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Boogaloo

Worker Bee
Registered Member
Sep 13, 2011
147
0
16
Silver Spring (right outside of DC)
Alright, So I have a gallon of show mead that has been aging for two months now. I racked it twice and just noticed a very thin layer of lees on the bottom. Very miniscule. Should I rack it again? Will this thin layer negatively affect an aging mead?

Second question, I have three 1 gallon carboys of Hydromel going. I totally understand what ya'll meant by it being really dry and needing a back sweetener. They did not taste good. Two of the jugs fermented completely and one stopped halfway, not sure why. Will it start back up again on it's own or should I add more nutrient/engergizer/oxygen? It's a little too sweet for my taste even though it's a hydromel.

Uh oh, surprise bonus 3rd set of questions. Everytime I do my first racking the carboys are cloudy. The next day after the first racking the carboys clear up A LOT. Does this happen to everyone else? Why does it do that.

Any info will help out a lot. Thanks guys and gals.

~Boog
 
1) depends what yeast you used, I know 71B is not good to leave on the lees but most of the rest of them will be fine, especially if it's only a small amount.

2) What specific gravity did it stop at, and where did it start? If it's past a certain point, nutrients might not be a great plan. The first thing I'd do to try to get it going again is a good aeration and then perhaps also making sure it's in a warmer area.

3) When you rack, you will invariably stir up some of the gunk off the bottom, I always do no matter how careful I try to be :). The way settling works, larger particles will settle faster than smaller particles, and sometimes smaller particles will stick to larger particles and hence settle out faster... getting all stirred up can sometimes resuspend the bigger particles, which can grab onto some of the smaller ones and settle them out faster. It doesn't happen every time but it's certainly not uncommon.
 
Boogaloo said:
Alright, So I have a gallon of show mead that has been aging for two months now. I racked it twice and just noticed a very thin layer of lees on the bottom. Very miniscule. Should I rack it again? Will this thin layer negatively affect an aging mead?

Second question, I have three 1 gallon carboys of Hydromel going. I totally understand what ya'll meant by it being really dry and needing a back sweetener. They did not taste good. Two of the jugs fermented completely and one stopped halfway, not sure why. Will it start back up again on it's own or should I add more nutrient/engergizer/oxygen? It's a little too sweet for my taste even though it's a hydromel.

Uh oh, surprise bonus 3rd set of questions. Everytime I do my first racking the carboys are cloudy. The next day after the first racking the carboys clear up A LOT. Does this happen to everyone else? Why does it do that.

Any info will help out a lot. Thanks guys and gals.

~Boog
Click to expand...

Questions one & two -- much depends on your choice of yeast. The hydromel, is this a vigorous yeast strain? Maybe moving the stalled carboy to a warm place might start it up again. The gallon of show mead, sounds like a layer of fine lees. Some yeast strains are better than others for aging on the lees. Which one did you use?

Another possibility -- if two of the hydromel batches which finished out are too dry, while you've got one that didn't finish out and is sweet, what about blending all three into a three gallon carboy, assuming you've got one that size?

Question three -- as with all things honey, YMMV. ;D Some people are going to be getting the same reaction, others a different reaction.

--
 
Boogaloo said:
Alright, So I have a gallon of show mead that has been aging for two months now. I racked it twice and just noticed a very thin layer of lees on the bottom. Very miniscule. Should I rack it again? Will this thin layer negatively affect an aging mead?
Click to expand...

What yeast are you using?

Boogaloo said:
Second question, I have three 1 gallon carboys of Hydromel going. I totally understand what ya'll meant by it being really dry and needing a back sweetener. They did not taste good. Two of the jugs fermented completely and one stopped halfway, not sure why. Will it start back up again on it's own or should I add more nutrient/engergizer/oxygen? It's a little too sweet for my taste even though it's a hydromel.
Click to expand...

How old are these? You'll probably want to let it age out at least 6 months before making up your mind.
 
I used KV-1116 in all batches. Meant to switch it up but grabbed the wrong packet this last go round.

Interesting idea Dan, I do need an excuse to upgrade to a 3 gallon carboy. Hmmmmm....

Chevette, I'll give it a good shaking tonight. There has been a large temperature drop here the past week or two and the jugs are in the basement. I'll move them into a cabinet on the middle floor.

And Brian, Patience!! a mead makers worst enemy (or greatest ally). I'm still new so I'm trying to get into the swing of things. Waiting 6 months seems so long right now, I'm sure after the first few batches I'll be able to get something going steadily.

Thanks all!
 
KV-1116 is a vigorous yeast, low nitrogen needs. Seems unusual that one out of the three batches stalled. Sounds like it was likely the temperature drop that made it stall.

If you do decide to blend them, make sure you let them sit for a good long time. The dry meads may "wake up" and start working on the sugars in the sweet mead. Don't blend these without using an air lock, otherwise you'll have an MEA on your hands. ;D

--
 
Mead Eruption Accident. Kind of the same thing, but this one is more descriptive. I think it was Medsen F. who coined the acronym. ;D

--
 
Depending on how well sealed the vessel was "explosion" could wind up being more accurate in that particular situation. :o
 
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