First Batch

[milleruszk]

I started my first batch of mead on 9/28/19. I used 3.5 lbs of honey for a 1 gallon batch using EC1118 yeast. Since this is my first attempt at making mead this will be traditional mead. I am using a 1 gallon glass carboy. So far so good. After one day of fermentation there were 19 bubbles per minute. After a week it has dropped to 6 bubbles per minute. I am very excited to be doing this as I am a beekeeper and always have a supply of honey to make mead.

 

[SKBugs]

Forget about bubbles. To accurately gauge fermentation you will need a hydrometer. Not expensive, but you will need 3 - coz you will invariably break them along the way.
Also forget about the carboy to is my advice. Buy a 5 gal bucket. It makes aerating and degassing a breeze and also if you want to add fruit etc.
Also make sure you’re managing your temp control and nutrients - yeast need to be looked after.
Cheers

 

[milleruszk]

Forget about bubbles. To accurately gauge fermentation you will need a hydrometer. Not expensive, but you will need 3 - coz you will invariably break them along the way.
Also forget about the carboy to is my advice. Buy a 5 gal bucket. It makes aerating and degassing a breeze and also if you want to add fruit etc.
Also make sure you’re managing your temp control and nutrients - yeast need to be looked after.
Cheers

 

[milleruszk]

SKBugs thanks for your suggestions. I have read that some beginners do become bubble watchers. However some of the things you suggested I have already done. I did check my must b4 pitching my yeast. My hydrometer reading was 1.110. This could be a little off because at the that time I did not have a proper cylinder to take a reading. I went the carboy route because I could not understand how a 5 gallon fermenting bucket would work with only 1 gallon of must. I understand your points about aerating and degassing. Would a 5 gallon bucket be OK with only 1 gallon of must? I also added yeast nutrients after I pitched my reconstituted yeast. Thanks for your help and suggestions. Mead making could become another hobby for me.

 

[milleruszk]

SKBugs thanks for your suggestions. I have read that some beginners do become bubble watchers. However some of the things you suggested I have already done. I did check my must b4 pitching my yeast. My hydrometer reading was 1.110. This could be a little off because at the that time I did not have a proper cylinder to take a reading. I went the carboy route because I could not understand how a 5 gallon fermenting bucket would work with only 1 gallon of must. I understand your points about aerating and degassing. Would a 5 gallon bucket be OK with only 1 gallon of must? I also added yeast nutrients after I pitched my reconstituted yeast. Thanks for your help and suggestions. Mead making could become another hobby for me.

 

[Blacksmith1]

I use my hydrometer and still watch my bubbles as a guide to when to check it. Still bubbling furiously? Not doing tonsa, sna, or bomm methods? No need to check it yet.
Besides it's fun to watch.

 

[SKBugs]

It totally is fun to watch. And I do cheer them on from time to time.
I’ve pretty much filled a 5 gal to the brim with a traditional that fermented dry using EC-1118. Degassing was tricky but with a power wand and doing it gently it was no problems.
Also I have used it for 1 gal. Again no worries at all. I wouldn’t bulk age it a bucket tho, way too much headroom to risk oxygenation. But for primary and secondary it’s easy and clean.
Even easier if you put a spigot or tap on the bottom about 1 1/2 inch above. It makes racking so easy.
Hobby/obsession - its all good. And this forum has so much on it. Also have a look at the mead recipes as well. It will blow your mind the things people do with mead. [emoji106]

 

[Top Hampton]

Hey newbie here, i have a question. I fermented my mead for 1mnth waited a week after the ferm stopped. Racked it over today and can't get a proof reading. My hydrometer reads 2... 01 i think. Not used to using it. Can anyone tell me why I can't get a proof reading?

 

[Maylar]

Hey newbie here, i have a question. I fermented my mead for 1mnth waited a week after the ferm stopped. Racked it over today and can't get a proof reading. My hydrometer reads 2... 01 i think. Not used to using it. Can anyone tell me why I can't get a proof reading?

The % scale is "potential alcohol", and is only useful before you start. It says that's what you would get if the mead ferments out to 1.000. There is no proof reading.
You need to know what SG you started with and ended with before you can calculate ABV.

 

[Top Hampton]

The % scale is "potential alcohol", and is only useful before you start. It says that's what you would get if the mead ferments out to 1.000. There is no proof reading.
You need to know what SG you started with and ended with before you can calculate ABV.

Thank you. Guess I got in too big of a hurry and forgot a step. Making liquor is so much easier lol.

 

[CKuhns]

Most (not all) hydroneters are triple scale. You could be reading the wrong scale.

Specific Gravity (S.G.): A measure of density as compared to water, of the wort or must at various stages in the fermentation

Potential Alcohol: A measure of the amount of alcohol that will be potentially produced if fermented to dryness (S.G. 1.000 or less)

Brix Balling: A measure of the sugar content of an aqueous solution

The SG is the scale I and most of us prefer. Assuming you dont know your starting and stopping gravity there is a rough and dirty calculation that can be applied.

If 3.5 pounds of honey in water to a total volume of 1 gallon. Each pound of honey contributes roughly 0.35 gravity points. As such 3.5 X 0.35 = 1.122 SG. Now water is 1.000 and if fermented dry you should get <1.000 assuming your EC 1118 did its work then your SG at end was somewhere near 1.000. All you have to do then is subtract 1.000 from 1.122 and you get 0.122 that equals the amount of sugars fermented to alcohol. Alcohol by volume is roughly 131.25. So...

1.122 -1.000 = 0.122
0.122 x 131.25 = 16.01 ABV

Good to within a few tenths.

 

[milleruszk]

After 30 days I siphoned my mead into a secondary carboy. I think I had better get an auto siphon as I got some mead on the kitchen floor. Got it cleaned up before the wife saw it. I have a racking cane but I couldn't get it to siphon by using mouth suction. Anyway it tasted sweet and according to my hygrometer the current ABV is 13%. So far so good.

 

[Solstice Meadery]

They make 2 gal buckets (I have a few) for making 1 gal mead and there is plenty of room for additives like fruit when you decide to go that route. 5 gal bucket in my opinion would just be overkill and allow too much room for error.