Bray's One Month Mead

[Tribble]

I'm going to start a BOMM this weekend. It's my first one, so could someone glance an eye over my plan and critique it please?

I'm working in metric; US gallons make my brain hurt. My plan is intended to follow loveofrose's 5-gallon plan, adjusted for 23 litres (a bit over 6 US gallons).

Also I'm aiming for 1.12 OG as I read that should still ferment dry (commented just a few posts up too I noticed). I want to end up with a semi-sweet mead after step-feeding / back sweetening.

Using Mexican raw honey from Paynes here in the UK.

tsp = teaspoons, but I prefer grams.

Starter
2.5 litres total… 350g=250ml honey in 2.25 litres spring water to about 1.04 SG. I'm using a 1 gallon demijohn.
Add 2.5g (1.25 tsp) GoFerm and one pack of smacked 1388 yeast.
Cover loosely, agitate and otherwise annoy for 3 days (I don't have a stirrer).

Must
Total honey for 23 litres must, at 1.12 OG is 9.15kg = 6.53 litres (350g/250ml already taken off for what's in the starter).
Spring water 13.75 litres (already accounted for starter and honey volumes).
Mix well then pitch the starter.
Add 2 tsp KHCO3 at start only (can only get the bicarbonate so roughly doubled the amount for K2CO3).
Initial nutrients: 9.1g (2.5 tsp) Fermaid-K and 6.2g (2.5 tsp) Fermaid-O.
Additional nutrients: 6.2g (2.5 tsp) Fermaid-O at 1.086 and 1.053 SG (adjusted for the 1.12 SG).
Degass daily by stirring.

Finishing
When SG drops to 1.000, add 750g/530ml honey to bring up to 1.01.
Repeat as required every few days until SG settles.
Finally sweeten to taste.
Leave for a month or so until clear (hopefully but not essential).
Bottle.
Get drunk.


Does that look good?

Has anyone replaced the GoFerm in the starter with another nutrient, and did that work? I have a little GoFerm (maybe not enough) but it's hard to get and I would rather keep it for rehydrating dry yeast if I can.

 

[loveofrose]

For 23 liters (6 gallons) of mead at 1.120, your nutrient schedule should go as follows:

Upfront:
-11.34 grams of Fermaid K
-14.16 grams of Fermaid O
-12.45 grams of K2CO3 or KHCO3 (they have the same buffering capacity so there is no need to double it)

At 1.090 and 1.050, add the following:
-14.16 grams of Fermaid O

Goferm is the absolute best for a starter. Fermaid O would also work though.

All above is based on my new nutrient protocol found here:
https://denardbrewing.com/blog/post/Liquid-yeast-SNA/

You could also add all honey upfront and let the yeast crap out. You must adjust the protocol as stated in the link though.

 

[Tribble]

Ahh, I hadn't read that page you linked. Probably everything else, lol.

Thank you for that, that's what I'll follow.

I'll let you know how it goes.

 

[JDXX1971]

Ok I am about to make this right now!!! I thought I would trow out a last minute description of my plans.

I have three smack packs of 1388 swelling up right now. They are dated May 31 2017, I hope they will still be enough without a starter.

We have 6 pounds of local clover honey and three pounds of O,Organic honey from Safeway (product of Brazil).
We have good well water, though I have not had it tested for its contents it has worked for all my brewing so far.
I am scaling the recipe off post https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showpost.php?p=6047863&postcount=243 and I am using 3 pounds per gallon as per post https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showpost.php?p=6048715&postcount=249 I have calculated the water needed to 37.1 cups and am planning to triple the nutrient amounts from the 1 gallon recipe.

I know I wont get the flavor like the OB honey from the clover honey so I plan on making a Melomel with local huckleberries we have in the freezer!! When should I rack it on to the Huckleberries? Also I want to reuse the yeast cake at that time. Can I just dump in a new batch on top of it?

Looking forward to this, thanks to all for this great thread!! :rockin: HBT :rockin:

 

[JDXX1971]

The deed is done.

I ended up following @loveofrose 's nutrient schedule three post above. Only I used half the amounts as ours is a 3 gallon batch.

So it looks like this.

9.25 quarts of our well water
6 pounds local raw clover honey
3 pounds O'Organics honey
5.7 grams Fermaid K
7.1 grams Fermaid O
6.3 grams Potassium Carbonate

I did not take a hydrometer reading, even though I stirred the heck out of it I figured there was no way all that honey dissolved. I am going by loveofrose's numbers to figure my O.G. should be around 1.12 or so.

I will also follow the schedule above and add 7.1 grams of Fermaid O at 1.090 and 1.050.

