Hi all! ;D
Lets play Red Light Green Light!
I began a mead about two or two and a half months ago.
Simple Recipe:
1 gal (12 lb) wildflower honey
5 gal H2O
I pitched eau de vie yeast witch has a very high alcohol tolerance of 21%.
and I was planning on adding 8 lb of semi sweet wild cherries and several vanilla beans to the secondary and tertiary.
og 1.070.
Fermentation was never hard. I added 5 tsp of nutrients to keep that natural CO2 blanket on top when I racked it a couple of weeks ago. It’s essentially finished now, bubbling maybe a few times a minute.
In order to finish this slightly sweet (1.009-1.012) I’ll have to put the total gravity far higher. This yeast eats allot! Approximately 1.16 will finish the abv and leave it dry.
My plan: Rack off 1 3/4 gallons and add 1 1/4 gal of honey. This will bring the total gravity in this batch up to 1.171 and leave me space for my cherries. (I have a plan for the "extra" must too but that’s another post )
But I've heard that adding honey to a nearly finished fermentation could stress the yeast and produce medicinal flavors. If it risks the mead, I'd rather leave it where it is and have a dry sparkling mead instead.
Okay! So red light or green light? Should I go ahead with adapting the recipe or stop while I'm ahead? :
I go back and forth, maybe this would be better made with apple blossom honey and I should save my cherries and vanilla beans for something that might compliment it more...
Well, advice is much appreciated.
thanks y'all
~Wolfie
Lets play Red Light Green Light!
I began a mead about two or two and a half months ago.
Simple Recipe:
1 gal (12 lb) wildflower honey
5 gal H2O
I pitched eau de vie yeast witch has a very high alcohol tolerance of 21%.
and I was planning on adding 8 lb of semi sweet wild cherries and several vanilla beans to the secondary and tertiary.
og 1.070.
Fermentation was never hard. I added 5 tsp of nutrients to keep that natural CO2 blanket on top when I racked it a couple of weeks ago. It’s essentially finished now, bubbling maybe a few times a minute.
In order to finish this slightly sweet (1.009-1.012) I’ll have to put the total gravity far higher. This yeast eats allot! Approximately 1.16 will finish the abv and leave it dry.
My plan: Rack off 1 3/4 gallons and add 1 1/4 gal of honey. This will bring the total gravity in this batch up to 1.171 and leave me space for my cherries. (I have a plan for the "extra" must too but that’s another post )
But I've heard that adding honey to a nearly finished fermentation could stress the yeast and produce medicinal flavors. If it risks the mead, I'd rather leave it where it is and have a dry sparkling mead instead.
Okay! So red light or green light? Should I go ahead with adapting the recipe or stop while I'm ahead? :
I go back and forth, maybe this would be better made with apple blossom honey and I should save my cherries and vanilla beans for something that might compliment it more...
Well, advice is much appreciated.
thanks y'all
~Wolfie