user 339788
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- May 30, 2023
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Hi everyone,
I am reasonably new at brewing.
In the bottom of my secondary micro batches of Mead, is something I've not seen before in my other (first) batch. It looks kind of like a white, fluffy, sediment. I have taken photos.
This has been my process so far...
I made a traditional mead in 5 liter glass demijohn, just honey, mead yeast, and water, nothing else. It fermented quite well and went to dry as I wanted it to.
I then racked this into 2 x 2lt glass bottles which fit into my large water pot for pasturisation, as I wanted to make life more simple for me by pasturing the entire batch of mead at this point, rather than later, particularly if I decide to back sweeten. The pasturisation was at 60C/140F for 20 minutes in these 2 lt glass flagons. All went great with this, no problems.
I then racked the mead (still warm) into 4 x 1litre glass fermenting jars to add various botanicals and spices for flavouring in secondary. I sanitised these additional flavouring ingredients with either my acid based sanitiser, or soaked in a small amount of vodka before adding to the 1 liter batches. Ingredients in general were things like chai spices, oak chips, fresh ginger, lemon myrtle tea and leaves.
I then added these various flavour profiles into the 4 glass jars, put clean cling wrap over the top, and two rubber bands around the jar openings to create a kind of 'airlock' substitute.
After a few hours of the ingredients being in the jars for this secondary process, there started to form this white fluffy sediment at the bottom of the jars, kind of around the added ingredients sitting at the bottom (the ingredients floating near the top like an oak chip for example does not have this white fluffy stuff around it). The mead did bubble a white kind of foam when I added these ingredients in. Not sure if that means anything, I just figured it is the mead off-gassing, or somehow little bubbles arising because the mead was still warm from finishing the pasturisation.
The mead is already clearing out beautifully in all the jars (last two photos show it clearing), I'm suprised how fast it's clearing after only 2 x days of being in secondary (except for the lemon myrtle which went cloudy and will take a while to clear)
Along the way, I have been as meticulous about santising absolutely everything, all equipment used, as best I can, including my hands as I go.
This white fluffy sediment could be just the particulates dropping out, but I am not sure. I intend to leave these small batches of mead to condition in secondary for at least a week, if not longer, but will taste test along the way for the desired flavour result. I have them on the counter top, 18C inside, with a tea towel covering them to keep it dark.
I would be incredibly grateful if the photos of this white fluffy stuff could be looked at, and any advice given.
I REALLY hope I'm just being paranoid, and it's nothing dangerous, or mold.... I REALLY don't want to have to dump this mead, that would be such a shame!
Thank you everyone,
Heather
I am reasonably new at brewing.
In the bottom of my secondary micro batches of Mead, is something I've not seen before in my other (first) batch. It looks kind of like a white, fluffy, sediment. I have taken photos.
This has been my process so far...
I made a traditional mead in 5 liter glass demijohn, just honey, mead yeast, and water, nothing else. It fermented quite well and went to dry as I wanted it to.
I then racked this into 2 x 2lt glass bottles which fit into my large water pot for pasturisation, as I wanted to make life more simple for me by pasturing the entire batch of mead at this point, rather than later, particularly if I decide to back sweeten. The pasturisation was at 60C/140F for 20 minutes in these 2 lt glass flagons. All went great with this, no problems.
I then racked the mead (still warm) into 4 x 1litre glass fermenting jars to add various botanicals and spices for flavouring in secondary. I sanitised these additional flavouring ingredients with either my acid based sanitiser, or soaked in a small amount of vodka before adding to the 1 liter batches. Ingredients in general were things like chai spices, oak chips, fresh ginger, lemon myrtle tea and leaves.
I then added these various flavour profiles into the 4 glass jars, put clean cling wrap over the top, and two rubber bands around the jar openings to create a kind of 'airlock' substitute.
After a few hours of the ingredients being in the jars for this secondary process, there started to form this white fluffy sediment at the bottom of the jars, kind of around the added ingredients sitting at the bottom (the ingredients floating near the top like an oak chip for example does not have this white fluffy stuff around it). The mead did bubble a white kind of foam when I added these ingredients in. Not sure if that means anything, I just figured it is the mead off-gassing, or somehow little bubbles arising because the mead was still warm from finishing the pasturisation.
The mead is already clearing out beautifully in all the jars (last two photos show it clearing), I'm suprised how fast it's clearing after only 2 x days of being in secondary (except for the lemon myrtle which went cloudy and will take a while to clear)
Along the way, I have been as meticulous about santising absolutely everything, all equipment used, as best I can, including my hands as I go.
This white fluffy sediment could be just the particulates dropping out, but I am not sure. I intend to leave these small batches of mead to condition in secondary for at least a week, if not longer, but will taste test along the way for the desired flavour result. I have them on the counter top, 18C inside, with a tea towel covering them to keep it dark.
I would be incredibly grateful if the photos of this white fluffy stuff could be looked at, and any advice given.
I REALLY hope I'm just being paranoid, and it's nothing dangerous, or mold.... I REALLY don't want to have to dump this mead, that would be such a shame!
Thank you everyone,
Heather
