LowerMillHillBackyardBrew
Well-Known Member
Hi!
So, last night I made my first mead with:
3.3 lbs of honey (basic "floral honey" (I'm not sure how else to translate the name of the honey I used (I'm from Norway (yeah, I know, vikings and stuff, I should know how to make mead
))))
a little more than 1 gallon of water (around 4 liters)
1 large orange cut into 8ths
a handful of raisins (25+)
a small amount of yeast nutrient
1 pkg of Lalvin 71b-1222 yeast
I put all this into a clear 5 liter plastic bottle (food grade), all sanitized etc. Followed the JAOM instructions pretty closely, except the yeast, spices, and nutrient. As per those instructions I left some room for top-off water.
OG was 1.102
So, now, 24+ hours later, I see the oranges and raisins floating on the top. That's normal afaik. I also see a little bit of small bubbles, but not much, so I guess fermentation has started, but not taken off. It's sitting with my Apfelwein (which is bubbling like crazy) at about 75-76 F.
OK, the questions:
Is that temperature OK for this mead and yeast (it should be ok for the yeast according to the manufacturer)?
Will it be like this for the rest of the fermentation?
Will it take off?
Can I top off with water now? Or should I wait?
Or should I just leave it alone?
Should I do (or not do) anything else?
Yeah, it's based on JAOM, so in that regard I should just leave it alone... But since I made some small modifications, I'm not sure what to expect of the fermentation. If it's likely to "take off" soon, I'll wait with the top-off water, but if it's gonna be as calm as this for the entire fermentation, then I might as well just top off now and let it ride, I guess?
Thanks a lot for any help/advice!
So, last night I made my first mead with:
3.3 lbs of honey (basic "floral honey" (I'm not sure how else to translate the name of the honey I used (I'm from Norway (yeah, I know, vikings and stuff, I should know how to make mead
))))a little more than 1 gallon of water (around 4 liters)
1 large orange cut into 8ths
a handful of raisins (25+)
a small amount of yeast nutrient
1 pkg of Lalvin 71b-1222 yeast
I put all this into a clear 5 liter plastic bottle (food grade), all sanitized etc. Followed the JAOM instructions pretty closely, except the yeast, spices, and nutrient. As per those instructions I left some room for top-off water.
OG was 1.102
So, now, 24+ hours later, I see the oranges and raisins floating on the top. That's normal afaik. I also see a little bit of small bubbles, but not much, so I guess fermentation has started, but not taken off. It's sitting with my Apfelwein (which is bubbling like crazy) at about 75-76 F.
OK, the questions:
Is that temperature OK for this mead and yeast (it should be ok for the yeast according to the manufacturer)?
Will it be like this for the rest of the fermentation?
Will it take off?
Can I top off with water now? Or should I wait?
Or should I just leave it alone?
Should I do (or not do) anything else?
Yeah, it's based on JAOM, so in that regard I should just leave it alone... But since I made some small modifications, I'm not sure what to expect of the fermentation. If it's likely to "take off" soon, I'll wait with the top-off water, but if it's gonna be as calm as this for the entire fermentation, then I might as well just top off now and let it ride, I guess?
Thanks a lot for any help/advice!
