Something crazy hapened! (BOMM recipe related)

[CanadianJesus]

Ok, something crazy happened! :O

I had an old bag of 1388 from last year that I didn't end up using. I thought it was done for. A few days ago I broke the packet to see what would happen. Well lo and behold, today I look at it and it expanded like a baloon! Does this mean the yeast is still viable after a full year?

Should I make a small starter with it and see if it works for a small gallon batch that I can experiment with for the bigger 5 gallon batch of a BOMM metheglin I have planned for later this summer?

I have it refrigerated right now because I can't do anything with right this second. Maybe later in the week.

 

[loveofrose]

It's not surprising. Yeast are extremely tough.

You will definitely need a starter. When you smack the pack, there is about 2 hours worth of nutrition, then they run out of food and go dormant.

 

[CanadianJesus]

Sweet. Good to know they may still be viable. I'll get a starter started soon. I need to order a stir bar because mine is sitting at the bottom of my bucket that's currently holding my 5 gallon BOMM lmao.

 

[TimmyWit]

Sweet. Good to know they may still be viable. I'll get a starter started soon. I need to order a stir bar because mine is sitting at the bottom of my bucket that's currently holding my 5 gallon BOMM lmao.

You will want to make a pretty large starter. As viability decreases, starter size should increase. If you check out Mr Malty's yeast starter calculator, you can plug in the manufactured date and get a recommendation on starter size.

For your stir bar, have you tried using a magnet to pull it up the side of your fermenter?

 

[CanadianJesus]

I'm not even sure if I have a magnet strong enough to do that. I'd have to order a magnet online, so I just ordered another stir bar along with another bag of Wyeast 1388 that I plan on using for another 5 gallon BOMM, and some DAP.

 

[loveofrose]

For your next batch, use my updated Fermaid O protocol.

 

[CanadianJesus]

I can't order Fermaid O from within my province. I'll need to order it from Vancouver BC, who's website is sort of dumb because they don't process payment online, they require me to phone in to give them credit/debit information.

I need to visit my (somewhat) local homebrew shop pretty soon to buy more bottles and a wine rack. I'll see if they carry Fermaid O. I will probably end up doing my 1 gallon batch using the original protocol.

And btw, Bray. Your recipe ferments so damn fast that it's hard to catch the exact SG to add nutrients lol. I feel like I'm going to have to babysit my next two batches and take multiple readings per day.

 

[loveofrose]

Fermenting at a lower temperature slows it down enough to catch. I don't know if you have temp control, but you can always use a swamp cooler.

 

[CanadianJesus]

yea, it's fermenting at 22 Celsius right now, not warm but not exactly *cold* either. I may work out something to cool it down for the next batch though.

 

[CanadianJesus]

Ok, so I made up a 2.5L starter tonight at SG 1.040 with 1tsp Go Ferm.

I'm not sure if it will take off, but I will be ecstatic if I see it cloudy or any CO2 bubbles forming in the next few days. You said make a 'big' starter so I went big lol. If this works, I might pour off a little down to 2L, maybe add a little honey for more sugar since a 1L starter is a lot for a 3.8L BOMM recipe. That's over 1/4 of the total volume so I don't know if this will mess with the OG of the batch I want to make. And btw, I want to make two of them. Hence the 2.5L starter.

If this doesn't work, I have a fresh bag of Wyeast 1388 in the fridge right now. I can always buy another for when I start the big batch of my metheglin.

If this starter does take off, would adding Fermaid K help any?

 

[CanadianJesus]

Ok, I think my starter is working, it smells like active fermentation. I'll take an SG reading tonight to see if it dropped any.

If this works and I saved my yeast, how much of a starter should I use to make a 1 gallon batch of BOMM?

Should I add honey and raise the SG to 1.100 before pitching? 1L of starter in a 3.8L batch is a lot of starter and would drop the OG by quite a bit.

 

[CanadianJesus]

Ok, my starter definitely works. After 48 hours the SG dropped from 1.040 to 1.10. 30 points in 2 days.

Since nobody has replied to this tread since my last update, I went ahead and added 1/2 cup of honey to it to boost SG and also get the yeast used to a higher sugar must. I'm hoping I strengthened the yeast rather than stressed it. Should I have added any nutrients of any kind?

It's a 2L starter. When I pitch yeast, how many milliliters of starter should I add to each 1 gallon batch. I'm wary of adding half, which would be 1L to a 1 gallon must... Unless I boost the SG of the starter to 1.100 to match the must I'm adding it to.

Maybe should I add a smaller amount of starter, like 250-500ml?

Somebody please answer this, I plan on pitching the yeast on Monday, which is the day after tomorrow?

 

[Drewed]

You don't want to use less starter as it will stress the yeast more. Just count the starter as part of your water.

 

[CanadianJesus]

Ok, I think I get you now, but should I mix the starter with the water and then add the honey before taking an SG reading to ensure 1.100?

The thing is, the BOMM recipe doesn't call for an exact amount of honey for the 1 gallon recipe, it just says add honey to 1.096 or 1.100 as I want to do.

I'm just a little confused, I'm a bit of a noob at this and I just want to make good mead.

 

[Drewed]

The SG isn't uber important. Ideally you want to add the yeast last, but that isn't always possible. Don't mix it with the water, as that will just dilute it and you may not use it all.
Add 2.5 -3 lbs of honey to your brew vessel.
Add 1500ml of water to the honey.
Mix like hell.
Add starter.
Mix nicely.
Check SG - add more water if needed. You should need about 500ml more.

 

[CanadianJesus]

Ok, I made my batches last night before I saw this message.

What I did was remove 1.3L of water for honey, and 1L of water for the starter.

I added honey to the first jug until I hit 1.100, Then I added the starter, shook it a little and then added additional honey to get it back to 1.100, but I shook it like hell then. I just hope that didn't hurt the yeast.

The second jug, I added the same amount of honey to the water, and pitched the yeast starter last. I took a reading, and saw I needed an additional 10 points of honey, so I added a tad more and shook that one too.

Tonight I degassed it and took a gravity reading and they're both at 1.090. Not fermenting nearly as fast as my 5 gallon batch, but what can I say? I did this as an experiment with year old yeast that I revived.

I'm pretty sure this will still turn out fine, it will be easier to hit my sugar breaks on time. Might take a few days longer than my 5 gallon batch to ferment.

These are going to be trial runs for a 5 gallon BOMM methaglin I plan on making, so I made two batches to try out two different spice profiles and see which one I like best. I will back sweeten them later to get more fresh honey flavor in them.