Bray's One Month Mead

[kenoglass]

So this mead is crazy!!! I checked the gravity on day 2 dropped to 1.072 I figured wait till next day add the nutrients, overnight it dropped to a 1.050. So I added the premixed nutrients I experimented with. That was Sunday, I figured I would wait till today to check for next break, I did and it was down to 1.025 so I added the nutrients and added star san to air lock. I can't believe how fast this yeast eats up!!! Looking forward to bottling on May 17-18th and see how tasty this stuff is!

 

[kenoglass]

I got another question I tried to search about. So I am leaving my must on the yeast for the entire month. Will I be able to pour that yeast into a mason jar to use a month or so later for another batch or not so much?

 

[nilswhite]

View attachment ImageUploadedByHome Brew1430888801.131788.jpg
Yeast starter going ...with 1gal of local Bills Bee's Honey from Los Angeles waiting to be fermented.

 

[brottman]

April 16 - Day 10 - S.G. = 1.032
Something has definitely gone wrong with this BOMM batch.

Any suggestions on restarting this batch @loveofrose??

bmwr, I don't know what the problem is, but I've had the same thing happen on the two BOMM batches that I've tried. Both stalled at 1.03x. Had to mix both into a D47 batch to finish.

 

[loveofrose]

Where did you order the yeast? Both of you. I'm wondering if a supplier got a bad lot. I've never had any problems hitting FG.


Better brewing through science!

See my brewing site at www.denardbrewing.com

See my Current Mead Making Techniques article here:
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/current-mead-making-techniques.html

 

[brottman]

LHBS in Michigan. Fairly busy place, and it seems they turn over stock pretty quickly so I don't think age was an issue. My two batches were also 2 months apart.

 

[loveofrose]

Ah! I just re read your post. It's not the yeast. It's the sourwood honey. I had the same thing happen.

I cold crashed the sourwood mead and it separated into a drier upper phase and a sweet lower phase. I bottled separately. (I mixed the sweet phase with a very dry mead) I don't know why sourwood does this. It's the only honey I've ever had stratify like this. I've heard a few other folks have the same problem with sourwood.

Better brewing through science!

See my brewing site at www.denardbrewing.com

See my Current Mead Making Techniques article here:
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/current-mead-making-techniques.html

 

[bmwr75]

Great Fermentations http://www.greatfermentations.com/

Is where I got the Wyeast.

 

[TeeJo]

Alright.

The bees are busy.

I have some honey in comb from last year, that I need to remove.

Some mead is what I have in mind.

Local (Interior BC, Canada) sources have never heard of Fermaid or DAP. Generic 'Yeast Nutrient' in a baggie, is all that I have found in stock anywhere, presuming its likely DAP or a DAP mixture, but they don't really have any info for me.

One of the early posts says that Northern Brewer has the stuff. Not according to what I was able to find, when I searched for Fermaid K or Potassium anything.

A little help on sources? Potassium Carbonate/bicarbonate? What else is it used for and where would a fella look for it?
I see some on ebay, but shipping white powder by mail from Turkey or Russia...What could go wrong there, eh?

I want to try making the one month mead, but gotta find the required stuff first. Have the yeast in the fridge, have the honey, need the nutrients.
-:edit-Found Potassium Carbonate at OBK, wasn't there when I made my last order. They have the DAP as well, so now I need some Fermaid K... Is that the "Yeast Nutrient" that I already have?

Thanks!

TeeJo

 

[loveofrose]

Morebeer.com always has it.


Better brewing through science!

See my brewing site at www.denardbrewing.com

See my Current Mead Making Techniques article here:
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/current-mead-making-techniques.html

 

[A50SNAKE]

I found this on midwestsupplies.com:

FermaidK provides, DAP, free amino acid, yeast hulls, unsaturated fatty acids, and other helpful products. It helps encourage the yeast to maintain a strong cell wall in a high-alcohol environment. They also keep the yeast from providing off flavors due to stress, and help keep the yeast in suspension. This can be used in any fermentation, but it is highly recommended in wine and mead. Recommended dosage is 1 gram per gallon; rehydrate before use.

http://www.midwestsupplies.com/fermaidk.html

I hope that helps.

oh, and I have noticed the search on OBK is not always able to find things, but they are there sometimes, if you know exact names to look for, or if you know which section it is under, and you can go directly there.

good luck in your hunting.

