Group Brew: Cherry Vanilla Melomel 2/22/09

Poobah58 said:

Not quite sure why you think my post is outside the group brew, but I understand your other points...

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Now I understand why I haven't seen any SG posts in this topic. I did not realize the brewers were keeping individual logs referenced in an earlier post - never done a group brew like this before.

Now that I know that, I can go back and obtain the data for the fermentation chart. Still, it is more time consuming to locate the data in 3 different logs, rather than linearly in the main post. Yet, I do see a benefit to doing it that way as all the data is in one place...

It would be very helpful if reference links to each brewer's log were posted in a way that they always appeared in the most recent post. That way all one need do is read the most recent post, and then link to the individual logs to see the actual data...

Poobah58 said:

...Here is my data: Equipment: Hanna pH meter calibrated on 2/22 with 4.01 and 7.01 solutions.
Feb. 22: OG=1.129, pH=3.84 (before yeast and nutrients)
Feb. 23: OG=1.117, pH=3.90 (after nutrients added)
Feb. 24: OG=1.090, pH=3.71.
Feb. 25: OG=1.079, pH=3.70
Feb. 26: OG=1.068, pH=3.80 (before nutrients).
Feb. 27: OG=1.050, pH=3.90
Feb. 28: OG=1.039, pH=3.94
Mar. 1: OG=1.032, pH=4.01
Mar. 2: OG=1.025, pH=4.05

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While I don't know the basis for this trend, I have experienced it myself when making meads that include fruit and / or juice (like cider).

It is good that you have the calibration buffers, but how often do you calibrate your probe? Do you also have the storage solution? Do you keep the probe tip immersed in storage solution?

BTW, is your Hanna pH phobe the Piccolo model?

Got my new cherries today.


Decided to stay away from the additives in those dried cherries.

Check my progress here

I racked this on Sunday. My SG got down to 1.018 which was perfect for this melomel. At that gravity it really balances with the tartness of the cherries. I added some cherries and 3 vanilla beans. I used 2 Tahitian and 1 Bourbon bean. I split them but did not scrape. I love what the vanilla is bringing to the table. It blends in nicely with the Meadowfoam honey. It tastes quite good right now. If this finishes above 1.010, I think it will be perfect!

Just got my refractometer in the mail today. Does anyone see a problem switching mid-brew?

dudasaj said:

Just got my refractometer in the mail today. Does anyone see a problem switching mid-brew?

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Not as long you have charts or a program to convert for you. Refractometers must be compensated for the presence of alcohol.

dudasaj said:

Just got my refractometer in the mail today. Does anyone see a problem switching mid-brew?

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Not if you:

1. Performed a calibration check
2. Recorded your OG
3. Correct your readings for alcohol, my spreadsheet will do that but you'll need to adjust the input values for honey & water to match your OG

I'd be glad to have your spreadsheets. I have another spreadsheet, i downloaded it before i even had a refractometer.

dudasaj said:

I'd be glad to have your spreadsheets. I have another spreadsheet, i downloaded it before i even had a refractometer.

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"My" spreadsheet is the one available from the Mead Making FAQs [honey.xls]...

2009 CV Mead - Group Fermentation Chart- 3/11/09

What differences might have contributed to the different fermentation rates...? Setting honey variety and OG aside, these appear to be possible causative factors:

• Yeast type: 71B vs. D47
• Using, and not using, Go-Ferm
• Use of Fermiad-K vs. Fermax

These differences are likely factors, but there is insufficient data to form a reliable conclusion. Yet....

PS, What happened to Harv? MIA...

Interesting, you would think Dude's fermentation would be faster at the higher mash temp. Mine got down to 1.018 on 3/3 and was the same 3 days later. Thus, I racked to secondary. I know he was out of town a few days and could not stir the must, but I would think he should be lower than 1.040ish. I see he aerated for the first 3 or 4 days where I just stirred several times a day. Can that be a factor?

Let me add a bit more information to this...

Take another look at the new chart. As a reference, I added data from a Nov 2006 Traditional mead that I made (using 58W3). Aside from my standard process (rehydration & SNA), I infused 3 min of pure oxygen on day 3 (one-time only).

The ambient area temp was intially 65°F, and was raised to 70°F on day 3. The only must mixing was when I added SNA nutrients. Our fermentation rates are similar.

So far, your mead has dropped 113 points, whereas my traditional mead dropped 120 points.

BUMP, updated MY LOG and racked onto cherry puree.

Did you give it a taste test?

That is an interesting graph. Can you do the graph for percentage of change or something. I see that the OG is higher and not exactly the same. If you use say a baseline percentage you could see the variation a bit better I think. The slope of the graph should be nearly the same. Also, I am personally having trouble estimating ABV% from the OG to FG readings myself. I know that you take OG-FG and then you have the diffrence and you can calculate what type of sweetness you have but how does this number tanslate to ABV%?

Example: I have a OG of 1.40 a bottling FG of 1.018. This yeilds a diffrence of .382. So given this mythical example, What is the ABV%? I am not sure how to calculate it and the formula in the example is not penetrating my thick noggin.

multiply the difference of the OG and the FG by 131. In this case giving you a whopping 50.042% alcohol by volume (bad choice on OG haha)

Tusch said:

multiply the difference of the OG and the FG by 131. In this case giving you a whopping 50.042% alcohol by volume (bad choice on OG haha)

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Indeed it would be. I think that I meant to type in 1.20 not 1.4. An excessively HIGH ABV%. That would be a distlled product. Not going to happen with yeast. Even the most robust yeast.

