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I went back later to buy some pies (the missus loves their key lime pies - it's not just an orchard, but a full country store) and asked - basically they do the processing off-site and all the juice goes from the press straight into the pasteurizer, they don't keep any unpasteurized juice. It's...

Thank you for this thread, it is very useful. Yes, I sat and read through most of it yesterday and today. And since I have had one carboy just liberated (bottled the English Ale that was in it this morning) I decided to make cider. I've made wine, beer and mead but not cider so far. Picked 6...

The "instant" baking yeast is produced by a different freeze-dry process which is gentler on the yeast cells with the result that more of them survive the drying process - i.e. there is less dead yeast in the same amount than in the "standard" one. It also has some additives mixed in like...

Well right now I think only apples are "in season". :) Unless of course you're in the southern hemisphere, then no fruits are in season.

I have no idea where tannins would come from, this is a mead... honey and a tiny bit of strawberries. Nothing tannin-containing at all. Also if you read back at the beginning of the thread, I plan to backsweeten later on. I don't mind that now it tastes harsh and dry. I'm not planning on...

Correct. It's about mouthfeel, it has no sweetness. I know it still has sugars, or else it would have stopped fermenting. But it's very harsh. pH is 3.5 so not terribly acidic.

Second above; not sure how you would shake violently a bucket full of 5 gallons of liquid. I can't do it. I used a 3-gallon stainless pot (which I normally use for mini-mashes) to dissolve the honey in warm water, stirred with a rod until dissolved, poured in the fermenter and made up the...

Update 9/20/17 Fermentation rate has slowed down to 1 bubble every 5-6 seconds. Added yeast nutrient today (3rd addition) SG=1.010 Tastes fairly rough but there's plenty of ABV. There is a very faint hint of strawberries. I can't detect any sweetness of all, very dry. It will need to mature...

I'm drinking now what I have every day before bedtime. Jack and Ginger.

IMHO, the strawberries I added have more nutrient than no strawberries at all. Note that I don't intend them to be the main source of nutrient, which is why I'm talking about nutrient additions. I put some Fermax at the beginning, and plan on adding more. My intention is that, if nutrient levels...

Checked the fermenter today, at 1 week still bubbling at same rate. Checked pH, it's 3.2, left it alone. Tastes good, no off flavors. No point checking density today, will do when fermentation rate slows down. Gave it a good stir. No pictures, it's the typical yeasty mess of a fermenting bucket.

As you see I have a quite large fermenter... been brewing beer for several years in it, never had a problem. I plan on adding small amounts of nutrient every week, only if it looks like it needs it. So far the fermentation rate has been a steady 1 bubble every 3 seconds in the airlock for the...

I have revised my plan a little bit. 2 weeks before it's time to bottle I will campdenize (see definition in my preceding post), let it sit for 1 week, back-sweeten, let sit for another week, taste it, then bottle. I was thinking 1lb honey, but I'll add 8oz first and see how sweet that gets it...

Water, including RO, mineral and spring water, contains very little in terms of minerals with pH buffering capacity. We're talking a few parts per million. Check the analysis certificate. That in itself will do very little to control pH variations. It would be like adding a teaspoon of baking...

Thanks for the feedback. The strawberries are not there for flavor (at least not much), but mostly as a source of yeast nutrient. And I apologize that I wasn't clearer. By "campdenize" I meant using metabisulfite and sorbate to stop the fermentation. That is the method that I use to sweeten...

Thank you for your kind words. As a final twist, once I rack it to secondary I will add some extra honey because the lady of the house likes her wines sweet. I'm thinking mesquite honey. Will probably campdenize at that point too, I have to think about this one.

Hi there! I've been brewing for a few years, very sparsely, beer and wine. Never tried a mead before. Been reading these threads here for a few days and decided to give it a try. Starting with a basic mead recipe from http://meadist.com/making-mead/mead-recipes/traditional-mead/ with a few...