Bray's One Month Mead

[loveofrose]

Gotchya, I was using fermcalc to get that, it states to get the gravity of 1.1 you'd need 8lbs for 2.5 gallons. For 1 gal it'd be 3.5 lbs or 800 grams each. 1.1 OG would be better however so I'll keep that in mind to split the honey in half and ensure I reach 1.100 SG. Anyone else really missing GotMeads meadcalc right now? :-/



I'll be picking up the oak and other supplies I dont currently have for this and will post a detailed report of the process and recipe. Thanks LoR for letting us all be a part of this quest for perfection!

I don't know what's wrong with fermcalc. I do know that 6 lbs of honey in a final volume of 2.5 gallons is always in the 1.1 range. Maybe fermcalc thinks honey doesn't have the fermentable sugars that it does in reality. I use BrewPal.

I'm always glad to help fellow mazers. There isn't many of our kind !

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[Arpolis]

anyone else really missing gotmeads meadcalc right now?

yes!!!!!

 

[IJesusChrist]

LoR have you done a BOMM in braggot fashion?

Degassing is difficult with so much emulsion.

 

[loveofrose]

Yes, I've done a Braggot with the BOMM protocol, but there are a few changes in light of the hops aversion to oxygen. I only aerate the first 2-3 days. Water is in the airlock from the beginning. Also, keep the IBU in the 10-15 range to avoid masking the honey too much.

Works well if you adapt a Belgian Golden Strong ale recipe into a Braggot by substituting the candi sugar and half the malt for honey. One warning though. It doesn't last long!


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[IJesusChrist]

One warning though. It doesn't last long!

Is that slight humor or am I stupid? :cross:

 

[loveofrose]

One warning though. It doesn't last long!



Is that slight humor or am I stupid? :cross:

I just mean make a big batch. If your friends find it, it's gone!


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[IJesusChrist]

perfecto

 

[ivyscout]

Took me a while to read through this, but I'm sold. I followed The Complete Meadmaker for my first batch, but I have 3 lbs of Orange Blossom to make my second batch a BOMM, and 3 lbs of BlackBerry Honey that I'll try as a BOMM varietal after that. The OB will probably go in this weekend after I pickup the wyeast and additional nutrients.

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[ivyscout]

So I made my first 1 gallon BOMM tonight, and ran into a bit of a snafu. I pulled out 1/2 cup at the start to account for the smack pack volume, and about 3.5 cups to account for the honey, but by the time I hit my S.G. and added the yeast, I was up to the top of my carboy. There is literally no headspace, should I siphon a bit out or just let it go?

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[IJesusChrist]

Once it starts fermenting you're gonna have a mess...

 

[ivyscout]

My worry is that if I pull some out it will mostly be the yeast I just pitched

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[ivyscout]

Better? Or should I pull a bit more?

Edit: I pulled a bit more, got it to the level where I could put in my hydrometer without it overflowing.

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[loveofrose]

Sanitize a funnel and pour some into a sanitized water bottle to get some headspace. Use a pin pricked ballon for an airlock. After the ferment finishes, you can add it back to eliminate the headspace.

It got the acronym BOMM for a reason. Once it takes off it will blow the airlock off if you leave it as it is!


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[loveofrose]

Better? Or should I pull a bit more?

Edit: I pulled a bit more, got it to the level where I could put in my hydrometer without it overflowing.

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Definitely more. Give yourself a good 3-4 inches headspace. Even then, it may still overflow. I generally leave mine in a container to quarantine the mess.


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[ivyscout]

Well, I decided my wife wouldn't be too happy if I ended up with Must all over the basement, so I decided to defuse my BOMM. Funneled off a bit into a spare growler and dropped my primary into a bucket. I didn't have any spare airlocks or balloons, so I used a plastic bag with a rubber band around it. Should hood me off until I stop by the store. I can definitely get done better aeration going on with the extra headspace.

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[romitaz]

I started this in a 5 and a 1 gallon on the 9th. I also started a 1 gallon cyser at the same time. Filled the airlocks this morning with vodka. The 1 gallon seems to have bottomed out as there is very little activity. The 5 gallon and the 1 gallon cyser are going strong with a bubble every 1-2 seconds. I will take readings tonight. The cyser has a 1/2" of sediment and is beginning to clear quickly. The two standards are beginning to clear as well. All have smelled very pleasant during the first week with no noxious aromas coming off. They have been fermenting in 66-68 degree temps from day 1.

 

[ivyscout]

Well no carboy eruptions for me (although it did come close during my 24 hour aeration). After 72 hours I'm down to 1.055 from 1.092 so I hit it with the first SNA. I feel like this batch has a much better scent than my first batch (wildflower honey with Champagne Pasteur yeast). Really looking forward to the end result. Thanks for the recipe LoR.

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[ivyscout]

SoR, it seems like your preference is to ferment your BOMM dry, then backsweeten. Is there an advantage to doing so vs having a higher OG?

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[loveofrose]

SoR, it seems like your preference is to ferment your BOMM dry, then backsweeten. Is there an advantage to doing so vs having a higher OG?

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Usually, I step feed after it is dry to prevent over sweetening. That is, I add to 1.01 and let it drop; add to 1.01 and let it drop again. Repeat until the yeast give up and can't drop the gravity. This way, you don't end up with a FG that too sweet to drink. On one occasion, I've ended up with 19% ABV doing small 1 oz step feeds like this! Clean and delicious out of the fermenter too!