 

[brottman]

It appears to be happening again. My 1388 is stalling out. I am in the process of doing a mead comparison test using 3 different yeasts. 1 gallon each of:

1388
71B
Cote Des Blanc

Starting SG for all three was (1.1000). Each 1 gallon batch is following the BOMM protocal exactly to the letter. Period. Bray recently mentioned it possibly being the honey causing it to stall out, so this time I went with Costco honey for all 3 test batches. The Cote des Blanc and 1388 got off to a strong start, while the 71B lagged a couple days for some unknown reason, however eventually all 3 were off to the races.

Now today:
71B - taking the lead - down to 1.015 and tasting good
Cote Des Blanc - a short second at 1.02, but this might end up being my favorite
1388 - Last night it was around 1.045, now its barely at 1.040. In comparison, the other two were at 1.03 or higher last night. I'm afraid this is stalling out yet again. PH test this morning tagged it at 3.4. I just gave it its third and final dose of DAP and Fermaid K, so hopefully it is able to bust through 1.03 this time.

Will report back.

 

[brottman]

Happy to report it appears to be a false alarm. After another 10 hours, the 1388 batch is now down to 1.030 and appears to still be going strong. I'll be converting each of these 1 gallon batches into 6 gallon batches once they finish up. Planning on putting together new 5 gallon batches and dumping them on top of the 1 gallon batches. Basically just using them as a big starter

 

[tad_ashlock]

My second BOMM (a 5 gallon batch), fermented down to an SG of 1.003 in 10 days. But after 14 days, it has a very strong beer flavor. My first batch (1 gallon) didn't ever taste like this. My best guess is that I accidentally used the wrong yeast: Wyeast 1338 instead of 1388. Wyeast 1338 is a European Ale yeast.

Given the state of my must, is there anything I can do to bring the final product back to tasting like mead? Or at least attenuate the beer flavor? Oak maybe?

 

[Danmor1]

Drinking a 2.5-month old BOMM, and marvelling at the difference from the 1-month old I split with a friend from the same initial yeast pack before. My question is, how does reuse of the initial yeast affect aging time? I used one Wyeast pack to make 4 1-gallon batches, back-to-back, 3 orange blossom and 1 orange blossom-buckwheat mix, then, a couple weeks ago, cold-crashed the lot to clear. Should I expect more aging time for the 4th (the mix)? Or, in theory, should they all be ready to drink?

Unrelated question: i have enough honey for a 1 gallon Tulip Poplar BOMM. Can I make that, then use the left-over yeast as a starter for an orange blossom 5 gallon BOMM, or do I need to create a larger starter? Also, what happens if I choose to use the Forbidden Fruit for a sweeter end product?

EDIT: side note, I've only been producing homemade alcohol since about December, and it was cider until January, BOMM since March, and wine since April. Any help is appreciated.

 

[amcclai7]

Ah! I just re read your post. It's not the yeast. It's the sourwood honey. I had the same thing happen.

I cold crashed the sourwood mead and it separated into a drier upper phase and a sweet lower phase. I bottled separately. (I mixed the sweet phase with a very dry mead) I don't know why sourwood does this. It's the only honey I've ever had stratify like this. I've heard a few other folks have the same problem with sourwood.

Better brewing through science!

See my brewing site at www.denardbrewing.com

See my Current Mead Making Techniques article here:
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/current-mead-making-techniques.html

So would you recommend against using sourwood? If so that kinda sucks because I just paid $50 for a gallon of sourwood honey with the idea of making mead.

However, If you read this thread https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?t=70303 Several people confirm that sourwood makes a great mead but they are all using wine yeasts. It must be something about the combo of the ale yeast and the SWH.

Any thoughts?

 

[loveofrose]

Let's put it this way. I'm using my gallon of sourwood. Although next time, I will stir the crap out of it everyday to keep it mixed.

If it stratifies again after cold crash, I'll bottle the two layers separate like before. The top drier layer was very tasty while the bottom sweet layer was perfect for blending (with meadjack or dry mead).

If it remains sweet overall, I'll blend it with some bone dry mead I have kicking around. I like the taste of this varietal. It's just a bit of a pain.

My understanding is that not all sourwood does this, just some batches. No one is really sure why.
Doesn't seem to depend on the yeast at all.

Better brewing through science!

See my brewing site at www.denardbrewing.com

See my Current Mead Making Techniques article here:
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/current-mead-making-techniques.html

 

[bmwr75]

Racked my batch of Sourwood BOMM today, day 41. It is 1.032 SG just like it was on Day 10. Mead is definitely not sweet like a 1.032 mead should be, tastes pretty dry in fact. Sourwood honey is definitely a strange bird.

