Addiction or Infection???

EJM3 · Feb 21, 2014

Well, I am sitting here and contemplating whether mazing is an addiction or an infection, or a combination thereof.

This is due to the fact that I am now contemplating, planning, scheming, plotting, devising, and implementing all that I can do with the 60 pounds of honey I am soon to acquire the first of the month... I think the Yeastie Beasties have begun inhabiting and fermenting my brain to their own ends, and only incidentally mine as well. Sneaky little wogs...

I look forward to working with them :toothy6:

Opine??

MJ7 · Feb 21, 2014

EJM3 said:
Well, I am sitting here and contemplating whether mazing is an addiction or an infection, or a combination thereof.

This is due to the fact that I am now contemplating, planning, scheming, plotting, devising, and implementing all that I can do with the 60 pounds of honey I am soon to acquire the first of the month... I think the Yeastie Beasties have begun inhabiting and fermenting my brain to their own ends, and only incidentally mine as well. Sneaky little wogs...

I look forward to working with them :toothy6:

Opine??

It is a nice feeling when you can create and enjoy your labor. I had the same feelings when I first started mazing about 20 days ago. After the first batch started ferment, 9 days later I had another 5 gallon must fermenting. You will most likely begin to scale back once you have a stock of mead on hand, say 50-60 bottles just sitting on a wine rack.

EJM3 · Feb 27, 2014

MJ7 said:
It is a nice feeling when you can create and enjoy your labor. I had the same feelings when I first started mazing about 20 days ago. After the first batch started ferment, 9 days later I had another 5 gallon must fermenting. You will most likely begin to scale back once you have a stock of mead on hand, say 50-60 bottles just sitting on a wine rack.

I was thinking of 5 or 6 carboys bubbling, burbling, and gurgling away, while my devious mind plots where I am going to get the bottles and corks from. Then try and sucker my partner into and intensive week of slave labor ;D

mannye · Feb 27, 2014

I'm past saving as I know pretty much the batches are going to be ever growing. I'm now trying to figure out where the bulk aging freezers are going to go, back up generators in case of hurricanes, 40 gallon fermenters, a brewpub... LOL

So my vote is INFECTION.

ann2014 · Feb 28, 2014

MJ7 said:
It is a nice feeling when you can create and enjoy your labor. I had the same feelings when I first started mazing about 20 days ago. After the first batch started ferment, 9 days later I had another 5 gallon must fermenting. You will most likely begin to scale back once you have a stock of mead on hand, say 50-60 bottles just sitting on a wine rack.

here's mine : a little under 3L of mead fermenting, will be less when I rack into bottles; 2 lbs of honey was used. Also I'm fermenting it in a big, plastic Ozarka water jug, still not sure how long will it take to completely stop fermenting

MJ7 · Mar 1, 2014

ann2014 said:
here's mine : a little under 3L of mead fermenting, will be less when I rack into bottles; 2 lbs of honey was used. Also I'm fermenting it in a big, plastic Ozarka water jug, still not sure how long will it take to completely stop fermenting

Depends on what yeast you have used. Typically wine yeast can take 6-8 weeks, after you rack the primary (2-3 weeks) the secondary will take 3-4 weeks. If you used beer yeast it will take shorter time.

MJ7 · Mar 1, 2014

EJM3 said:
I was thinking of 5 or 6 carboys bubbling, burbling, and gurgling away, while my devious mind plots where I am going to get the bottles and corks from. Then try and sucker my partner into and intensive week of slave labor ;D

Yeah, no kidding. Plenty of places will give out free bottles, even give you the boxes. The hard part is the labor involved in scraping off the old labels. My technique is pretty fast though. Take boiling water and a funnel, fill the inside of the bottle up with boiling water let it sit for a minute or two then use an ice scrape to peel it off. You'll be left with glue though, so now you have to use a green scrubby and soap or that googone crap. I might take the easy route and just buy some used wine bottles at my wine/beer store, they sell them for a dollar each, already delabeled.

Honeyhog · Mar 1, 2014

I fill the bottles with hot water and then immerse the bottles in a sink full of hot water and let them soak for a while and all but the toughest glues will let the label go.

Chevette Girl · Mar 3, 2014

Honeyhog said:
I fill the bottles with hot water and then immerse the bottles in a sink full of hot water and let them soak for a while and all but the toughest glues will let the label go.

Pretty much same here only I soak 'em in a bucket of hot soapy water in the laundry tub, bottle brush the insides while waiting for the labels to soften. I end up scraping the labels off with a spoon and then if there's residual glue, hit it with goo-gone... with the bucket, I can do several changes of bottles in the same water, as long as it's not stone cold it still works pretty well. And then when I forget about that last batch, I can take it out of the sink if it's in the way....

