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Hi @bernardsmith - yup, that actually really helps! I did understand that it's the liquid's density that we're measuring. The part that was escaping my mind was the "it really doesn't matter if there's other minerals/nutrients/etc in addition to water/sugar/alcohol, because we're just measuring...

Hi All, Everything I've seen around calculating the alcohol content that you end up with at the end of a ferment revolves around the Original and Final specific gravities that you measure. However, it seems odd to me that this is all that would be involved in that. For example, I imagine that a...

Hi All, I'm bottling a new batch today. I have 1L bottles that I'll be bottling everything into, and am planning on priming each of them with 1 tsp of cane sugar. My question is: if I just get a teaspoon of cane sugar into each of them without any attempts to dissolve them.... will they...

Hi Everybody, I understand that adding Potassium Metabisulfite at bottling will help with anti-oxidation and preserving your wine longer. I have some questions related to this: 1) It seems counter-intuitive to add K-Meta to my carboy then bottle immediately. Wouldn't that cause a build-up of...

This is such a great informative thread. Thanks everybody for chiming in 7 years ago!! :D

Ok cool - thanks for the feedback everyone!!

I've read on multiple occasions that it's bad for the mead. What is it that actually happens? Some people have mentioned that your mead can oxidize - what does this mean? I only know of the term "oxidize" from rusting w/ iron - is there a comparable process taking place here? I ask, in part...

@mr_stout - going for 100% cane sugar this first time. I've got a 100% mead (well... 98%... there's a bit of blackberries that I picked in there) settling/developing flavors right now, and I wanna see what using a completely different sugar is like. I'll be experimenting far more in the coming...

Whoa so many replies I didn't notice! Rad!! Thanks for all the discourse everybody. :) Lol to everybody saying that a sugar fermented drink isn't mead... I think we all know that!! There's a reason that the original post says "mead" (in quotes). ;) I bought 10kg of cane sugar, and will be...

@Maylar - Fermented molasses (that are later distilled) is basically rum, no? @fredthecat - I plan on using the same nutrient regiment that I did for honey, which from my understanding is also super nutrient-deficient (from a yeast perspective).

I'll definitely be tasting it well before bottling it. If it loses it's distinct flavor, I'll mix in some sort of fruit to ensure maximal tastiness.

Aaah too late. You can see the racked mead/must (at what point does "must" become "mead"?) in the carboy in my profile picture. :) See here if you're curious for more info: https://www.homebrewtalk.com/forum/threads/ruh-roh-growth-on-my-blackberries-best-steps-to-move-forward.643288/ I didn't...

Heh I'm not interested in fermenting processed sugar. I've got a bunch of the raw cane stuff that I use for bread-making, and it has such a delicious flavor. It's super distinct and yummy when mixed with water, which is what has me thinking that it would be a super-yumz fermented drink. I plan...

Yeast builds up outside of the must like that? i figured the yeast would mostly be within the must... Yeah too late to ignore it at this point :) the racking has been done and 5 campden tablets have been added to the must in the carboy. i do have to say, i'm quite happy with the decision, as...

Ooooh rad!! thanks for the pointer. :) I've been searching for "cane sugar drink" and variations on that without any success. :D

I'm thinking about giving it a try. Replacing the honey with raw cane sugar. I really like the taste of that stuff when dissolved in water, and I bet it'd make a really yummy fermented drink!! Is there any reason that I'm oblivious to that I shouldn't even bother trying this? I added a raw...

Update: I opted to rack to secondary and put 5 campden tablets tomorrow. I'm thinking of going to the local home brewing store near my house tomorrow to pick up some Potassium Sorbate as well. I'll also be using a pair of (sanitized) tongs to grab the little bits of blackberry that got into the...

Hi All - looks like I've made a serious mistake by not stirring the blackberries after I closed the lid on the primary fermentor (I had a towel for the first 5-6 days and was stirring the blackberries 1-2 times a day in that period). It's been 2 days since I last stirred, and I just opened the...

Ruh-roh - just opened it to follow your advice and stir things, and it looks like all the blackberries that are exposed to the air have this white layer on them... what's the best approach to take? Rack to secondary and use a campden tablet? Should I try to get all the blackberries out with a...

@honeycon what do you mean by "bucket with a bag"? as in your berries are all contained in a bag together inside the must? That'd be a clever way to avoid needing to stir all the time (by attaching a clean weight to the bag) @everybody seeing this - I put the lid on my bucket close to 2 days...