Getting into Mead, My journey

[Dan O]

View attachment 780842
Working on this, any input will be helpful
The sugar break uses the following formula break=OG-(OG-FG)/3

I got this sheet from the archives here....somewhere, some time ago.

 

[MX1]

I got this sheet from the archives here....somewhere, some time ago.

Not sure what you are pointing at, is it the one from gotmead they have on the newbee section?

Things are bubbling away, I had to put water in the airlocks, I wasn't sleeping well at night (LOL) I have been degassing before and after work and will take a gravity reading tonight when I get home.

Already trying to figure out my next 2 batches....

 

[Dan O]

Not sure what you are pointing at, is it the one from gotmead they have on the newbee section?

Things are bubbling away, I had to put water in the airlocks, I wasn't sleeping well at night (LOL) I have been degassing before and after work and will take a gravity reading tonight when I get home.

Already trying to figure out my next 2 batches....

It didn't load, I guess.

 

[MX1]

I actually used that to help inform my spreadsheet

 

[MX1]

so, thinking of these at least one of these for next 2 batches

WINTER MEAD (1-Gallon)
3lb Honey (Clover/wildflower/Orange Blossom)
1qt Apple juice
1qt Cranberry juice
2 cloves
2 all-spice
1 cinnamon stick
Wyeast 1388
TOSNA protocol

REDSTONE VANILLA-CINNAMON (1-Gallon)
2.5-3 lb honey
2 Vanilla Bean
1 Cinnamon stick
1/2 Nutmeg berry
TOSNA - not sure what yeast yet...Mangrove Jack Mead maybe

DOUBLE CHERRY (1 Gallon)
1 lb Honey
2qt 100% Cherry Juice
1qt 100% Tart Cherry Juice
TOSNA - Yeast -TBD

 

[MightyMosin]

View attachment 780842
Working on this, any input will be helpful
The sugar break uses the following formula break=OG-(OG-FG)/3

On my Word based forms, I keep an initial pH reading and have a portion to note any pH adjustment and what pH level I adjusted to.

When I take gravity readings, I periodically take pH readings. It has been useful to see if the final pH has dropped fairly low so I know I need a little pH buffering the next time around; in truth, I rarely need to do that, but the pH reading is important so you aren't just shot-gunning the stabilizers at the end.

 

[MX1]

On my Word based forms, I keep an initial pH reading and have a portion to note any pH adjustment and what pH level I adjusted to.

When I take gravity readings, I periodically take pH readings. It has been useful to see if the final pH has dropped fairly low so I know I need a little pH buffering the next time around; in truth, I rarely need to do that, but the pH reading is important so you aren't just shot-gunning the stabilizers at the end.

Right Now, I have no way unless I can use strips...sad to say I don't even check the PH of my beer...I do use calculators to get a rough idea, but that is about it.
JOAM= 1.068 (1.055 corrected)
BOMM= 1.075 (1.066 corrected)

These are fermenting in my basement which is a bit cool this week

 

[Paradolia]

Don't rush, take accurate notes. I use this sheet as a guide to help me keep good notes.

This is a fantastic recipe tracker, thank you for sharing!

 

[Dan O]

This is a fantastic recipe tracker, thank you for sharing!

You're welcome.
I can't take credit for the sheet, just for sharing.

 

[MX1]

So, I stop degassing at the 1 week mark, correct?
up to now been doing it 2 times a day

 

[Dan O]

So, I stop degassing at the 1 week mark, correct?
up to now been doing it 2 times a day

Yes, stop degassing & let it finish

 

[MX1]

Yes, stop degassing & let it finish

7 days is Sunday, I will take another reading then

 

[MightyMosin]

So, I stop degassing at the 1 week mark, correct?
up to now been doing it 2 times a day

On the >12% ABV stuff I will typically degas about twice a day until the 1/3 break and then I try and remember to degas once a day until the 2/3 break.
There have been plenty of times that I barely had the time/memory to do it past the 1/3 break and have had good results.
I would generally recommend doing the degas un through at least the 1/3 break; you need to degas before nutrients anyway.

 

[MX1]

1 Week Update
JOAM -1.026-can taste the Orange from the fruit/peels but no cinnamon or vanilla, will reevaluate when it is at terminal gravity possible secondary additions
BOMM - 1.040-Really sweet, pure honey

Both chugging away

 

[pvtpublic]

Here's my BAM (Basic-ass mead) mead:

Equipment:
Large bowl
Funnel
Rubber band
Cloth
Vinegar

Ingredients:
1 gallon jug of spring water
2 lbs honey
1 pk yeast (anything)
1 kids pk of raisins

1. Rinse the funnel and bowl with vinegar
2. Rinse with a splash of that spring water.
3. Pour half of the water into the bowl.
4. Add all honey, raisins, and yeast into the jug.
5. Put the cap on the jug and shake violently for 5 minutes, or until you're sick of shaking it.
6. Pour the water back into the jug from the bowl, leaving 2 in head space.
7. Put the cloth over the mouth and secure with the rubber band.
8. Drink in 2 weeks. No sooner, but try to have it finished soon after.

This is how I started, and I never had a batch that I wasn't happy with. I learned the process and started developing recipes from there. I also read Ken Schramm's book a few times and hung out at gotmead.com a lot.

