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Patience

Barrel Char Wood Products

dover157

NewBee
Registered Member
Sep 13, 2010
78
1
0
Moriarty, New Mexico
......... Is something I am lacking. I have yet to have any meads that are ready to drink, but I get to check on this every day (sometimes 3-4 times)
firewood2010002-1.jpg

From left to right, #1 Crabapple Cyser, #2 Apple Cyser, #3 Apple Black Cherry Cider, and 2 batches of JAO ( the one in the front is SWMBO's holiday cranberry version in the apple shaped carboy she has claimed:rolleyes:)
The JAO's are about ready to bottle will prolly do that on sunday. May have a small sample at that time to see how they are going. The others are a ways out, and im already jonesing to get my primary back in service........ need more honey:(.
 

dover157

NewBee
Registered Member
Sep 13, 2010
78
1
0
Moriarty, New Mexico
Crimsondrac, yes is all 1 gal except for the black cherry, had a little more so I got a stopper for the 1 pint bottle the cherry juice came in so it was not wasted. Hopefully I will be moving up to 5 gal batches soon just need more $$ lol
 

AToE

NewBee
Registered Member
Jun 8, 2009
4,066
3
0
Calgary AB Canada
I love having way too many batches on the go. I hate trying to keep all the airlocks full of water (and not full of mold) but other than that it's great. Patience becomes very easy all of a sudden when you can't even remember all of what you have aging! Before the idea of waiting more than 5 months to bottle was impossible to me, now I have no issue at all letting them sit as long as they seem to need to.
 

icedmetal

NewBee
Registered Member
Nov 16, 2009
794
1
0
Everett WA
You get mold in your airlocks? :eek: That has never ever happened to me, and I'd be rightly freaked out by such an occurrence. Do you have a lot of nasties floating around in your air or something?

One thing to keep in mind when you move to 5 gallon batches: that itch to start another doesn't get smaller when your batches get bigger. At least for me it didn't. Which is why I've got 80+ gallons aging right now, all of my racks full, and another 30 gallons sitting on the floor waiting for rack space to open up. ;D I can't start anymore now till I bottle some, I've finally run out of carboys.
 

AToE

NewBee
Registered Member
Jun 8, 2009
4,066
3
0
Calgary AB Canada
You get mold in your airlocks? :eek: That has never ever happened to me, and I'd be rightly freaked out by such an occurrence. Do you have a lot of nasties floating around in your air or something?

Yeah, a black mold that starts growing usually around 4 or 5 months in. I should switch to using vodka in my airlocks, but I already am too lazy to keep topping them up. Maybe if I can find some pure vegitable glycerin I'll use that instead.
 

Jestig

NewBee
Registered Member
Aug 25, 2009
24
0
0
Oceanside, CA.
I love having way too many batches on the go. I hate trying to keep all the airlocks full of water (and not full of mold) but other than that it's great. Patience becomes very easy all of a sudden when you can't even remember all of what you have aging! Before the idea of waiting more than 5 months to bottle was impossible to me, now I have no issue at all letting them sit as long as they seem to need to.

I use Vodka instead of water. Dont have to fill it up as much and keeps everything a bit cleaner.
 

icedmetal

NewBee
Registered Member
Nov 16, 2009
794
1
0
Everett WA
Have you considered putting in an air purifier where you store your meads? It would be more costly than using vodka in the airlocks, but would have the added side benefit of perhaps removing some/all of the air contaminants.
 

AToE

NewBee
Registered Member
Jun 8, 2009
4,066
3
0
Calgary AB Canada
Honestly, unless I boil all my water as well I don't know if it'd be worth it. I've never had a spoiled batch, so I'm not really paranoid about it, sometimes I even wait weeks before cleaning out the airlocks when I see the mold. I'm pretty lazy.

Vodka is probably the way I'll go eventually.
 

Chevette Girl

All around BAD EXAMPLE
Moderator
Lifetime GotMead Patron
Apr 27, 2010
8,443
53
48
Ottawa, ON
I use my suphite solution in my airlocks but every now and then one will either go black, go white and gunky or start collecting fruit flies... so yeah, it does evaporate eventually... oh, and just started my 40th gallon of 2010... and celebrated by buying three new airlocks... :)
 

huntfishtrap

NewBee
Registered Member
Mar 4, 2009
108
0
0
Aurora, Nebraska
The main reason I use vodka, is that I read somewhere that it is possible for a large barametric or temp change to cause you solution to suck back into your fermentor. I don't even want sanitizer to go back in there.

Paul
 

Chevette Girl

All around BAD EXAMPLE
Moderator
Lifetime GotMead Patron
Apr 27, 2010
8,443
53
48
Ottawa, ON
If your airlock is filled to the proper level it shouldn't backwash into your must... the air should just bubble through.
 

dover157

NewBee
Registered Member
Sep 13, 2010
78
1
0
Moriarty, New Mexico
Got home last night and both of the JAO's were crystal clear, so I thought it would be a good time to rack / bottle them. Stupid bread yeast stirs up to easy, the trip from the spare room to the kitchen was enough to cloud them up again. Left them sitting on the table with a towel around them to settle, will try it again tonight. Since I had my racking cane sanitized and ready to go I pulled a small sample for tasting. The first one I made tasted horrible, hot, sour, needs lots of time to age. The one my wife modified with cranberries and extra spices is quite good already, should be great by the holidays which is what she wanted...... typical, I get into a new hobby and she blows me out of the gate on the first lap lol.
 

Chevette Girl

All around BAD EXAMPLE
Moderator
Lifetime GotMead Patron
Apr 27, 2010
8,443
53
48
Ottawa, ON
I know the feeling, the only reason my husband isn't better than me at everything I do is because he's not interested in doing half of it... :D
 

AToE

NewBee
Registered Member
Jun 8, 2009
4,066
3
0
Calgary AB Canada
Same here, my girl would be kicking my butt, but she loses interest (started making kombucha and hasn't drank a single batch yet, she just keeps feeding this truely frighteningly huge kombucha colony...).
 

Tannin Boy

NewBee
Registered Member
Jun 6, 2010
332
0
0
Webster, NY
Stupid bread yeast stirs up to easy, the trip from the spare room to the kitchen was enough to cloud them up again.

This has been my biggest complaint about the process:mad:
This year I am testing a theory and should have a reasonable answer
by spring time 2011. I decided to test a conical Fermenter with a dump valve
for the yeast / lee's disposal / racking and re-racking PITA part?


The one my wife modified with cranberries and extra spices is quite good already, should be great by the holidays which is what she wanted...... typical, I get into a new hobby and she blows me out of the gate on the first lap lol.

Yep, the cranberry Mel is one that I have been fooling with since I started this journey. It can be an incredibly fast finisher and ready within 3 months to drink, which is a plus for someone who doesn't have reserve's in storage to get one through the waiting period of recent batches.;D

TB
 

dover157

NewBee
Registered Member
Sep 13, 2010
78
1
0
Moriarty, New Mexico
Well I got the JAO's bottled, put one of each batch in a 750 ml bottle corked (first time using a corker...... ugly but sealed) put the rest in flip top bottles for sampling. The 3 batches of cider / cyser are comming along nicely and the black cherry is already verry good and keeps getting better. I have been reading some of the posts about the malted cyser and thinking that is something I would like to try for my next batch. I asked for advice at the LHBS that is closest to the house and got the dog listening to a high pitched sound response..... Will have to try the other store later in the week, is a 60 mile one way drive but is pretty through the mountains. Hopefully will be worth it. Cheers.
 
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