First Bochet

[Norm159]

This is my second mead and it started poorly (just like the last one) I'm wondering how I can improve in the future and what options I have for the present.

I used 3 pounds of wildflower honey
1 package of EC 1118
1/4 t yeast nutrient

I sanitized all my gear beforehand and boiled the honey for about 20 minutes. When it was all dissolved in water and ready for the yeast to be pitched there was a lot of solid particles that refused to dissolve (maybe crystallized honey?) I messed up and just threw the yeast into the must dry (although the must was still pretty warm) and shook it until I was convinced it was dissolved. the next few days showed pretty slow fermentation, about 7 seconds in between each bubble. I thought EC 1118 was a pretty fast fermenting yeast, so I decided to strain out the solid chunks, thinking this was a cause of the slow fermentation. This is where I'm at now. I'm going to give it a few days to see if I should pitch a new package of yeast.

So my questions are, does activating/rehydrating the yeast before pitching really make a big difference? and would the yeast be strained out with the solid chunks?

 

[AkTom]

Not an expert but I'll give you my .02 worth.
Don't boil your honey. You are not a cannibal.
EC118 is a workhorse. It will blow out delicate flavors. I like to rehydrate in 100* water.
Do you have a hydrometer? If not, buy 2. One for a spare.
I fill my jug half way with hot out of the tap (well) water, add honey and shake to dissolve.
Ferment around 70*
Keep reading recipes for process.
Cheers

 

[Baabaadoo]

Plus, follow the yeast rehydration directions. Don't just toss in unless its specified to do so in the recipe (like the rare JAOM), but don't just toss it in for most.

Here's a newer discussion that I think you'd benefit from reading. It outlines common practices used to maximize the yeast's health resulting in a better quality mead.

 

[Maylar]

Not an expert but I'll give you my .02 worth.
Don't boil your honey. You are not a cannibal.

You have to cook the honey to make a bochet.

 

[AkTom]

You have to cook the honey to make a bochet.

Duh. Sorry, either not enough or too much wine last night. I haven't made a botchet yet so I was thinking plain mead.

 

[Revvy]

This is my second mead and it started poorly (just like the last one) I'm wondering how I can improve in the future and what options I have for the present.

I used 3 pounds of wildflower honey
1 package of EC 1118
1/4 t yeast nutrient

I sanitized all my gear beforehand and boiled the honey for about 20 minutes. When it was all dissolved in water and ready for the yeast to be pitched there was a lot of solid particles that refused to dissolve (maybe crystallized honey?) I messed up and just threw the yeast into the must dry (although the must was still pretty warm) and shook it until I was convinced it was dissolved. the next few days showed pretty slow fermentation, about 7 seconds in between each bubble. I thought EC 1118 was a pretty fast fermenting yeast, so I decided to strain out the solid chunks, thinking this was a cause of the slow fermentation. This is where I'm at now. I'm going to give it a few days to see if I should pitch a new package of yeast.

So my questions are, does activating/rehydrating the yeast before pitching really make a big difference? and would the yeast be strained out with the solid chunks?

Remember, when you're making one of these you are actually creating a LOT of harder to ferment sugars. That's the point, you're burning/caramelizing the sugars. They're no longer simple sugars like they were, so the yeast is not going to be able to chew through them as fast as they would with "normal" honey.

Rehydrating/not rehydrating won't make a difference.

 

[bernardsmith]

Hi Norm159 - and welcome. Sounds like the instrument you are using to check on how well your fermentation is going is your watch. That tool was invented to tell time. What you need is a $10 -$15 hydrometer. Counting the number of seconds between gas bubbling out of your airlock is not very useful, and is not at all reliable: how dense is the liquid in the airlock? What is the temperature of the must fermenting? What is the temperature of the liquid in the airlock? Can the CO2 that is being produced by the yeast escape in ANY other way (Your carboy is sealed - but how well? You get the picture- the bubble count can be influenced by a great many variables.
Observing the change in density of your mead gives you an enormous amount of information - and to observe that you need an hydrometer. As the yeast converts sugars in the liquid to alcohol the density of the liquid becomes less and approaches the density of water (a specific gravity (or density) of 1.000. As the amount of alcohol increases and the amount of sugar decreases to zero so the density of the mead (or wine) drops to even less than water (alcohol being less dense than water).
By estimation, 3 lbs of honey dissolved in water to make a gallon of must will give you a starting gravity of about 1.120. But you boiled some of this and I don't know how much honey was caramelized in the 20 minutes and I don't have a good rule of thumb for guestimating the starting gravity of your bochet. I am going to guess that it might be around 1.100 - but those with more knowledge and experience around bochets may snort at my estimation.. But assuming that it started about 1.100 then your potential alcohol by volume (ABV ) is about 13% if the whole shebang ferments dry (caramelized sugars are not , I think , as fermentable as honey itself - but they add whole layers of complex flavors - unless , of course, you cook all the honey until it turns black then you get bitter flavors)

 

[Norm159]

Thanks for the info guys. It makes sense that it wouldn't be as fast or thorough as regular mead because of the complex, burnt sugars. I actually have a hydrometer and got a OG of 1.070, but my first attempt at mead got stuck and I had to pitch new yeast. So this time I wanted to make sure it wasn't something I did wrong.

 

[bernardsmith]

If you provide the recipe you used for the first batch and you describe the protocol you used (your method of applying the recipe) then we can perhaps suggest what happened and why your fermentation "stuck"...