nutrients and energizers??

[manbrandon28]

15lbs of clover honey
1 packet of d-47
2.5 tsp of energizer
2.5 tsp of nutrients
and enouh spring water to equal the batch to 5 gallons

It started bubbling pretty quick and is staying steady, my 3 year old broke my hydrometor while i was makeing the must so i do not have a start reading. long story short does anybody have any advice on how much and when to and when not to add nutrients and or energizer. My must is bubbling steady like champagne and has been for 8 days steady, there is no faom on top and no settling on the bottom just looks cloudy from the active yeast. any suggestions on anything much appreciated.

 

[Inner10]

If you already have 2.5tsp of each in there I would just let it roll. You could toss in an extra tsp of nutrient...but I'd probably just let it do it's thing.

 

[manbrandon28]

If you already have 2.5tsp of each in there I would just let it roll. You could toss in an extra tsp of nutrient...but I'd probably just let it do it's thing.

cool thanks,
you seem to be one of the only ones with out some crazy scientific answer which i like. I was told by an old timer that leave it alone and about 10 days after it stops bubling through the airlock, rack it and pop the airlock back on for a few weeks and drink it, the more it ages the better it gets.

 

[Inner10]

cool thanks,
you seem to be one of the only ones with out some crazy scientific answer which i like. I was told by an old timer that leave it alone and about 10 days after it stops bubling through the airlock, rack it and pop the airlock back on for a few weeks and drink it, the more it ages the better it gets.

Nearly all the base of my wine making skill came from my grandfather who was a Phd in chemistry and worked in a lab. He would draw up chemical reactions and have scientific explanations for everything...well fast forward long after his passing and I absorbed almost none of his scientific explanation but stuck to the basic methods in a more artistic approach.

Any scientific explanations you get from me are complete BS and have no credibility.

 

[Inner10]

cool thanks,
you seem to be one of the only ones with out some crazy scientific answer which i like. I was told by an old timer that leave it alone and about 10 days after it stops bubling through the airlock, rack it and pop the airlock back on for a few weeks and drink it, the more it ages the better it gets.

One thing I'l say about mead is it needs some time...my Costco sac mead tasted like rocket fuel at the 6 weeks mark, and is approaching something like 3 months at the moment and tastes really sweet but still a little hot. At "a few weeks" you will have a really gassy mead that will froth up and fill a glass with a foamy head like a beer and taste like a glass of white lightning.

So I'd take the same instruction but add some sulfites to protect against oxidation and tack on a few months to the ageing process.

 

[manbrandon28]

One thing I'l say about mead is it needs some time...my Costco sac mead tasted like rocket fuel at the 6 weeks mark, and is approaching something like 3 months at the moment and tastes really sweet but still a little hot. At "a few weeks" you will have a really gassy mead that will froth up and fill a glass with a foamy head like a beer and taste like a glass of white lightning.

So I'd take the same instruction but add some sulfites to protect against oxidation and tack on a few months to the ageing process.

good deal,
you say add some sulfates? when is the best time to do that? and yes my mead taste hot at first taste the sweet at the end, pretty much like a spoon of corn liquer then a spoon of honey but i fugured after time if the flavors settle together it will be good. thanks for your time.

 

[fatbloke]

good deal,
you say add some sulfates? when is the best time to do that? and yes my mead taste hot at first taste the sweet at the end, pretty much like a spoon of corn liquer then a spoon of honey but i fugured after time if the flavors settle together it will be good. thanks for your time.

It's normal to rack it off the sediment/lees once primary has finished, straight onto sulphites (either powdered or as a crushed campden tablet), then that's repeated every alternate racking.

If you're gonna do stuff like back sweeten or maybe add fruit etc, then it'd need sorbate too, but that is just a single dose.

 

[Inner10]

good deal,
you say add some sulfates? when is the best time to do that? and yes my mead taste hot at first taste the sweet at the end, pretty much like a spoon of corn liquer then a spoon of honey but i fugured after time if the flavors settle together it will be good. thanks for your time.

Yep exactly like the batch I have know, white whisky at first with a sweet honey finish...but that smooths out after a while.

For long term storage sulfites are important, I picked up a pack of Titrets which cost less than 20 bucks and allow you to test your free SO2, then you can check that you have adequate quantities in your wine before you bottle and adjust as needed.

 

[manbrandon28]

It's normal to rack it off the sediment/lees once primary has finished, straight onto sulphites (either powdered or as a crushed campden tablet), then that's repeated every alternate racking.

If you're gonna do stuff like back sweeten or maybe add fruit etc, then it'd need sorbate too, but that is just a single dose.

i amnot going to add fruit or back sweeten i just want plane old mead, another question i have is what do you think a good time to rack is i do not have any sedimen on the bottom or top so i dont see the point in racking into another carboy???? am i missing something?

 

[Inner10]

i amnot going to add fruit or back sweeten i just want plane old mead, another question i have is what do you think a good time to rack is i do not have any sedimen on the bottom or top so i dont see the point in racking into another carboy???? am i missing something?

Typical wine will continue to drop lees as it ages and you don't want to leave it for longer than 90 days for it may pick up of flavors from the decomposing yeast cells.

Even if there is a light dusting on the bottom I'd rack...if your mead is crystal clear and not dropping any lees then you just want to maintain enough sulfites to prevent oxidation.