 

[Tribble]

My six gallon keg is done too.

I had 2.8g of GoFerm left so I used it all in the 2.5L starter, along with 350g honey and 2.25L water.

Today:
8.9kg Mexican honey
14 litres spring water
12.5g potassium bicarbonate
11.4g Fermaid K
14.2g Fermaid O

+ the starter

After that, and a stir with a spoon in a drill, OG read 1.12. Calculated is 1.119, so that's close enough

Cry havoc and let slip the yeast of war!

 

[JDXX1971]

My BOMM is seemingly coming along. I have it in my fermentation chamber set to 68, the temp seems to be holding a little low though. I aerated/degassed it again this morning and after work, there were lots of bubbles released each time. I also checked the gravity and it was at 1.090 so I fed it 7.1 grams of Fermaid O.

I really expected to see some activity from this ferment but as far as I can tell there is absolutely no krausen. I even threw an airlock on it yesterday because I was worried it was not working. But it started bubbling away so took it back out and recovered it with a paper towel and shook it.

Hopefully I got my numbers close enough. I went off Bray's 3 pounds per gallon calculation to hit 1.12 but got mead's calculator has me at 1.08. I sure wish I had taken an og reading now. Anyway whats 4 points either way? Right? I figure it will work out one way or the other in the end.

 

[Dan_K]

In my (limited) experience, I have started adding Fermaid K to my protocol if I ever add a later "step" honey addition. It seems to reduce fusels. I have seen some fusel alcohol generation if a honey step-addition is done later on with no nutrients, and it's not surprising.

Also, the yeast seems to be able to metabolize honey for quite a long time if you do lots of small additions. My cyser is still generating CO2 some 2 months after pitch.

 

[byronyasgur]

is it possible to use Tronozymol instead of Fermaid K ( which I can't find here - Ireland ) ... I have TronOzymol already though

Tronozymol Yeast Nutrient and salts will help your wine ferment speedily and efficiently. It contains all necessary nutrients required by yeast and so avoids stuck fermentations. Ensures highest possible alcohol content.

Sufficient for up to 100 litres of wine.

For dry wines use Use 1-2 teaspoons per 4.5 litres (1 gallon), for sweet wines 2-3 teaspoons, and for high alcohol wines up to 5 teaspoons.

Ingredients:- Diammonium Phosphate, Magnesium Sulphate, Magnesium Carbonate, Albumin Nicotinamide, Aueurine Hydrochloride, Trace minerals, Trace Vitamins.

https://www.homebrewcentre.co.uk/tronozymol-yeast-nutrient-100grm

If so would you have any idea how much to add going by the above. One person on a national homebrew forum did use Tronozomol ( several times successfully he says ) ... and his experience was

For nutrients I used Tronozymol yeast nutrient and energizer, follow the instructions and divide the amount needed by the number of SNA staggered nutrient additions (Edit) I think maybe double the recommended amount then divide by number of SNA I was getting some sulpher coming through but added extra dose helped.

just wondering if that made any sense

 

[Dan_K]

So I've got a batch of cyser. Besides honey, it contains the following ingredients in 4 gallons:
2 gal Kirkland Apple Juice (no preservatives)
2 cans froz apple juice concentrate (ascorbic acid only)
2# Caramel 60 malt (steeped in 160 deg apple juice for 45 min)
1# Brown Sugar

Anyway, here it is 2 months after yeast pitch and the stupid thing is still fermenting / carbonating. I got a bunch of CO2 out this morning, so I'm assuming fermentation is still happening. Tastes OK, I don't really detect any off-flavors at this time. But sheesh... when's it going to stop?

My "new plan" is to rack it into a new, clean carboy and hopefully get a bit more sediment and/or yeast away from it, and just wait until it stops producing CO2. I think there is a possibility that it's infected- however it's at LEAST 14% alcohol so really is infection a thing that could be happening? Gravity a week ago was 1.020 but it's been down to 1.000 twice (step feeding)

 

[dyqik]

So I've got a batch of cyser. Besides honey, it contains the following ingredients in 4 gallons:
2 gal Kirkland Apple Juice (no preservatives)
2 cans froz apple juice concentrate (ascorbic acid only)
2# Caramel 60 malt (steeped in 160 deg apple juice for 45 min)
1# Brown Sugar

Anyway, here it is 2 months after yeast pitch and the stupid thing is still fermenting / carbonating. I got a bunch of CO2 out this morning, so I'm assuming fermentation is still happening. Tastes OK, I don't really detect any off-flavors at this time. But sheesh... when's it going to stop?

