So it's my first time making mead, and I kind of glanced at a few recipes, but with a busy week, I probably haven't paid as much attention as I should have.
First off, I'm using wash off from crush and strain comb, so I don't know my honey to water ratio. But the brix measured in at 23.5, and I've only got a gallon.
I didn't really want to use extra honey to step feed for a slightly sweet mead, so I used a full packet of 71B, hoping for the finish at 14% to leave some sweetness.
I've been feeding Wyeast nutrient, starting with 1/4 tsp, then dropping down to maybe 1/8 or 1/10 tsp (eyeing it
) while stirring off CO2 every day for the following 4 days, since I had read to do that for 3-4 days. Now the brix reads 9.5, which I realize is not completely accurate, due to alcohol content, but I think I've used up more than the 1/3 sugar that, on further reading, I should have stopped at.
It's currently bubbling away, at about 70° (a person with two thermometers never knows what the temperature is - and yeh, they've both been calibrated at boiling, they still don't agree at lower temps - so if anyone has a recommendation on a good thermometer that doesn't cost $100, lemme know! though i am close to breaking down and getting a thermapen!)
So what's the worst case scenario for feeding too much nutrient? Is it even too much?
I'm guessing I will either have my yeast go way over 14%, and/or I'll get nutrient off-taste - which should mellow with extra aging?
Also, I'm hearing different things in terms of aging. 71B should be a quicker finishing decent tasting mead - and by quick, I'm guessing a year or two (three months til bottle, plus extra aging)? But does that mean i shouldn't bother aging it longer (assuming no off-taste from too much nutrient)? Since it's meant for whites and blushes, and you don't really age those for more than 3-4 years....
also, any advice on how to make a sweet sparkling mead? i could always keg carbonate it i guess, but i don't want to lock up my keg for that long. or maybe i could just bring a small jar of honey with me whenever i wanted to crack open a bottle of mead, and just add it at the time of drinking, the way the belgians do with faro...
First off, I'm using wash off from crush and strain comb, so I don't know my honey to water ratio. But the brix measured in at 23.5, and I've only got a gallon.
I didn't really want to use extra honey to step feed for a slightly sweet mead, so I used a full packet of 71B, hoping for the finish at 14% to leave some sweetness.
I've been feeding Wyeast nutrient, starting with 1/4 tsp, then dropping down to maybe 1/8 or 1/10 tsp (eyeing it
) while stirring off CO2 every day for the following 4 days, since I had read to do that for 3-4 days. Now the brix reads 9.5, which I realize is not completely accurate, due to alcohol content, but I think I've used up more than the 1/3 sugar that, on further reading, I should have stopped at.It's currently bubbling away, at about 70° (a person with two thermometers never knows what the temperature is - and yeh, they've both been calibrated at boiling, they still don't agree at lower temps - so if anyone has a recommendation on a good thermometer that doesn't cost $100, lemme know! though i am close to breaking down and getting a thermapen!)
So what's the worst case scenario for feeding too much nutrient? Is it even too much?
I'm guessing I will either have my yeast go way over 14%, and/or I'll get nutrient off-taste - which should mellow with extra aging?
Also, I'm hearing different things in terms of aging. 71B should be a quicker finishing decent tasting mead - and by quick, I'm guessing a year or two (three months til bottle, plus extra aging)? But does that mean i shouldn't bother aging it longer (assuming no off-taste from too much nutrient)? Since it's meant for whites and blushes, and you don't really age those for more than 3-4 years....
also, any advice on how to make a sweet sparkling mead? i could always keg carbonate it i guess, but i don't want to lock up my keg for that long. or maybe i could just bring a small jar of honey with me whenever i wanted to crack open a bottle of mead, and just add it at the time of drinking, the way the belgians do with faro...
