Temp flux and bee parts

[Aquavitae]

Alrighty, my first mead is about to hit the 1 month mark. It is still bubbling but it isnt very active. Like, i can hear it bubbling if i listen close but the (admittedly ghetto rigged) airlock is not active. Its aquarium tubing thru the milk jug's lid and sealed with duct tape and the open end is in a cup of water. So not exactly state of the art. But I digress...

The temperature in the room has been fluctuating between mid 60s and mid 70s. I used Fleischmann's Active Dry yeast as per the JAOM recipe, which I admittedly fudged in other areas (i.e. - no nutmeg, cinnamon, or all spice). Soooo my question is this: will the swinging temperature cause the yeast to revolt and jack up my mead?

Also, if I get honey from an apiary, how do I get out the bee parts and such without boiling?

 

[Tw0fish]

60's to 70's is fine. Especially with bread yeast. When the temp drops too far it'll go dormant, when it warms up it'll start right up again.. If it hits like 85, the yeast may well start throwing off some strange things.. consider putting the fermenter in your basement - but your JAOM should be done by then

If you get honey, and it's got bee parts, either dilute it and run it through a strainer or leave your mead until it clears (that's - everything falls out of suspension) and rack carefully off the bee bits. And remember the alcohol kills the germs so NBD

 

[OpenContainer]

Did you buy honey from a local producer that has bee parts in it, or are you making an assumption that it will have bee parts in it? The reason I ask is because honey in the comb does not contain bee parts......bee's are quite studious little housekeepers. If you've bought local honey from a local bee keeper that has bee parts in it, I'd look for another keeper with better bottling practices and a cleaner operation. At the very worst, you may find small bits of the wax comb in the honey, but it won't hurt you or your mead and most keepers run their honey through a filter before bottling to avoid this. Honey packaged as comb honey is actually meant to be eaten, wax and all.

I highly recommend supporting your local keepers if you have the chance to do so, over store bought honey.

 

[Aquavitae]

I haven't bought any yet. I only just discovered this place and not only is it the only one local or even anywhere close, i won't be able to buy from him for several months. I was asking preemptively because i read a few threads about skimming off bee parts and albumen, but that was when boiling and I have no intention of boiling.

Heh, I just hope I like mead. I like wine. I like honey. Stands to reason I'd probably like honey wine. I can't even hazard a guess as to what it will taste like. Guess we'll see, no?

 

[Bhunter87]

Order off eBay! Mad cheaper! You can get a 5gal orange blossom delivered to your doorstep for $149

 

[GinKings]

Order off eBay! Mad cheaper! You can get a 5gal orange blossom delivered to your doorstep for $149

From which vendor? Are you confusing Ebay with Dutch Gold?

 

[Bhunter87]

Nope. Type "honey 60 lbs" in search

 

[GinKings]

Nope. Type "honey 60 lbs" in search

Again....From which vendor? Smitty Bee sells it for $149 PLUS shipping. Shipping might be cheaper for Aquavitae, but it's $50 for me.

 

[Bhunter87]

Not sure then homie

 

[Aquavitae]

Uhhh...I would add that I am a college student with a part time job (not a dentist yet!! app decisions pending). Ha ha I will not be spending $149 on honey. My fiscally-conscious girlfriend would flay me and then string me up by my toenails. For starters.

I don't know what the man's prices are yet. If it's too much I will just be sticking to 3.5 lbs at a time from wally world. I pretty much have to stick to 1 gallon batches anywho.

 

[Bhunter87]

The less you buy, the more pre gallon. If you are waiting a while, save some money and buy bulk. Even if you do gallon batches, just get a ton and make em one at a time. Honey doesn't go bad.

 

[crazyseany]

Tell her not to worry about it and go make you a sammich.....

Bulk is the way to go... But I'd rather spend $150 on grain then honey.... (I know in in the mead forum)

 

[Tw0fish]

Tell her not to worry about it and go make you a sammich.....

make your own sandwiches til the mead's done, then let her get hooked on it, then trade mead for sandwiches (wait, what were we aiming for again?)

Snooty single-strain honey is a better product, but there is absolutely zero shame in using $_HONEY from the store. Especially if you're doing something like a JAOM, all the character comes from the spices anyway.

If there's a wholesale/bulk place (BJ's or costco) consider going there. One, food really is cheaper if you buy it in bulk, and two, you can get six lb of honey for $14 at BJs :rockin:

 

[Aquavitae]

As far as sammiches, I'd never ask her to make one. She'd probably burn it...her idea of cooking is ramen noodles. I hold the culinary skills in this relationship. I actually do plan on seeing if I can get her hooked on mead. It will probably be a challenge, though. She's a rum/margarita kind of girl.

I haven't shopped in bulk yet. I figured it would be wiser to try this batch, then try a batch that followed the recipe exactly to see if I even like mead. No reason to invest my dollas if I don't enjoy it. And I'm hesitant to try any commercial mead because I hear it is ridiculously sweet since people have the preconceived notion of it being so. I wish I could just try it now and get it over with.

P.S. - I know I *could* try it now but I also know it would be awful.