My "new plan" is to rack it into a new, clean carboy and hopefully get a bit more sediment and/or yeast away from it, and just wait until it stops producing CO2. I think there is a possibility that it's infected- however it's at LEAST 14% alcohol so really is infection a thing that could be happening? Gravity a week ago was 1.020 but it's been down to 1.000 twice (step feeding)

CO2 coming out of solution does not mean that fermentation is still going on. You need to check the gravity now vs a week ago. If it hasn't changed, it's done.

 

[Dan_K]

CO2 coming out of solution does not mean that fermentation is still going on. You need to check the gravity now vs a week ago. If it hasn't changed, it's done.

I checked the gravity a week ago but I don't remember exactly what it was. I've degassed this batch a few times which is why it seems odd that it's still got a bunch of CO2 in it.

 

[dyqik]

It takes time for carbonic acid to convert to dissolved CO2 and then to be released by degassing.

This shows up when carbing kegs of beer as well, btw. It takes time for force carbed kegs to settle to equilibrium.

 

[loveofrose]

My BOMM is seemingly coming along. I have it in my fermentation chamber set to 68, the temp seems to be holding a little low though. I aerated/degassed it again this morning and after work, there were lots of bubbles released each time. I also checked the gravity and it was at 1.090 so I fed it 7.1 grams of Fermaid O.

I really expected to see some activity from this ferment but as far as I can tell there is absolutely no krausen. I even threw an airlock on it yesterday because I was worried it was not working. But it started bubbling away so took it back out and recovered it with a paper towel and shook it.

Hopefully I got my numbers close enough. I went off Bray's 3 pounds per gallon calculation to hit 1.12 but got mead's calculator has me at 1.08. I sure wish I had taken an og reading now. Anyway whats 4 points either way? Right? I figure it will work out one way or the other in the end.

Mead is sneaky compared to beer. It looks quiet and doesn't give away the storm that's going on. It's because the grains in beer provide the necessary lipids for foam/bubble/head stability. Mead has none of that. If you are concerned, add some nutrients and shake it a bit (MWA HA HA HA). Seriously, don't do that. It will explode.

Weight never lies. If you added by weight, the gravity is extremely close. I don't know what is going on with the GotMead calculator. I'll talk to Vicki about it.

 

[loveofrose]

So I've got a batch of cyser. Besides honey, it contains the following ingredients in 4 gallons:
2 gal Kirkland Apple Juice (no preservatives)
2 cans froz apple juice concentrate (ascorbic acid only)
2# Caramel 60 malt (steeped in 160 deg apple juice for 45 min)
1# Brown Sugar

Anyway, here it is 2 months after yeast pitch and the stupid thing is still fermenting / carbonating. I got a bunch of CO2 out this morning, so I'm assuming fermentation is still happening. Tastes OK, I don't really detect any off-flavors at this time. But sheesh... when's it going to stop?

My "new plan" is to rack it into a new, clean carboy and hopefully get a bit more sediment and/or yeast away from it, and just wait until it stops producing CO2. I think there is a possibility that it's infected- however it's at LEAST 14% alcohol so really is infection a thing that could be happening? Gravity a week ago was 1.020 but it's been down to 1.000 twice (step feeding)

Only gravity matters. Give me several gravity readings, total honey added, yeast used (I assume 1388, but you didn't say) and I can help.

 

[loveofrose]

I assume it's just dissolved CO2. This can stay in solution over a year if you never rack.

 

[JDXX1971]

Thanks for the reply Bray. Our BOMM is slowly working, Thursday it was at 1.068 and this morning it is at 1.056. I am going to add the last Fermaid O addition this evening before bed and hope for the best.

I know this is a bit slow from what I have read here, hopefully all will be good. I blame myself for procrastinating for months (my smack packs were all dated May31) and for not following instructions. My three packs were only activated for a few hours, not overnight. I guess I probably should have made a starter with them. Hopefully it wont stall or have off flavors, this is our first mead so I am hoping it turns out.

 

[Tribble]

Is 16 Celsius (60F) too cold? I've just seen 64F minimum for 1388. My batch is running slowly I think (first time though so it might be normal). The temperature is lower at night but it's in the house, so not much lower. Mid-day is 16.0C to 16.5C.

This is day six and the SG has dropped from 1.12 at the start to 1.08. It had a feed at 1.09 two days ago.

I did have an accident degassing it on day 2; it volcanoed and I lost about 0.5 to 0.75 litres. I topped it back up with a matching SG of honey/water.

 

[Dan_K]

Only gravity matters. Give me several gravity readings, total honey added, yeast used (I assume 1388, but you didn't say) and I can help.