MourneMead · Mar 3, 2014

I soak old bottles in the hottest, slightly soapy, water I can for about 10 minutes - some lables just float off, others I have to scrape at with a knife.

mannye · Mar 3, 2014

I put them in a bucket with water and forget abut them for a day or two...labels usually come right off. Goo Gone takes care of any stubborn glue. Wine bottles have proven much much easier so far.

GntlKnigt1 · Mar 3, 2014

For labels that won't come off in water, I put a paper towel around bottle and spill a bit of turpentine on it and let it sot for 10 minutes, then peel it off and use same towel to rub off the rest of the adhesive. I scrub the outside with copper kitchen scrubbing puffs, and the inside with dish soap and bottle brush and rinse three times. When ready to bottle, I rinse with sanitizer/potassium metabisulfite solution but do not rinse...leaving a small quantity of drops clinging to inside.

Sent from the Nexus of the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy which has been infected with Vogon poetry, some of which leaked out here.

mannye · Mar 3, 2014

GntlKnigt1 said:
For labels that won't come off in water, I put a paper towel around bottle and spill a bit of turpentine on it and let it sot for 10 minutes, then peel it off and use same towel to rub off the rest of the adhesive. I scrub the outside with copper kitchen scrubbing puffs, and the inside with dish soap and bottle brush and rinse three times. When ready to bottle, I rinse with sanitizer/potassium metabisulfite solution but do not rinse...leaving a small quantity of drops clinging to inside.

Sent from the Nexus of the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy which has been infected with Vogon poetry, some of which leaked out here.

I always worry about dish soap hanging around even after multiple rinses. Not to say I don't use it! Don't get me wrong, but I got one of those inverted bottle washing tubes that screw on the faucet to get a power rinse in there.

GntlKnigt1 · Mar 3, 2014

I haven't had any issues yet.... or any residual taste(s) of soap or sulfite.

mannye · Mar 3, 2014

GntlKnigt1 said:
I haven't had any issues yet.... or any residual taste(s) of soap or sulfite.

Yeah...that's the vestige of "beer" I still have in my system. Haven't made a batch of beer since I joined Gotmead... you bastards!

GntlKnigt1 · Mar 3, 2014

Well, glad you joined the elite group

Sent from the Nexus of the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy which has been infected with Vogon poetry, some of which leaked out here.

EJM3 · Mar 3, 2014

mannye said:
Yeah...that's the vestige of "beer" I still have in my system. Haven't made a batch of beer since I joined Gotmead... you bastards!

You killed Kenny!!! ;D

EJM3 · Mar 3, 2014

Bottle acquisitions

Well I have about 20 I have saved from my recycle bin so far. And I will just have to get ready to go to a few businesses here in the Boozevarian Village. After all a downtown area of maybe 10 blocks that has 17 wine tasting rooms, and ump-teen beer gardens and full service establishments, has got to have a couple of loose bottles to snag here and there for the adventurous dumpster diver...

As for cleaning labels off, I either soak them off in hot water, failing that I then use "chemical" means (I have an arsenal of inorganic chemicals not on the open market to do so with if needed, but simple isopropanol works great 95% of the time), then resort to scraping and scrubbing as a last of resort due to my nerve damage.

So I guess a walk of the dog twice a day, with my empty pouch, could score me 12 bottles a day, everyday, ad infinitum...

MJ7 · Mar 3, 2014

EJM3 said:
Well I have about 20 I have saved from my recycle bin so far. And I will just have to get ready to go to a few businesses here in the Boozevarian Village. After all a downtown area of maybe 10 blocks that has 17 wine tasting rooms, and ump-teen beer gardens and full service establishments, has got to have a couple of loose bottles to snag here and there for the adventurous dumpster diver...

As for cleaning labels off, I either soak them off in hot water, failing that I then use "chemical" means (I have an arsenal of inorganic chemicals not on the open market to do so with if needed, but simple isopropanol works great 95% of the time), then resort to scraping and scrubbing as a last of resort due to my nerve damage.

So I guess a walk of the dog twice a day, with my empty pouch, could score me 12 bottles a day, everyday, ad infinitum...

Getting labels off is an all day labor event. Just get your wife or SO involved as free slave labor, if you have kids the better...

mannye · Mar 3, 2014

EJM3 said:
Well I have about 20 I have saved from my recycle bin so far. And I will just have to get ready to go to a few businesses here in the Boozevarian Village. After all a downtown area of maybe 10 blocks that has 17 wine tasting rooms, and ump-teen beer gardens and full service establishments, has got to have a couple of loose bottles to snag here and there for the adventurous dumpster diver...

..

Bars around here were always happy to let me take as many as I wanted. Just ask during the day when it's nice and slow and I bet the first place will yield way more than you can carry. The cigarette butts are free! ;D

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