Checked hydrometer in plain water, it is reading correctly. Checked pH with some Hydrion paper, it is in the 3.0 range. That is as close as I can read the paper based on color change.

I topped it off with Ozarka spring water and reinstalled the air lock. Will let it sit for a while to clarify.

 

[amcclai7]

Let's put it this way. I'm using my gallon of sourwood. Although next time, I will stir the crap out of it everyday to keep it mixed.

If it stratifies again after cold crash, I'll bottle the two layers separate like before. The top drier layer was very tasty while the bottom sweet layer was perfect for blending (with meadjack or dry mead).

If it remains sweet overall, I'll blend it with some bone dry mead I have kicking around. I like the taste of this varietal. It's just a bit of a pain.

My understanding is that not all sourwood does this, just some batches. No one is really sure why.
Doesn't seem to depend on the yeast at all.

Better brewing through science!

See my brewing site at www.denardbrewing.com

See my Current Mead Making Techniques article here:
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/current-mead-making-techniques.html

Interesting. How about this. If it only stratifies after the cold crash why not skip that step and instead use biofine or some other fining agent?

 

[pennyloaf]

I read the entire post and have a few questions if someone wouldn't mind answering them.

I got 12# gallberry honey (a friend wanted to try it) for a 5 gallon batch and just started a 1.8L starter with 1388 using 6 oz of wildflower honey I had sitting around (assumed flavor would be mostly stripped). I added a tiny dash of potassium bicarbonate to the starter and what the LHB shop sells as "super ferment"

"Super Ferment" is supposedly a combination of DAP and Ferment-K (and yeast hulls, etc). My plan is to just add this in the combined volume (1 tsp DAP + 2 tsp Fermaid K = 3 tsp super ferment). I will pick up some Ozarka spring water but normally use a mix of Houston tap/RO water for brewing.

My hope is this ferments all the way down (tried a different recipe before with 3.5ppg honey and it stalled very sweet). Ideally I would like a slightly sweet, bottled, and carbonated mead. The only way to do this is bottle from the keg?


Now onto the questions:

1. Do you think I will be ok with "Super Ferment"? Any changes suggested?
2. My understanding is to use 1.5 t potassium bicarbonate; has anyone done this?
3. Any recommendations on fermentation temp (was going to set at 70-75F and walk up to 80F)
4. I also have some orange blossom honey on its way (24-25#), wanted to reuse the yeast but it isnt clear about swirrling the lees and just pouring into a new carboy? Since I only plan to primary for 14-30 days, can I just add new must to the old container? If not, can someone give a better description on getting the yeast out (or should I just use the yeast washing procedure)?
5. Since I am making the second batch on the already large yeast cake, I feel like I should reduce nutrients/oxidation! Can someone provide any guidance on this?

Thanks for all the work on this - I plan to make the first mead to spec, the second possibly split to blueberries(mint?) and rosemary (should I try oak?). Then thinking about making a pear and/or apple cyser (possibly with a lighter beer yeast) and then if I still haven't messed everything up may look into a caramelized local wildflower honey mead

 

[loveofrose]

Do you think I will be ok with "Super Ferment"? Any changes suggested?


Probably, but no guarantees. Since I don't know what's in it, I can't promise anything.

My understanding is to use 1.5 t potassium bicarbonate; has anyone done this?

I use 1/4 tsp per gallon or 1.5 TBSP for 5 gallons.

[*]Any recommendations on fermentation temp (was going to set at 70-75F and walk up to 80F)

For Wyeast 1388, 68 F had the fastest kinectics, but it is clean at all those temperatures.

[*]I also have some orange blossom honey on its way (24-25#), wanted to reuse the yeast but it isnt clear about swirrling the lees and just pouring into a new carboy? Since I only plan to primary for 14-30 days, can I just add new must to the old container? If not, can someone give a better description on getting the yeast out (or should I just use the yeast washing procedure)?

After you first batch hits 1.000, rack the clear part to a new container. You will see a light colored yeast on top of a darker colored yeast. Just dump the light colored part into the next batch.

[*]Since I am making the second batch on the already large yeast cake, I feel like I should reduce nutrients/oxidation! Can someone provide any guidance on this?

While you can oxidize mead, it's pretty difficult to do in initial ferment. Keep the nutrients the same though. New batch needs new nutrition!