Also, adding too much honey upfront can contribute to fusel production due to high osmotic stress on the yeast. I've been testing adding more honey upfront to see if Wyeast 1388 would still remain clean or throw some fusels. So far it still remains clean. Exactly how much to add to reach a desired FG has not been fully worked out though. I know that up to OG 1.12 is clean, but I've not tested higher.

This yeast remains very clean in most conditions. I'm tempted to try a show mead just to see what the limits are.


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[ivyscout]

Awesome, I figured you had a good reason. I found it a bit difficult to get the honey fully dissolved when I did my step feeding in the 1 gallon carboy so I thought I'd ask. Maybe next time I'll rack off a portion into a sanitized growler so I have more space for mixing. It's interesting that you've had the yeast go up that high, I was hoping to backsweeten to around 1.010, but my 3lbs is gone now so wherever it stabilizes now will be it!

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[loveofrose]

Awesome, I figured you had a good reason. I found it a bit difficult to get the honey fully dissolved...

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Don't bother. I don't try to dissolve it. It will go into solution naturally over 2 days or so.


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[ivyscout]

Don't bother. I don't try to dissolve it. It will go into solution naturally over 2 days or so.


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Easy enough, do you add any additional nutrients when you step feed?

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[loveofrose]

Easy enough, do you add any additional nutrients when you step feed?

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Not unless I smell something off... Which has never happened.


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[Edbert]

It took some kinetic energy to dissolve my 1 gal batches but not that hard. The 5 gal batches are a different story. I just stirred until arms gave out and pitched...worked out fine.

I must say I am interested in taking the ABV higher, 19% may be a bit much, but higher levels will allow me to keep some around longer.

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[loveofrose]

It took some kinetic energy to dissolve my 1 gal batches but not that hard. The 5 gal batches are a different story. I just stirred until arms gave out and pitched...worked out fine.

I must say I am interested in taking the ABV higher, 19% may be a bit much, but higher levels will allow me to keep some around longer.

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In theory, but it goes faster than you think!


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[Renoun]

Wow, 1388 is sure a monster yeast. I made a gallon batch in a 4l jug and had to loose a bit to the vigorous fermentation. Seven day in and it's clearing. Fermentation temp was in low 70's sitting on top of my hot water tank. I was able to shake it to degas several times a day and wrapped the jug with a blanket to get mid-70's for the last couple of days.

3/25 OG 1.096 with raspberry honey from the bulk foods section at my grocery
3/27 (56 hours after pitching) 1.058 and first nutrient addition
3/8 (22.5 hours later) 1.030 and second nutrient addition
4/2 ferm slowing and starting to clear
4/3 SG off scale low on my hydrometer, probably .093-.095

The attenuation was pretty high for this yeast since I got 13.4%ABV, possibly a bit higher. I assume I'll be back-sweetening some of this batch before bottling.

Just bought some blackberry honey today and I'm planning on reusing this yeast as soon as I can rack off it. I'm more of a cider guy, Is there anything special for reusing yeasts from mead fermentation?

 

[loveofrose]

Wow, 1388 is sure a monster yeast. I made a gallon batch in a 4l jug and had to loose a bit to the vigorous fermentation. Seven day in and it's clearing. Fermentation temp was in low 70's sitting on top of my hot water tank. I was able to shake it to degas several times a day and wrapped the jug with a blanket to get mid-70's for the last couple of days.

3/25 OG 1.096 with raspberry honey from the bulk foods section at my grocery
3/27 (56 hours after pitching) 1.058 and first nutrient addition
3/8 (22.5 hours later) 1.030 and second nutrient addition
4/2 ferm slowing and starting to clear
4/3 SG off scale low on my hydrometer, probably .093-.095

The attenuation was pretty high for this yeast since I got 13.4%ABV, possibly a bit higher. I assume I'll be back-sweetening some of this batch before bottling.

Just bought some blackberry honey today and I'm planning on reusing this yeast as soon as I can rack off it. I'm more of a cider guy, Is there anything special for reusing yeasts from mead fermentation?

If you step feed small amounts of honey now, you can backsweeten by virtue of the yeast giving up. Add 1/2 cup (12 oz) per gallon to make them give up around 15% ABV with a FG in the 1.01 range.

Adding multiple additions of smaller amounts (1 oz) at a time, I've reached 19% ABV with a FG of 1.02. I call it a sweet Sweet BOMM.


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[Renoun]

If you step feed small amounts of honey now, you can backsweeten by virtue of the yeast giving up.

It's not completely clear yet but there's a nice 1/2" yeast cake at the bottom that I don't want to kill off. I'm thinking about adding a bit of honey tonight when I rack, if fermentation restarts that will be fine but I'm not too concerned about boosting ABV. I'm ready to reuse the yeast in it's current state to keep the mead pipeline filled and am more concerned about having a healthy slurry to pitch into the next batch.

 

[IJesusChrist]

kewel

 

[sputnam]

Bray's One Month Mead aka "the BOMM" - 1 gallon
No heat method.
Added Orange Blossom honey to SG of 1.096 in 1 gallon jugs. (how much honey in pounds?)
Added 3/4 tsp of 1:2 DAP:Fermaid K;(<what's this stuff?) also, add this at (what does this mean?> 2/3 and 1/3 sugar break.

sorry, not everyone is a scientist