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That looks awesome. Are those black dots in the neck vanilla seeds?

What was the Original Gravity reading? You say you've shaken it up daily. My concern is if you introduced oxygen (aerated) it prior to introducing the yeast and nutrient. Start to finish fermenting in a week sounds odd. A low gravity after so short a time is equally suspect. I'm not saying it's...

All the work paid off. Just put the last labels on. I now have eight flavors sitting on my racks. Serrano pepper, Traditional, Blueberry, Pineapple Ginger, Orange Cranberry, Pumpkin Spice, Prickly Pear, and Anjou Pear.

Thanks for the heads up on the color change, Rose. Some color difference is to be expected, as long as it doesn't look funky or affect the taste.

Saw some dried hibiscus in the store and I couldn't resist the challenge. The general plan is to make a 'tea'. One or two gallons of warm (not boiling) water and hibiscus in a flow through bag. When the water cools, add it to 15 lbs of honey and fill to the five gallon mark. I used Lalvin V1116...

Another thing to consider: if it's raw honey, that may be wax deposits from the honeycomb. Little wax beads won't harm anything and they can filter out when you rack to secondary.

If you let them soak for as little as five minutes, corks are easier to put in. I've never had a problem with breakage either. The only time I broke a bottle was when I was capping my beer.

Noted. Thank You. Don't want to start a war, but are you sure it was honey? Some times imported 'honey' isn't 100% what they claim to be.

The one gallon jugs and growlers will be set aside for one year and added to future batches. Traditional mead with a hint of vanilla bean. And because I'm a sarcastic ******* sometimes: the label.

The color looks great. How does it taste?

I made a Serrano pepper mead by quartering 2 green peppers into the primary (1 gallon.) There were no problems clearing and it was a hit at parties, so much so that I'm currently making a 5 gal. batch with 10 peppers quartered. Remove the peppers when you rack to secondary, watch out for the...

Racked my traditional to secondary this weekend (5 gal.) On sheer impulse I threw in two vanilla beans. How long should I keep them in there? My original plan was to sample it in a week and see how it tastes. Should I let it go longer? shorter?

We shall see. Did a one gallon test batch last year with three peppers in it. Sweet and spicy for 30 seconds. Was going to put in 15 but backed off at the last minute. This should be great for fire breathers and spicy foodies.

going all out in 2016. Ten gallons of traditional and five of Serrano pepper.

My Blueberry melolmel, code named Bumbleberry. I've been experimenting with oak chips in the secondary and I say it was a success.

I keep my empty carboys and buckets in the garage. When I brew, they're between my desk and a bookshelf partially hides them and keeps them cool and shady. The wife and kids complain about the yeasty smells and beer when it blows. They don't mind the smell too much when it's honey... Build a...

Got a picture of it?

Pumpkin Spiced mead bottled last weekend. OG 1.17, FG 0.99.

Since K-meta arrests yeast development and there is little to no lees on the bottom, I would call it a redundant step. Bottling now would be what I'd do. With a gravity of .99, all that's left is to let it bulk age in a bottle.

Whoa there! Lots o'questions. Mashed up raisins or dates will work as nutrients. I like Red Star Montchalet and have gotten good results from it. If what you have works, don't sweat it. Hell, JOAM uses bread yeast and it works. Any of the herb and spices you mentioned will work in a bouchet or...