Recent content by valverij

3 gallons of Mesquite Traditional 272.5 + 3 = 275.5

I'm not sure that 1.117 is an accurate estimate. Based on the recipe, it looks like 3L of water was added to 2.2 lbs of honey, which brings the volume up to ~3.7L (0.98 gal), as opposed to it being 3L altogether. Based on the GotMead calculator (http://gotmead.com/blog/the-mead-calculator/)...

The lack of sulfury off-odors is definitely a good thing. If it was there, you'd know it. As for the breadiness, it's probably just because of all the yeast is still in your mead. This should taper off after racking as it clears. It also looks like RC-212's ideal temperature range is ~20C-28C...

RC-212 is a nutrient hog. If things slowed down, it's likely it's just nutrient starved. With a lot of yeasts, this is also accompanied by a distinct sulfur smell. pH could also be an issue, but is not as likely, based on your recipe. Remember this, however: airlock activity is not necessarily...

Will it work? Probably. Will it be good? Maybe. That said, there are a wide variety of tried-and-true wine and beer yeasts that are readily available at most homebrew shops that I would recommend long before any "super" yeasts. Even bread yeast is suitable for mead, given the right conditions...

In my experience, boiling as you described is unnecessarily messy, adds brewing time, and kills some delicate flavors (and probably attracts bees, if it's summer and you have the windows open). Despite the occasional anecdote to the contrary, boiling/pasteurizing your must isn't going to make...

Keep in mind, if you add unpasteurized vinegar to your mead, you're very liable to create vinegar from your mead. I'm not sure with balsamic, but I'd double check before you try it. Of course, it's much simpler (and less risky) to just make a sweet strawberry mead and add balsamic to taste in...

1 gallon forest honey 785.5

+ 1 gallon cyser BOMM + 3 gallons blackcurrant melomel 382 gallons

Yep, pretty much this. A lot of wines (particularly reds and chardonnay) also undergo malolactic fermentation, which converts the sharper, tarter malic acid to the softer-, rounder-tasting lactic acid

I typically prefer still meads for the most part, unless it's a hydromel/short mead. In those, the added carbonation makes up for the otherwise thin body. That said, I'd never turn down a mead because of its carbonation level (or lack thereof). On the other hand, carbonated cysers are always...

Various scales differ, but there's one thing they all agree on: >1.020 is definitely a sweet mead. As for your SNA's, it looks like you're following the process described in this article (basically the BOMM protocol): https://www.homebrewtalk.com/current-mead-making-techniques.html That should...

1 gallon chai tea 1 + 149 = 150

Pineapple juice is pretty acidic (pH ~3.5), so I would add 1/4 - 1/2 tsp of either potassium carbonate (K2CO3) or potassium bicarbonate (KHCO3) to buffer the pH in that one. Even though 71B is a pretty hearty yeast and eats malic acid pretty well, I think the acid in pineapples is mostly citric...

So we're up to 897?