I checked the gravity last night. It isn't going down, I guess there's just a lot of residual CO2 in the mix. It was at 1.030 and I'm 90% sure it's stable because I first pitched the yeast 9 weeks ago. There was plenty of CO2 dissolved in my hydrometer sample. It tasted pretty good, the sample did. No real noticeable off-flavors.

I think I'm just going to let it sit for a couple more weeks, and then bottle.

 

[loveofrose]

Put your hydrometer in water and see if it reads 1.000. If ok, then I guess it stalled.

 

[bboots]

Sorry if this is already asked but with over 100 pages of replies...
New to mead brewing can somebody explain the 2/3 and 1/3?

"Added 3/4 tsp of 1:2 DAP:Fermaid K; also, add this at 2/3 and 1/3 sugar break"

 

[JDXX1971]

Search "sugar break"

 

[Dan_K]

Sorry if this is already asked but with over 100 pages of replies...
New to mead brewing can somebody explain the 2/3 and 1/3?

"Added 3/4 tsp of 1:2 DAP:Fermaid K; also, add this at 2/3 and 1/3 sugar break"

Let's say your OG is 1.100. You have 100 "points" of sugar available. The 1/3 and 2/3 break would be at 1.067 and 1.033.
So it's when 1/3 and 2/3 of the sugar has been "eaten" by the yeast.

 

[bboots]

Let's say your OG is 1.100. You have 100 "points" of sugar available. The 1/3 and 2/3 break would be at 1.067 and 1.033.
So it's when 1/3 and 2/3 of the sugar has been "eaten" by the yeast.

Thanks

 

[Dan_K]

Good place to buy Fermaid O?
Morebeer/morewine has 750g for $60 shipped. ($80/kg)
Winemakersdepot has 2.5 KG for $108 plus shipping. ($43.20/kg)
Amazon has 120g for $26 shipped ($216.67 / kg)
White Labs has the 2.5kg bag for $80 (plus shipping) and I'm not sure if individuals can order from them.

It's expensive either way; and 2.5 KG is quite a lot.

 

[andrewmaixner]

Good place to buy Fermaid O?
Morebeer/morewine has 750g for $60 shipped. ($80/kg)
Winemakersdepot has 2.5 KG for $108 plus shipping. ($43.20/kg)
Amazon has 120g for $26 shipped ($216.67 / kg)
White Labs has the 2.5kg bag for $80 (plus shipping) and I'm not sure if individuals can order from them.

It's expensive either way; and 2.5 KG is quite a lot.

I had my LHBS special order it, probably from LDCarlson or something. was $13 / 120g = $108/kg in not-insanely-huge-size packets.

 

[Umm]

First post here. Joined specifically to ask questions regarding this recipe.

I started a bomm 10 days ago. I used the 1388 as well as good raw and unfiltered OB honey from a local source, plentiful here in central Florida. I didn't have the fermaid k but did have a yeast nutrient that was similar in composition and I didn't get the potassium carbonate till day after I started. I also don't have a hydrometer or anything like that I just added the requisite amount of water for a gallon and guessed on the honey trying to get 2.5 lbs. Added the DAP and the "yeast nutrient". The 2nd day (I figured this was close to the 1/3 sugar break) I added the 2nd round of nutrients as well as the potassium carbonate (I didn't get it till the 2nd day because I had to go to another HBS a couple of cities away). 5th day I added the 3rd round of nutrients (probably should have done it on the 4th day but oh well). I degassed vigorously for the first 6 days and no water in airlock.

I know I voided the warranty and all and was just doing this batch as a tester but it really seems to be turning out very well. It has cleared a lot already and really just got some wax floating on the top and there seems to be two different layers almost like oil and vinegar separating. I know some people mentioned this but I don't remember the cause. I read this entire thread up to about page 100 but then my browser crashed and don't feel like trying to find out where I was.

Oh I did buy some mead at a store yesterday so I could compare. So far I like my bomm better and it's only on day ten and the mead I bought is 6 months old.

 

[loveofrose]

Umm, what is your question?

 

[Umm]

Oh sorry I guess I got carried away with it. Question is with the separation that is happening in the fermenter. I remember somewhere you said that you separated the two layers but I can't remember what you do with that top layer. Mostly though I just want to say thanks for making this recipe. I would have never tried making mead otherwise.... patience is a virtue I have yet to grasp

 

[Dan_K]

I have a batch of mead that finished much higher than I calculated. I was going for 1.030 and it's right around 1.050. To combat this, I have started another batch that should finish around 1.000... as soon as it hits this level, I am going to blend it with the "sweet" mead and hope that some of the active yeast will further bring it down. Probably a 3:1 ratio at first, and then take a gravity reading in a week.

Has anyone ever had success getting some of the residual sugars out of a mead this way?