and then buttle it or I should try to re-activate primary fermentation.... The original fermentation is still going (one bubble every one minute or so) but SG isn't changing much.
Please, please, please...
Please, please, please...
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Thank you, SimPilot. I appreciate your respond.
As you can see this thread named "My first mead and looks like I screw up on OG...." so, I messed up and didn't read my OG properly and at this point I don't know what it was....
This is what I was thinking about (after googling it) but just wanted to confirm it with this forum.... I just bought and received Lalvin EC-1118 yeast. This is more aggressive yeast with alcohol tolerance up to 18%. I'll wait till Monday, measure SG and based on gravity readings will start either "re-activation" process or rack mead for secondary fermentation.... More opinions/advices are welcome!
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You could move the 1040 batch to secondary to age and make a lower og batch to go very dry then blend them to get something you like better.
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Thank you, Rish! Actually I like your idea.... This might work but only on condition that lower 1020 batch will go lower/dryer.
As of right now, I just prepared a starter in attempt to reactivate fermentation... I hydrated one pack of 1118 yeast with GoFerm and mixed it with some amount of spring water and a bit of honey. I keep it in 1/2 gallon jag with airlock and will check tomorrow if it's active enough to introduce in 1040 batch.... but I am going to take gravity readings first....
