What's the best book on how to make mead?

[Miraculix]

Hmm.. I skimmed it on amazon, and looks a little too authentic for me. I don't see myself building a fire out of wood in the forest so I can boil some wort.

I think I'll save that for the post-apocalypse.

At least train it once or twice before you'll actually need these skills

 

[NeverDie]

 

[growlrr]

Throw in a bit of Black Plague or smallpox and you are 100% authentic!

 

[Blacksmith1]

It's a good read but almost no info on modern techniques. You ask for the best book, not the one with the best info.

 

[biochemedic]

Stirring is really what we mean when we say degassing/aerating. The idea here is to rouse the yeast from the bottom in the carboy so that it doesn’t get buried, lazy, and give up on making alcohol. At the same time, this removes CO2 from the must and adds some oxygen to encourage yeast health. It’s not as complete as true degassing or aeration, but good enough to improve the overall health of the ferment.

I have been a big fan of what I like to call the "Shake the $*!T out of it" method of degassing. My thought on this would be that it really is more pure degassing, as there should be little to no oxygen in the headspace after fermentation becomes active. I would say as well, this certainly rouses the yeast.

I oxygenate at the start of fermentation using pure oxygen and a diffusing stone, and I do believe this is an extremely important part of fermentation management. My understanding has been, however, that oxygen after the initial aerobic yeast metabolism and cell division, oxygen is not necessary, and may even be detrimental.

Here's my question though, and it comes from your statement regarding "adds some oxygen to encourage yeast health:" Is there some actual *need* for the yeast to have access to oxygen after the initial stages of fermentation?

 

[NeverDie]

I have been a big fan of what I like to call the "Shake the $*!T out of it" method of degassing. My thought on this would be that it really is more pure degassing, as there should be little to no oxygen in the headspace after fermentation becomes active. I would say as well, this certainly rouses the yeast.

I oxygenate at the start of fermentation using pure oxygen and a diffusing stone, and I do believe this is an extremely important part of fermentation management. My understanding has been, however, that oxygen after the initial aerobic yeast metabolism and cell division, oxygen is not necessary, and may even be detrimental.

Here's my question though, and it comes from your statement regarding "adds some oxygen to encourage yeast health:" Is there some actual *need* for the yeast to have access to oxygen after the initial stages of fermentation?

I haven't experimented much with the "Shake the $*!T out of it" method, but how do totally avoid creating a geyser when you "Shake the $*!T out of it"? Is it a multi-step shake, starting with a little shake and then building up to "Shake the $*!T out of it"?

 

[Maylar]

one of these on a drill ...

or one of these...

and some O2

 

[biochemedic]

I haven't experimented much with the "Shake the $*!T out of it" method, but how do totally avoid creating a geyser when you "Shake the $*!T out of it"? Is it a multi-step shake, starting with a little shake and then building up to "Shake the $*!T out of it"?

Yeah, that's a risk...exactly as you say, I do indeed build up to it. However, on top of it, I also use a blow off tube for all my fermentations, so even if I gyser a bit, it's contained...