Re-Racking

[myoung422]

I started a Crock-Pot Bochet on 03/07 and racked it into secondary on 03/17.. Attached is a picture from 03/21.. It has cleared up nicely... I was thinking of Re-Racking it to another carboy just to get it off the lees.. This was my first mead so I am not sure how often I can, or should do this. Gravity has been 1.000

 

[JimRausch]

My standard procedure, based on a bit of research and recommendations from the wise folks in this forum, is to rack once monthly, or when there are > 1/4 inch of lees, until there are no more being produced. For me, that's usually been 3 rackings over a 3 month period. Add 1 Camden tab at every other racking to help with O2 scavenging. Then bottle.

 

[myoung422]

My standard procedure, based on a bit of research and recommendations from the wise folks in this forum, is to rack once monthly, or when there are > 1/4 inch of lees, until there are no more being produced. For me, that's usually been 3 rackings over a 3 month period. Add 1 Camden tab at every other racking to help with O2 scavenging. Then bottle.

Awesome!! Thank you.. I'm really excited about this, but there is so much to learn

 

[Blacksmith1]

Crock pot bochet? This sounds interesting. Is this a set it and forget it thing like my chili?

 

[myoung422]

Crock pot bochet? This sounds interesting. Is this a set it and forget it thing like my chili?

Basically.. What I did was throw 3lbs of honey in the CP on High for 4 hours (started the first hour on low because I was scared). I honestly think it could've gone longer.. I've only heard rumors about it, and couldn't find much info how to do it but I just winged it... The one place I seen said they did it for 6 hours..

 

[Blacksmith1]

Cool! Now to piss off the Ol' Lady....

 

[NeverDie]

There's a youtube video where a guy boils the honey on a stove for about 45 minutes, and then it's done. Not saying it's necessarily better, but it is faster.

At the other end of the spectrum, there's a commercial bochet where they claim they cook the hone for something like 18 hours.

The problem with the fast approach is that there's a potential for boil over that needs to be actively managed.

 

[growlrr]

I can't stress enough the care you should take when boiling honey. It is natures napalm when it boils over. A trick I learned is to always keep something large and metal (I use one of my really big fermenter mixing spoons or a few heavy metal serving spoons) in the freezer nearby. At the first signs of a potential boil over, drop the spoon(s) into the honey as fast as you can. Once the boil over starts, it won't stop for a while and you'll have a God awful mess on your stove (one that would probably cause Blacksmith1's Ol' Lady to kill him) and a potential trip to the burn unit.

 

[NeverDie]

I can't stress enough the care you should take when boiling honey. It is natures napalm when it boils over. A trick I learned is to always keep something large and metal (I use one of my really big fermenter mixing spoons or a few heavy metal serving spoons) in the freezer nearby. At the first signs of a potential boil over, drop the spoon(s) into the honey as fast as you can. Once the boil over starts, it won't stop for a while and you'll have a God awful mess on your stove (one that would probably cause Blacksmith1's Ol' Lady to kill him) and a potential trip to the burn unit.

Would adding anti-foam drops help prevent it, just as it does with DME boilovers?

 

[growlrr]

I've never tried them but given the viscosity of honey vs. DME, I"m going to guess no(just my opinion - not based on any experience with them) - only because it wouldn't disperse as readily through the honey. Even at a full rolling boil, honey is still really viscous

 

[SKBugs]

Only way to do it is to watch it like a hawk and then whenever you see it start to boil then take it off the heat until it settles. As soon as you take your eyes off it - overflow. The trouble comes when you add water to it. If it is too hot, then yer gonna get the exploding bubbles.
BernardSmith has a good thread a while back on bouchet temp control. It is way beyond me but it goes into a fair amount of detail.

 

[myoung422]

It actually cleans up really nice in the crock pot as long as you start cleaning it right away. There was absolutely no boil over either. I added my warm water to cool it softly near the end and then dumped the whole thing in my fermenter. The ol lady was concerned at first, but cleanup was a breeze

 

[Blacksmith1]

I pulled the trigger on the crock pot bochet.
So at 5 hrs almost to the minute it started to boil over. Caught it just in time to avoid a huge mess. Nice dark color. If I do it again it wil be a shorter time. Smells a bit over done to me. Sorta like molasses. Here's hoping I like it when it's done.