First mead(hippocras?), a few questions

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DRxAndy

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ok, so this is my second batch of anything and i decided to try out a pyment, which ended up if i'm to understand correctly is a hippocras (since lavender is included, that makes it a hippocras right?, if not is it still a pyment?)
i'm new to the mead terminology :D

here's the recipe i concocted:
\\1 gallon

64oz welch's 100% white grape
1 12oz can welch's concord concentrate
2lbs michigan wildflower honey
1.5 cups sugar
1 lemon squeezed/strained
40 or so oz of water
lavender steeped in some of that water, the rest used to boil sugar/honey
half packet lalvin 71B-1122, rehydrated and proofed with a little of both grape juices.

og = 1.130

sanitizer = one step
airlock = s type

all was mixed well and aerated by dumping from gallon jug to half gallon juice container a few times.

not sure how much room i should have left for krausen, its fairly full so that might also be the reason for the next question

it started fermenting the next day quite vigorously and ended up filling the s lock with the fermenting liquid, was i wrong to use this type of airlock? I was guessing so, but it was the only one on hand (should i go get another 3 piece?). I've cleaned it out twice now over the period of 2 days and am guessing i'll have to do it again..

another factor could have been temprature shift? it was a bit hotter yesterday by about 10 degrees, so could that have made it ferment a little more rabidly?
 
A temp change will definetely make it ferment a bit faster. I had my cherry wheat spit a ton of stuff out the airlock when I forgot to keep the ac on in the summer.
 
First, no need to boil honey, in fact boiling will remove a lot of the flavor and aromatics. Second, no problem using that type of airlock. But if a krausen is a possibility, consider either leaving headspace during primary fermentation or doing your primary in an open top container, like a brew bucket.

Other then that, sounds like a great recipes, keep us updated and show us some pics along the way.
 
thanks guys!
it ended up filling up again so i decided to switch to a blowoff tube, and now it's bubbling away at a much faster rate than before

i didn't fully boil the honey but just simmered it a bit till it started foaming up, i thought it was a good idea incase of wild yeasts or something - but good to know.. should i just dissolve it in hot water next time for greater flavors or whats the easiest way to make it more plyable?
 
If you are having trouble with its viscosity, try filling your sink with 2 or 3 inches of hot tap water. Leave your honey jars or jugs in the water while you are getting the rest of your ingredients together. Give em a few minutes and they should pour pretty easily. Also, as someone recommended I do, I've mixed water and honey in a blender a few times, waters the honey down slowly before mixing it into the must and it also aerates the hell out of it.

*Edit for, Hooray 1000th post
 
If you are having trouble with its viscosity, try filling your sink with 2 or 3 inches of hot tap water. Leave your honey jars or jugs in the water while you are getting the rest of your ingredients together. Give em a few minutes and they should pour pretty easily. Also, as someone recommended I do, I've mixed water and honey in a blender a few times, waters the honey down slowly before mixing it into the must and it also aerates the hell out of it.

*Edit for, Hooray 1000th post



:eek:


not sure I'd like to tackle sanitizing my blender.... it's clean... yes, but sanitized? no.
 
I always use a blender for mixing honey & water. I use warm water to both help blend the honey/water and to raise the must temp to about 80/90 degrees F. I sanitize the blender with Kmeta solution, works great. I've also just washed it & used it without sanitizing the blender, as I was sanitizing the must anyway; that works fine too. Short of using an airstone and/or pure O2, I don't think there is a better, faster way to oxygenate the must than with a blender. That's just my 2 cents worth. Regards, GF.
 
Indeed it was GF, I couldn't quite remember who had given me the idea, thanks again GF used it on my last batch and it took off like non other.
 
boiling honey is not necessary or advisable as mentioned above. to sterilize the honey all you need to do is warm it. after you have boiled your water for a good 15 minutes or so let it cool to around 170F. then add your honey (after a good soak in the sink). this will kill any wild yeast in the honey and not wreck the taste or smell. stir the hone till it is dissolved and let it sit for another 15 minutes or so. cooler temps will require a longer amount of time and hotter temps may cause you to lose some taste or smell. once the time is up dump the must into the fermentation vessel of your choice and add enough refrigerated water to bring the volume up to 5 gallons. this will rapidly cool the must to room temp and stop the sterilization process.

as far as aeration goes a large slotted spoon will do preferably made of mettal. you can get these online or at your local homebrew store. just slosh the must around like crazy, just be careful not to splash the must all over the floor. another approach you can take is to get a simple UNUSED fish tank aerator and air stone. connect the two with a tube and drop the stone in the must and turn the pump on. let it go for a good 20 - 30 min or so and you should be good to go.
 
There is no wild yeast in the honey. The yeast cannot survive the sugar concentration of the honey. Therefore there is no need to pasteurize the honey. Many people, myself included, just blend the honey in room temp water. I do use a small amount of hot water to rinse the honey out of the jar. I use a mix-stir attachment on a drill to do the blending. A blender would probably work well also.

Craig
 
I use a mix-stir attachment on a drill to do the blending. A blender would probably work well also.

Craig


Baron,
My dad has a wire-feed welder for stainless steel. Could you weld a mixer beating attatchment to the end of a stainless rod to use with a drill? It would be a mixer/aerator/extreme sex toy all in one? And easy to clean. Is that about what you use or something like?

thanks,
ty
 
wow! thanks for all the tips!
you guys are awesome, i was planning on doing a bigger batch of mead soon, so i'm glad i was informed of ways to preserve the deliciousness before i jumped into it. I would have never thought to aerate with a blender :D

The wildflower honey i've come across at the local farm market has a really great flavor so i'm kinda sad i might have taken away some of it in this batch, but now i know better.

now i just need to get some more carboys :D
 
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