aBlankExpression
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Hi I've been making mead now for six months now and had some questions about the process.
Residual Sugars
I am looking to make a Hydromel, information online suggest there is success using s-04 yeast. People also recommend with that when using this yeast use a starting gravity of 1.040 but the yeast is rated for up to 10% ABV with 1.040 which would go to 1.000 for a 5.5% ABV apox. That's fine if you want something dryer but I want it to finish sweet. But if I add more sugar it will only raise the ABV until I push it's closer to the 10% mark. So how do I reliably stop a mead from fermenting to a desired ABV (5.5%) when the yeast is rated for a higher ABV(10%) but still have residual sugars?
Complex Sugars and Bochet
Why does caramelizing honey make it unfermentable. I know it makes it a "complex sugar" but I can't seem to find a more in depth explanation than that. What is that complex sugar called?
What are the different types of sugar and which are or aren't fermentable
Yield loss from whole fruit:
While making melomels I lose quite a bit of the mead when I rerack a mead using whole fruit. Is that just the carboy's price or is there a way to prevent that loss? If you were going to squeeze whole fruit would you squeeze it first only adding the juice you get from squeezing or do people remove fermented fruits from primary and squeeze that
When to use Plastic vs Glass
I see a lot of people using plastic 5 gallons and glass 5 gallons when is it appropriate to do one or the other?
Spices:
How do you remove Spices from a 5 gallon glass carboy? I was thinking of using teabags but Where would I attach a string or keep them floating close to the top for retrieval
Doughy taste
One of the few flops I've made in these few months was a strawberry mead. Really simple just strawberries water and honey. I blended the strawberries to better break them down before going into the carboy. When we sampled a few months in it was pretty doughy tasting. Is there a known reason why a mead might taste doughy? I am now just trying to wait out the flavor been racked for 5 months now.
Thanks for any feedback, I know some of these must be vague so feel free to ask me anything if it needs clarifying
Residual Sugars
I am looking to make a Hydromel, information online suggest there is success using s-04 yeast. People also recommend with that when using this yeast use a starting gravity of 1.040 but the yeast is rated for up to 10% ABV with 1.040 which would go to 1.000 for a 5.5% ABV apox. That's fine if you want something dryer but I want it to finish sweet. But if I add more sugar it will only raise the ABV until I push it's closer to the 10% mark. So how do I reliably stop a mead from fermenting to a desired ABV (5.5%) when the yeast is rated for a higher ABV(10%) but still have residual sugars?
Complex Sugars and Bochet
Why does caramelizing honey make it unfermentable. I know it makes it a "complex sugar" but I can't seem to find a more in depth explanation than that. What is that complex sugar called?
What are the different types of sugar and which are or aren't fermentable
Yield loss from whole fruit:
While making melomels I lose quite a bit of the mead when I rerack a mead using whole fruit. Is that just the carboy's price or is there a way to prevent that loss? If you were going to squeeze whole fruit would you squeeze it first only adding the juice you get from squeezing or do people remove fermented fruits from primary and squeeze that
When to use Plastic vs Glass
I see a lot of people using plastic 5 gallons and glass 5 gallons when is it appropriate to do one or the other?
Spices:
How do you remove Spices from a 5 gallon glass carboy? I was thinking of using teabags but Where would I attach a string or keep them floating close to the top for retrieval
Doughy taste
One of the few flops I've made in these few months was a strawberry mead. Really simple just strawberries water and honey. I blended the strawberries to better break them down before going into the carboy. When we sampled a few months in it was pretty doughy tasting. Is there a known reason why a mead might taste doughy? I am now just trying to wait out the flavor been racked for 5 months now.
Thanks for any feedback, I know some of these must be vague so feel free to ask me anything if it needs clarifying