So, If I backsweeten and take FG before bottling would it still be calculateable? Or does adding juice/honey in secondary or tetriary, invalidate the readings so that it needs to be calculated again? On another forum they told me that you NEED to do it prior to backsweetening or adding juice for flavor. I like adding juice instead of whole fruit. Makes it quicker, cleaner and easier to do. Also settles better for racking time.

Well this is actually being discussed in another thread already, but you would calculate the abv at the end of fermentation, then just a bit of algebra with your volumes will get your new diluted abv. X%(Y Initial Volume, say 5 gal batch) = A%(Y Volume + B Volume added by backsweetening) solve for A, you get A = (XY)/(Y+B)

Poobah58 said:

Did you give it a taste test?

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I didn't taste, it had a heavy alcohol smell, and it also smelled tart, almost like a heavy acidity tartness. And it's still sitting at 1.020, which seems fairly sweet because i wouldn't expect a lot of sediment.

Well I racked back on the 7th onto cherries and vanilla. I also added 1.5#'s honey. Brix went from 15 to 20! Must have been a lot of sugar in the cherries. Racked again today. Very nice flavor. Vanilla is just about right. Brix is only down to 19. It's a tad sweet. I need to top off with some cherry juice and might even pitch some more yeast...

dudasaj said:

BUMP, updated MY LOG and racked onto cherry puree.

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It's been on the cherry puree for almost 4 weeks. There is a layer of lees maybe 3/8 of an inch then it looks like the puree has settled on top of the lees about another 1/2 inch layer. A few more weeks then rack off fruit onto 2 or 4 vanilla beans and top up with my overflow jug.

dudasaj said:

It's been on the cherry puree for almost 4 weeks. There is a layer of lees maybe 3/8 of an inch then it looks like the puree has settled on top of the lees about another 1/2 inch layer. A few more weeks then rack off fruit onto 2 or 4 vanilla beans and top up with my overflow jug.

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Greetings, this thread is still alive. 6/8/09 racked off cherry puree onto 3 split vanilla beans. I finally got around to transferring after 11.5 weeks on the fruit puree. Lost a lot of liquid with such a thick trub and puree layer.
It has a fantastic ruby color, I hope that doesn't fade.

Add a little sulfite to keep that color.

Poobah58 said:

Add a little sulfite to keep that color.

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Maybe I should. After pure cherry juice, and 11.5 weeks on cherry pulp, it better stay ruby red.

I took a sniff today... no apparent odors. No cherry, no vanilla, if had a tart almost acidic smell.

How's everyone's mead coming out? I'm just about ready to bottle. We still swapping?

I used 3# of tart cherries on mine and only a # of sweet and it smells fantastic i have yet to adsd the vanilla beans

Poobah58 said:

How's everyone's mead coming out? I'm just about ready to bottle. We still swapping?

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How are you bottling? Capping or corking? 12oz, 22oz, 375ml, 500ml, 750ml.

I've been very patient. I'm about to move apartments and I would love to bottle this before I move. I'm definitely down for swapping.

I was planning on bottling in 12 oz'ers. I will probably carb half and still bottle half.

As far as swapping goes, we can do it anytime between now and 2/22/10...

How's the mead? I'm gonna carb mine in a week or two. We should swap in early Feb. so it can be tasted on GW's birthday!

Can't wait to hear how it tastes..I am still angry I was too busy to get this brew going with you guys. I say we get another "group brew" started within the next couple weeks...decide on a flavor and give everyone maybe a week to 10 days to GATHER all necessary ingredients and then all brew on the same day.

Dan

I'm game.....

Ok...I have a recipe I have been dying to try, as everyone who has tasted it said they would take a CASE of this stuff. I can start a new thread if we'd like. Hopefully Hightest will help us out with the compiling information on each persons fermentation as he did this one.

Anyway..here is the recipe info:

Strawberry Pizazz mead

18lbs Wildflower Honey (OG 1.140)
17lbs of frozen then thawed Strawberries
3 crushed campden tablets
4 tsp of nutrient of your choice
Water to 6.5 gallons
5g KV-1116

That's all!

Usual staggered nutrient additions using a nutrient of your choice.
Punch the cap , or use a mesh bag, down 2-3 times per day and aerate for 2 min.
Everything is cold mixed and set on the crushed campden for 24 hours.
Yeast was rehydrated in 100F must for 2 hours

Fements down to about 1.015 - 1.020...then you can rack into secondary and bulk age for at least 6 months. Will be very drinkable young, but 6 months to a year makes it an OMG drink that will be gone FAST!!

Dan

That should be a really good recipe. It looks similar to Yo's Strawberry Pizazz which has been so good that he and B. Nektar meadery are producing it commercially now. He uses a little more strawberry in some of his versions. I would make one suggestion which is to increase the yeast pitched to 10 grams - for high gravity starts that will usually get you better results.

I hope you get a great mead.

Medsen

Dan, that does look good. You should start another group brew thread and see if there's any interest.

I was too busy for the last one, hopefully I willavailable this time

Ok...I'll start a new thread and see who's onboard. I picked this recipe..because it is tastey, and all of the ingredients are easy to acquire.

Well, it's been nearly a year. Has anybody snuck any sample tastes yet? I just started gathering all the ingredients for a batch of this, and am quite curious. I was introduced to mead years ago with a batch of something very similar to this cherry/vanilla recipe, so I guess there's a nostalgia factor for me. I'm also thinking about making a test batch of a pineapple/ginger mead. As soon as my schedule lets me get to my LHBS for a few things, I'll see what I can come up with.

Mine is tasting good. Maybe a tad sweet but nice flavor. Love the vanilla beans...