Completely new to Brewing, your criticism please :)

[rosfrei]

It is to my now new-found knowledge that what I have fermenting is called "mead".

There is 454g in 1lb. 5gal of water to 3lb sugar is the formula used for a good ferment on bakers yeast, that I have found anyway.

512.5g of sugar in 750ML maple syrup bottle.

2 bottles equals 2.25lbs (1021.5g), requires 1.36gal (5.15L) of water. (scaled down formula)

Half packet of yeast (~4g)

Fermenting in a 78F room with a vented pot lid.

Please any helpful insight I love learning new things.

 

[Onihige]

Where's the honey?

 

[fatbloke]

Where's the honey?

Concur.....

Trying to follow the total quantity ? Trying to follow the amounts of different fermentable sugars ?

Plus no explanation of method used to mix it or what the yeast might be other than an allusion to bread yeast in the first few lines etc....

 

[rosfrei]

Well then..

I was under the impression anything brewed with non-traditional ingredients was a "mead". Didn't know mead's were honey based.

What I do have then is just alcohol, I do plan on "jacking" it after fermentation is done. I will have a maple flavored spirit I suppose.

Where should I post about that then?

I used 2.25lbs of "sugar" (how much was in my syrup added) to 1.36gal of water and half a packet of yeast.

 

[saramc]

There is a name for mead made from maple syrup....called acerglyn.

I am confused why you are referencing 3# sugar to 5 gallon of water yet are using 2.25# sugar with a less than 1.5 gal water? The correct sugar ratio breaks down to 0.6# per gallon of water. Just wondering.

 

[rosfrei]

Haha, I got my initial measurements wrong. The water and sugar were backwards with what I had written down.

SO! I have way too much sugar in not enough water. What will become of this? It has been fermenting for 1.5 days in a 79-80f room and the vent already smells very much like alcohol.

 

[saramc]

Haha, I got my initial measurements wrong. The water and sugar were backwards with what I had written down.

SO! I have way too much sugar in not enough water. What will become of this? It has been fermenting for 1.5 days in a 79-80f room and the vent already smells very much like alcohol.

Then add more water, and cool it down. You will 'cook' this. Smells like alcohol because it is.

 

[rosfrei]

I can oxygenate at this step in fermenting? I thought this was very much a no-no?

I guess I will need to add another 9L of water? And probably should add more yeast too eh?

79f is too hot to leave it fermenting in?

 

[aceparadis]

Here is a loose guide to fermentation, there are exceptions. Fruit = wine, grain = beer and honey = mead. In the end it depends on process and what was used to ferment it. For instance, if I fermented apple juice with an ale yeast it becomes a cider, if its fermented with a wine yeast its a apfelwine, if I distill either it becomes a brandy, but again there are exceptions.

Check out: http://www.bjcp.org/index.php for some good learning.

Here is my recipe for a semi-sweet cyser mead.

Step one: Make a starter 12-24 hours in advance: Activate wyeast 3787 smackpack and wait 3-4 hours. add 1tsp of nutrient and 1tsp of energiser, yeast and half a liter of fresh pressed apple cider to a one gallon demijohn. cover with tinfoil or airlock. At this stage your growing yeast, not making mead. Swirl often to add oxygen to to your starter. Wait 12-24 hours for yeast to grow. This step is very important.

Step two: warm your honey (12 pounds) so it flows. I like to fill my sink with hot water and place my unopened honey jugs in it for 30 minutes or so, Sanatize a hand blender. When your ready add all your honey to your fermenting bucket. Cream the honey with the blender, this adds oxygen to the honey. Slowly add apple juice (4.5 gallons) to the mix and use blender to mix it up. I feel this is the easiest way to mix and add oxygen. Others may have better techniques. Add 2 tsp of energizer and 2tsp of nutrient and blend that in. Take a gravity reading.

Step 3: Pitch the entire yeast starter, over the course of a few days slowly let the mead raise in temperature. Your using a Belgain Yeast, fermenting hot isnt an issue. When 60% of the sugars are consumed add 1tsp of nutirent and 1tsp of energiser.

step 4: Monitor your gravity readings, when it hasn't changed for three days rack off into a secondary for bulk aging. The longer you wait the better.

This is my process and it produces great results for me. Try it and adjust to your own liking.

 

[saramc]

I can oxygenate at this step in fermenting? I thought this was very much a no-no?

