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L

lurch

NewBee
Registered Member
Oct 10, 2007
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I noticed an oddity last night when checking out how my batch was clarifying. Its been 2 weeks since i racked it off of primary and I noticed at the top a clearer layer about 4.5 inches deep. Has something gone wrong? I am still getting 1 bubble every minute or two and that is probably the cause of cloudiness in the deeper layers as fermentatiuon is still going along at a snails pace.

Should I try to stop fermentation and add a clarifyer?
 
Hi Lurch,

How old is the batch? What is the SG?

I have had meads clear in layers just as you are describing, it happens, it is not a big deal.

Liff
 
The birth of this batch was 0ctober 18th making it almost 2 months old.

Having said that should I be concered it hasnt clarified much?

Should I use some sorbate first to stop fermentation?

Then after I add that shoud I then wait for a week or so to add bentonite?

Or shoud I go with sparkloid first?

Then do the bentonite?

I ask because of the tanins fromm the pears would need to need removed first?
 
Lurch,
To every question you have asked, I vote no.

lurch said:
The birth of this batch was 0ctober 18th making it almost 2 months old.

Having said that should I be concered it hasnt clarified much?

Should I use some sorbate first to stop fermentation?

Then after I add that shoud I then wait for a week or so to add bentonite?

Or shoud I go with sparkloid first?

Then do the bentonite?

I ask because of the tanins fromm the pears would need to need removed first?
Click to expand...

I have never had a mead clear on its own in 2 months. I feel that I am rushing the process if it takes less than 4 months for me to go from pitch to bottle. I would either stir up the carboy or swirl the carboy around to mix up the must, then wait for another 6 to 8 weeks before I would think about a clarifier or bottling.

The most important thing so far is the Specific Gravity reading. What did your hydrometer measure when you racked the must into the carboy?

Also, What was the reading of your hydrometer when you pitched the yeast? (Or how much honey and what total volume of the must?)

What yeast did you use? The more you tell us the more we can chime in with our thoughts.

Thanks,
Liff
 
Unfortunatly I do not have a hydromiter yet.

As for the percentage of honey to H2o it came out to 14 lbs to 4.5 gal water with the addition of 4 lbs of crushed pears. So figuring SG out from that may prove difficult.

As for the yeast I used liquid sweet mead yeast.
 
Well I got you beat My brown sugar tastes so good is clearing somthing like this

[ ]_ Top

++++++++
++++++++++

++++++++++
++++++++++ +++++++++_ sediment/haze
+++++++++
++++++++++
++++++++

Threse this wacky stripe going through the middle!
 
Pewter_of_Deodar said:
lurch said:
with the addition of 4 lbs of crushed pears.
Click to expand...

Pears are notorious for taking a long time to clear... be patient if you have time or use a clarifying agent if you don't... chilling it might help as well...

Good luck,
Pewter
Click to expand...

Thanks for the advice. I swirled up the carboy and put it out in the garage to get cold (perfect time of the year for it) figuer average winter temp in the garage is 45 to 50 deg for the next 2 months. I coverd the bottle with a balck shirt to keep out any light. So lets see if this has an effect.
 
I was talking to the head of our Kingdom's Brewing Guild about fining agents last night.

One of the things we discussed was trying to get batches with pears to clear. His comments, although he is certainly not an expert, were that most things you have in a batch will either float or drop out because they are more boyant or less boyant than the must. But that pears are one of those things that seems to be neutral boyancy and stay in suspension a long, long time as a result.

So even cold shocking the batch may not help. But it can't hurt...

Good luck,
Pewter
 
I did a little more homework and it looks like that for pear it pays to use liquid pectic enzyme.

Any thoughts on this?
 
Pewter_of_Deodar said:
So even cold shocking the batch may not help. But it can't hurt...
Click to expand...

Well Cold shocking worked to cause a dramatic drop out of the yeast in suspension thanks for that But its still Way WAY cloudy. I will give it a month or so and then use the pectic enzime to see if that clears out the pear.
 
honestly the best way to get a mead to clear is to wait. read some perry(pear cider) recipes and see how they deal with the couldiness, maybe theres a trick to it?
 
lurch said:
Unfortunatly I do not have a hydromiter yet.

As for the percentage of honey to H2o it came out to 14 lbs to 4.5 gal water with the addition of 4 lbs of crushed pears. So figuring SG out from that may prove difficult.

As for the yeast I used liquid sweet mead yeast.
Click to expand...

ccording to my calculations, you will have a very sweet mead when it's done. Your starting gravity is about 1.106. You'll be lucky if your final gravity is less than 1.030.

In regards to your cloudines, I'd add about half a teaspoon of pectic enzyme. Let sit for a week or two and then ack it again.


Phil
 
I made a Pear Mead 15 months ago to which I added Pectin Enzyme when I made the must. It is as clear as a bell now, and actually has been for some time, although I still have it bulk aging.

Patience is something you can never have too much of as a mead maker .....

- GL63
 
dogglebe said:
lurch said:
Unfortunatly I do not have a hydromiter yet.

As for the percentage of honey to H2o it came out to 14 lbs to 4.5 gal water with the addition of 4 lbs of crushed pears. So figuring SG out from that may prove difficult.

As for the yeast I used liquid sweet mead yeast.
Click to expand...

ccording to my calculations, you will have a very sweet mead when it's done. Your starting gravity is about 1.106. You'll be lucky if your final gravity is less than 1.030.

In regards to your cloudines, I'd add about half a teaspoon of pectic enzyme. Let sit for a week or two and then ack it again.


Phil
Click to expand...

Well I added the peptic and it did help now its up to old man time.

My wife gifted me with a hydromiter for Christmas and I decied to rack off to my new carboy. According to the instructions factoring for temp the final gravity comes in at 1.011 then taking your calculations of 1.106 gives me 12%.

Hope i got that correct.
 
Holy Clarification Bat man! :toothy10:

Well I added the pectic enzime and wated a month and a half. I just ignored it, didnt look at it and curiosity got the better of me and checked last nite and wow clear as a bell.

One question it has a slight reddish tint (is this bad?) I know mead is suppost to be a golden color but the pears I used were red. Well i am going to rack off one more time and leave it alone for a few more months, (Should I split the batch so i can experiment with back sweetining?)
 
The red would be expected if your pears had redness to them...

I would think that at 1.011 SG your sweetness should be about right. Maybe taste before you rack and decide if you need to play with the sweetness...

Good luck,
Pewter
 
lurch said:
Holy Clarification Bat man! :toothy10:

Well I added the pectic enzime and wated a month and a half. I just ignored it, didnt look at it and curiosity got the better of me and checked last nite and wow clear as a bell.

One question it has a slight reddish tint (is this bad?) I know mead is suppost to be a golden color but the pears I used were red. Well i am going to rack off one more time and leave it alone for a few more months, (Should I split the batch so i can experiment with back sweetining?)
Click to expand...

The great thing about mead is that it comes in all colors...this is especially true when you add fruit or spices to it. With the exception of bottles for competitions, I always put my meads in clear bottles just so people can see the color. It also helps me figure out what it is if the label comes off.


Phil
(I'm Batman)
 
Well I am at 7 months now and its still rocket fuel. :angryfire:

Any suggestions as i think I am going to split the batch up in to 1 gal containers or should I work the entire batch?

It tastes good untill that burn. :help:
 
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