 

[MX1]

and hung out at gotmead.com a lot.

I have had a question posted over there since Thursday with no replies....lol

 

[pvtpublic]

I have had a question posted over there since Thursday with no replies....lol

Granted, it's probably been almost 10 years since the last time I've been on there. It might not be the same as the days of yore.

 

[MX1]

Yeah, for as much as I read/hear that GotMead has the most information,it looks like it is locked behind a paywall for the most part.
It is what it is

On another note, I picked up 5lb of Wildflower honey at Costco
And ordered 3 lb of Gallberry and 3 lb of Star Thistle as well as a bunch of grade B vanilla beans.

 

[pvtpublic]

I recommend doing a traditional with the gallberry and star thistle, in order to understand the flavors they provide. That way you can build some recipes off of those flavors. The vanilla beans would be great for the wildflower honey.

 

[MX1]

I recommend doing a traditional with the gallberry and star thistle, in order to understand the flavors they provide. That way you can build some recipes off of those flavors. The vanilla beans would be great for the wildflower honey.

my next meads will be a cyser and a cherry/berry mead i think, will order in some more wildflower for both of those i think

 

[pvtpublic]

That's a good idea. Specialty honeys ought to be showcased, not saying that wilds can't either. That is until you know their flavors and aromas to compliment them with other ingredients.

 

[pvtpublic]

Cysers are good with Nottingham yeast, and berries with 71b. Feel free to experiment, obviously. I'm not God

 

[MX1]

View attachment 780842
Working on this, any input will be helpful
The sugar break uses the following formula break=OG-(OG-FG)/3

So I have been working on this over the last few day, Things it will now do:

• Update the sheet name with the name inputted in the top center field
• I reworked the SNA section to follow the YTB/BOMM method, and it will tell you how much Fermaid-O is needed for each addition based on the starting Gravity.
• Added a yeast section with cells for the name ABV Tolerance, and Avg Attenuation
• Yeast section will calculate current ABV and current attenuation based on sample gravity
• Calculate stabilization additions based on batch size
• Will calculate the 1/2, 1/2, and 2/3 sugar breaks based on OG.

This sheet does use VBA code for the Sheet naming function, I need to rearrange some sections and clean it up, then I will post up a new screen shot

 

[MX1]

So, I cant attach excel sheets here but I would like a few people to test out the sheet and see if it works as planned.
DM me your email if you would like to help.

This sheet does have 1 simple macro...it names each sheet based on the name placed in the center field.

 

[MightyMosin]

Nice form and I love the interactive portion. I've been doing something with OpenTable that is similar but needs to be redone to be more friendly.
My only comment is related to the stabilization section and I am going off of what I do based on what I have found.

You are targeting .33g of K-Meta per gallon and .75g of K-Sorbate per gallon.
The K-Meta amount seems to target a pH of ~3.4 while the K-Sorbate seems to be closer to a targeted pH of 4.0

Active Sorbic acid varies quite a bit based on the pH and the higher the pH the more you need that K-Sorbate. From what I have read you get these % levels of Sorbic acid at these pH levels
pH 3.0 98%
pH 4.0 85%
pH 5.0 37%

I need to go back and revisit my K-Sorbate calcs but what I have been using seems to work well.

pH of 3.3 - .235g K-Meta and .603g K-Sorbate
pH of 3.4 - .294g K-Meta and .624g K-Sorbate
pH of 3.5 - .367g K-Meta and .645g K-Sorbate

 

[MX1]

Nice form and I love the interactive portion. I've been doing something with OpenTable that is similar but needs to be redone to be more friendly.
My only comment is related to the stabilization section and I am going off of what I do based on what I have found.

You are targeting .33g of K-Meta per gallon and .75g of K-Sorbate per gallon.
The K-Meta amount seems to target a pH of ~3.4 while the K-Sorbate seems to be closer to a targeted pH of 4.0

Active Sorbic acid varies quite a bit based on the pH and the higher the pH the more you need that K-Sorbate. From what I have read you get these % levels of Sorbic acid at these pH levels
pH 3.0 98%
pH 4.0 85%
pH 5.0 37%

I need to go back and revisit my K-Sorbate calcs but what I have been using seems to work well.

pH of 3.3 - .235g K-Meta and .603g K-Sorbate
pH of 3.4 - .294g K-Meta and .624g K-Sorbate
pH of 3.5 - .367g K-Meta and .645g K-Sorbate

So, truth in advertising, I pulled those dosing amounts straight from the YTB site.
And they very well me a generalized approach that should work for a largest cross-section of situations.

 

[MightyMosin]

So, truth in advertising, I pulled those dosing amounts straight from the YTB site.
And they very well me a generalized approach that should work for a largest cross-section of situations.

What is the YTB site?

 

[DBhomebrew]

Youtobrew

Bray Denard of the BOMM thread here at HBT is the author of their 'Mead University'

 

[MX1]

What is the YTB site?

https://www.youtobrew.com/mead-making-101

 

[MX1]

So my Gallberry and Star thistle honey came in, on the lookout for Avocado and Medowfoam but might have to wait until next season.
Fond a bee farm 12 miles from my work has Alfalfa but it is $10 a pound, but I want to see if I can get a price break if I bring my own container.