I guess I will need to add another 9L of water? And probably should add more yeast too eh?

79f is too hot to leave it fermenting in?

You want access to oxygen for 5-8 days, so stirring is fine...adding more fermentable or adding the missing water is fine. If you shorted your yeast, then go ahead and correct it. I find a cooler temp, even just 70, can mean a big difference as far as what is brought out in the ferment. Compare to broiling a steak vs grilling.

 

[rosfrei]

Alright well I do not really have another vessel handy in order to add another 9L of water at the moment..

I think I will start over more or less, but let this one continue as an experiment. Maybe even distill it at the end if it is too out there..

5-8 days of access to oxygen, is this common place for all fermenting? or just when making mead?

thank-you.

 

[saramc]

5-8 days of access to oxygen, is this common place for all fermenting? or just when making mead?

thank-you.

Very common for wine/mead making. Some airlock right out of the gate but you typically get a stronger ferment if you allow access to oxygen those first few days. You are welcome.

 

[rosfrei]

I will start getting ingredients ready for the next batch of proper mead.

This looks extremely delicious!! For a Black Raspberry Maple Mead;

(5 gallon batch)
1 cup brown sugar
1 gallon apple juice
5lbs Honey (clover & wildflower)
1/2 gallon maple syrup
7lbs Black Raspberries
3 lemons
champagne yeast

 

[rosfrei]

Say I want to make what I have fermenting in to a spirit, either by means of distilling or the more legal way "jacking"..

With what I have already.. There is too little water and too much sugar, so the yeast is going to die off before the sugar is consumed correct?

 

[Onihige]

I will start getting ingredients ready for the next batch of proper mead.

This looks extremely delicious!! For a Black Raspberry Maple Mead;

(5 gallon batch)
1 cup brown sugar
1 gallon apple juice
5lbs Honey (clover & wildflower)
1/2 gallon maple syrup
7lbs Black Raspberries
3 lemons
champagne yeast

Not to be a... jerk or a party pooper, but that's got way too many flavors competing.

You should really try making plain mead, just honey... water and yeast. Plus yeast nurishment. It's so simple, yet complex.

I also suggest splitting that plain batch after primary fermentation, divide it into any of these you think you'd like: still dry, dry sparkling, semi sweet, sweet, melomel (adding fruit in secondary is common practice anyway). Although to divide the batch you'd have to make a big batch of mead, and that can get expensive.

In my opinion, many people over-sweeten their mead, and add too much fruit to their melomels. Might as well make fruit wine.

And just plain, dry mead is one of the most delicious things to drink.

 

[rosfrei]

Disregard post #14..

I found a bigger pot! (yes I need a carboy) So I added the missing 9L of water, another packet of yeast, and some honey.

I have never had a mead, but it does sound delectable. I am all for trying new things, yes I jumped in face first.. but there is no better way to learn than actually doing it. There is a local hobby brewer close by I will be checking out tomorrow. I hope to get some more info from them, as well as a few supplies. I intend to make this a life long skill.

Thank-you for the response and criticism, it is not my recipe however.. The guy did say it turned out pretty good. I have a few more in depth questions; I have seen a huge number of posts regarding OG and FG, Original and Final respectively. I will be looking to pick up a hydrometer and get to understand the desirable gravity's, is there anything you can sort of tell me about it to understand better?

Thanks again, like I say I love learning. I'll pick up on this just you wait! !

 

[rosfrei]

Oh yes, and it is now in a 60f room.

 

[saramc]

Rosfrei,
You may consider visiting Jack Keller's website, easy to find by using your search engine--a wealth of info there. Plus check out GotMead.com

Just read up on the basics first, invest in a carboy, even glass gallon jugs will do for small batches. But jumping in blindly can lead to issues. If you have the passion, but most of all the patience, you will be amazed at what you make. It is ultimately all about what YOU enjoy.

 

[rosfrei]

The local hobby shop is called "The Friendly Fermentor", but he pretty much exclusively deals in 'kits" for wine.. and can get beer kits, but doesn't touch mead at all as it is not governed by the Liquor Control Board of Ontario (or LCBO).

He does have all the supplies necessary to brew beer however, so I think I will be buying that $99 kit. Comes with the fermenting bucket, carboy, air lock, sanitizer, and some other necessary tools I cannot recall. Pretty helpful guy, was totally trying to get me to exclusively try wine lol. Every chance he could he'd sneak in a blurb about wine.. Says hes never had a sip of beer in his lifetime.

