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accidentally used tap water

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d0rian

NewBee
Registered Member
May 11, 2005
1
0
0
hi....my mead was one month into fermentation and i was going to rack and clean the carboy....i was told to top it off with (previously) boiled water and honey. but too late i realized that i used tap water....it was heated to boiling and honey added and set to cool...but when i added it...i noticed that it stopped bubbling ...and it has been a few hours and i have not noticed any new bubbling.

did i just kill the yeast?

if I did.....is it any safe to drink after a month...i tasted it (before i added the extra honey water) and it tasted good. it was just a little cloudy.
 

Mynx

NewBee
Registered Member
Apr 8, 2005
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43
For what it's worth, I used tap water in all my meads. I wont claim to be ANY kind of expert here, but I think you probably just gave the yeast a bit of a thump. Especially if you racked just before this. Give it a day or so and see what happens.
 

JamesP

Senior Member
Lifetime GotMead Patron
Dec 3, 2003
654
1
18
Brisbane Australia
dOrian,

take a hydrometer reading to see what fermentables are left in the must, then do so again the next day to see if there has been any change - to help identify if the yeast are still active.

After a month, the fermentation should be finished or close to it. Sounds like a fine time to let it sit and clarify and age (and for you aquire that all too elusive quality called patience ;) )

I'd wait for it to clarify before drinking, and 3 months of aging always helps. The elimination of sediment as it clarifies (and other chemical reactions) changes the flavour of the mead, for the better.
 

jab

NewBee
Registered Member
Mar 15, 2004
557
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50
radiofreeomaha.net
For the record, I use tap water in all my brewing. I have never boiled it or let it sit. I don't think we have a whole lot of chlorine in the water here in NE, certainly not as much as on the east coast (gack!) and I have never had any problems.

Though for good measure it would be wise to call your water company and have them send their standard analysis of the local water. The you can get a good idea of what and at what ratios your water has in it.
 

Rathpig

NewBee
Registered Member
Jul 9, 2005
41
0
0
Ok, I'm curious did it restart or is it settling out?

I like adding honey to balance the dry high-alcohol primary without a noticable restart, maybe some CO2 but little "action" . Years ago I began repitching if I wanted it to boom into secondary and dry out the batch, but 90% of the time I need a little sweeting not more fire-water.


and if the tap water taste good to drink then it should be fine to brew with, IMO.
some people have great tap water, some people have tapped pool water, etc.

So anyway, did it restart? d0rian?
 

Brewbear

NewBee
Registered Member
May 10, 2005
959
0
0
I wouldn't be too concerned, boiling would have eliminated alot of the chlorine from it. Do you have any idea how hot was the must ( water + honey) when you added it to your mead? In my first ever batch I killed the yeast by adding water at 120 deg.F .
The idea of topping off serves the purpose to reduce the headspace and thusly limit oxidation (decrease surface area exposed to oxygen). Getting a small CO2 dispenser and "shooting" some CO2 in the carboy will drive out the air and eliiminate the need for topping off.

Hope this helps,
Ted
 
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