Thanks for all the work on this - I plan to make the first mead to spec, the second possibly split to blueberries(mint?) and rosemary (should I try oak?). Then thinking about making a pear and/or apple cyser (possibly with a lighter beer yeast) and then if I still haven't messed everything up may look into a caramelized local wildflower honey mead

Easy on the rosemary. I have a batch of rosemary lavender that is 2 years old and undrinkable. Powerful stuff. Great marinade though!





Better brewing through science!

See my brewing site at www.denardbrewing.com

See my Current Mead Making Techniques article here:
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/current-mead-making-techniques.html

 

[pennyloaf]

Thanks for the response, still not very clear on how to separate the white yeast top from the darker chunks at the bottom out of a 6gal carboy. Suppose I will give a light swirl and dump in, adding more water if needed to get residuals.

In any case, I am drinking zombie dust clone right now and feeling pretty good. Thinking I would post a awesome chinese recipe I am about to eat if anyone is interested:

hong shao rou
(1-2 lbs) Cut pork belly in 1.5"x0.75" cubes and boil
Wash
Fry in oil
Remove (most of) excess oil/fat
add:
3-4 piece star anise
3-4 piece cassia (like cinnamon, Chinese spice)
Big piece ginger (1"x2"), sliced

Fry low heat covered
(Can put 3-4 dried red chili peppers if you want spicy)
Push meat to side, add 3-4 T brown sugar into oil and melt
Add Chinese cooking wine ~0.75 cups (white wine, get yourself a gallon jug for like $8)
Add water, aged soy sauce (to taste) and boil for 1-2 hours

make sure you have enough or add water so it doesn't go dry, super tasty over rice.
Can stick in fridge and remove excess oil after cooking.

Can also add hardboiled eggs, tofu into boil. They do sell spice packs containing all ingredients needed but maybe not as fragrant.

 

[loveofrose]

You need a Szechuan BOMM to go with that dish. Check my site below for the recipe. Cheers!


Better brewing through science!

See my brewing site at www.denardbrewing.com

See my Current Mead Making Techniques article here:
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/current-mead-making-techniques.html

 

[pennyloaf]

Just thought I would post....

fermentation was going really well at 23C

after your post I swapped to 20C (68F) fermentation really slowed.. So I heated back up

I am back at strong fermentation at ~22C, judging by CO2 production (left for ~30 hours @ 20C and less residual carbonation than about 6 hours @ 22C)

Currently about 1.056 SG. When I changed temp I added 1/4 t K Bicarbonate and also tossed in about 10 organic raisins for good measure. Might have been a pH issue now that I am thinking more...

 

[kenoglass]

So I made this in April and bottled it in may once it hit 1.003. My question is it seems to be a little high in fusels still will that age out in another month. It is high abv around 13% but is definitely a little warm to drink? I am gonna try another bottle around the 18th of this month and that will be a month in bottles.

 

[Wiggleplum]

This may not help anyone, but I figured I would post it just in case. I had trouble finding Fermaid, potassium carbonate, Go-Ferm, and the Wyeast 1388 all at the same online retailer. Since I did not want to pay for shipping more than once, I did some searching.

I found all the items at morewinemaking.com with good prices, and have placed my order. Two day shipping was $7. I am not affiliated with them in any way, just putting this here in case someone like me needs to source all of these items.

 

[Wiggleplum]

Would it be OK if I added about 32oz of organic pear juice to this, and some cinnamon sticks? If so, when would be the best time in order to preserve a bit of the flavor? Or will 32oz not even add any flavor. I am guessing secondary but I am not sure. I will be following the rest of the recipe exactly. Thanks!

 

[TeufelHundenM198]

Here's a fun little test I did.

Both of these meads are made with 2.4lbs of wildflower honey, following the yeast and nutrient schedule laid out in this thread.

There's only one small difference between the two, the one on the left received Potassium carbonate, the other one did not. The one with potassium cleared MUCH faster, I let them sit for a couple months, the one on the right was still cloudy. Sunday I backsweetened a bit with Norwegian forest honey and added some Sparkolloid to both. The pic was taken last night... the difference between the two is striking.

I like to mess around with variables. While we all know Potassium is important to yeast health now, just how important is it in the final, slightly aged product, was my question, as I never supplemented it for years and always ended up with good mead.

 

[decoleur]

Great result! When and how much potassium carbonate?

 

[TeufelHundenM198]

Slightly under 1/4 tsp @ inoculation.