 

[rosfrei]

Forgive me, but what I have fermenting right now is with fleischmans Bakers Yeast and nothing more. A rookie experiment to see what happens while I learn on here.

I mean I have seen some videos of active fermentation, but mine looks nothing the same. It is fermenting, I can smell liquor and I can physically see fermentation.. but not like this;

http://www.youtube.com/watch?NR=1&v=NwAI4D3ph04

 

[huntingohio]

Ok.. you did what I did when I first started... basically played they will it ferment game, and threw crap into a pot and poured yeast on it. It makes booze, but not something enjoyable.
What you initilly mixed up some would call maple wine, and they would be right.
But you intended to "jack" it what im assuming means freeze concentrationg [distilling is illegal so i wouldnt talk about it but freeze concentrating isnt].In that case I would call it a "wash" which is just a mixture of sugars [molasses cane,ect] and water fermented. Its intended to be concentrated then have flavors added. You can make half decnt faux brandys and schnapps this way. Its usually better than the bottom shelf rot gut anyway.

Nice go at attempting to correct it but bread yeast can be tricky. I have had flieschmans finish at 10% several times an odd batch that went up to 11% abv and one that stuck at 6%.

At this point id would just let it ride and see what happens. It will give you a basic understanding of fermentation- what it looks, smells, feels, and tastes like, even if it dosnt taste good. I would spend some money on a good book or two to learn what you want to brew then gear up for the brewday. Cider, mead, wine ,and beer there are hundreds of subtypes and room to play in those.

Ninja edit- those ferments are going like crazy and the narrow neck of the carboy makes them look more epic. It looks less epic in a bucket more like just some bits of foam. Which my breadyeast experemnts have only had acouplee times, mostly they were just bubbly

 

[rosfrei]

Well here is the thing, yeast + sugar + water = ethanol right? lol

I love Maple Syrup, possibly a Canadian thing, but I could nearly drink it straight. Yes my initial idea was to freeze concentrate it.. may still do that, as I dunno what all is going to become of this batch haha.

I am gearing up to make a basic mead for the next batch , What kind of yeast is recommended I use? I have winery stores near me, will wine yeast do?

 

[jackfrost]

[QUOT

I am gearing up to make a basic mead for the next batch , What kind of yeast is recommended I use? I have winery stores near me, will wine yeast do?[/QUOTE]

I am a fan of 71b-1122 AND D47 IN MY MEADS

 

[opus345]

rosfrei,

While your experiment is fermenting, you may also want to try a very easy, almost foolproof mead called Joe's Ancient Orange Mead (JOAM).

Here is the HBT link: https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f80/joes-ancient-orange-mead-49106/

A basic JOAM will is a good place to start to learn techniques, gives you some expected and reproducible results, and gets you your own mead to try within 2 months.

 

[opus345]

Jack,

I like D47, but it gets very particular about it's temp range. Going below 65-67*F is going to get you some off flavors. I just used K1 in a carmel apple mead and I think that I will be using it more and more in the future.

 

[jackfrost]

Jack,

I like D47, but it gets very particular about it's temp range. Going below 65-67*F is going to get you some off flavors. I just used K1 in a carmel apple mead and I think that I will be using it more and more in the future.

I use d47 and a temp range from 58 to 65. And I have amazing results. It was not till I fermented about 70 that I got an off flavor...and that went away in time

 

[TheBrewingMedic]

I like D47, but it gets very particular about it's temp range. Going below 65-67*F is going to get you some off flavors.

Did you perhaps mean going ABOVE that tmep range produces off flavors?

D47 Ideal temp is 65*-68*F, at 69*F and above it begins producing fusels and all kinds of funky rocket fuel/paint thinner type effects

 

[opus345]

Did you perhaps mean going ABOVE that tmep range produces off flavors?

D47 Ideal temp is 65*-68*F, at 69*F and above it begins producing fusels and all kinds of funky rocket fuel/paint thinner type effects

Yup. Thanks for the catch.

 

[TheBrewingMedic]

Yup. Thanks for the catch.

No problem

 

[rosfrei]

After I added more water, some Honey pitched more yeast. January 22nd.

Slowly fermenting away, smelling delicious! January 24th.

I am using a wrap covering, with a pinhole poked in to it. It is fermenting in a 60F room with condensation forming on the inside of the wrap, so its clearly doing work in there lol.