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BOMM Questions.

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occhuzzo

NewBee
Registered Member
Mar 7, 2014
16
0
0
Recipe and Instructions-

BOMM Recipe - 1 gallon
(Updated for clarity & post fermentation options)

Start with 1 gallon spring water.
Remove 1/2 cup water to compensate for smack pack volume.
Draw line on jugs at this water level.
Remove an additional 3.2 cups of water from jug (757 ml).
Add Orange Blossom honey (or your favorite varietal honey) back to line.
-About 2.5 lbs. SG 1.099ish.

Add 1/4 tsp DAP and 1/2 tsp of Fermaid K. Add these again at 2/3 (1.066) & 1/3 (1.033) sugar break.


Add 1/4 tsp K2CO3. One time addition.
-Potassium carbonate (K2CO3) is preferred due to high K+ levels, but potassium bicarbonate (KHCO3) will work fine. This is for pH buffering and to provide K+ for the yeast.

Shake with the top on until honey is fully dissolved. It will require some effort! You're earning your mead!
Add activated Wyeast 1388 yeast smacked for about 2 hours.
No water in airlock for 7 days or the gravity falls below 1.033. Whichever comes first, add water or vodka to airlock.
Ferments dry in about a week.

NOTE: Wyeast 1388 is NOT sensitive to temperature. Temperatures of 65-80 F all yield clean mead free of fusels. The yeast do ferment the fastest at 68 F however.

Post Fermentation (Optional!)
Add 1 vanilla bean, 3 cubes American Medium toast and 2 cubes French Medium toast oak for 2-4 weeks to taste.

You can also step feed small additions of honey until the yeast give up to sweeten. Just be sure your gravity is stable over several weeks to avoid bottle bombs!

I've also had good luck racking on 3-5 pounds of frozen berries to make a melomel.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Need information or help-

I get Add activated Wyeast 1388 yeast but what is this *smacked for about 2 hours* did i miss something in the guide for newBees? what is Smacked?

does adding vodka to airlock do anything special at all? thought airlock just lets gas out and keep bad stuff from getting in....so why Vodka. is it for the people that can get Vodka easier than water or is it a small sacrifice to the Mead Gods so they will bless your Mead?
 

Bob1016

NewBee
Registered Member
Jun 24, 2012
662
3
0
Coral Springs, FL
Wyeast sells a yeast slurry (as opposed to dry yeast), inside the package their is a small pack that contains nutrients. Smacking it wakes the yeast up, think of it as a starter or adding some must to your slurry after rehydration.
As for the vodka, I can only assume he wanted to use something sanitary because one of the hardest things for new zymugists is sanitation. If you are comfortable with your sanitation practices then water should be fine just like any other airlock.


Sent from my Motorola DynaTAC 8000X using Tapatalk
 

loveofrose

Got Mead? Patron
GotMead Patron
Nov 9, 2012
2,582
21
38
Texas
I tend to use vodka for two reasons. First, I find that mold can grow in the airlock even if the water has sanitizer in it. Second, sometimes airlock liquid will suck back into the mead when I open it. I'd rather a trace of sterile vodka rather than fungus in my mead.


Better brewing through science!
 

Bob1016

NewBee
Registered Member
Jun 24, 2012
662
3
0
Coral Springs, FL
No judgments, I've come to love plastic wrap and a rubber band, works perfect for bulk aging.


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icedmetal

NewBee
Registered Member
Nov 16, 2009
794
1
0
Everett WA
No judgments, I've come to love plastic wrap and a rubber band, works perfect for bulk aging.

Wow! Have you run into any issues with oxidation that way? I'd think you'd get more oxygen exchange past the plastic wrap than you would a rubber bung or an airlock.
 

Bob1016

NewBee
Registered Member
Jun 24, 2012
662
3
0
Coral Springs, FL
Nope, I actually think it might be better. There's a ton of air that gets through those bungs.


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mannye

Administrator
Administrator
Moderator
Oct 10, 2012
4,167
25
38
57
Miami Beach, FL
After reading that part I was secretly hoping some user around here would reply that that is the actual reason ;)

That's just silly. Everyone knows that the vodka in the airlock is just for sterility purposes. However.... the BUNG on the other hand, needs to be dipped in the blood of an acolyte (no acolytes at home? You're not making mead correctly) harvested from his heart which was removed during the "obsidian knife" ceremony (medium toasted oak (French) handle). Or not. Whatever you want, but don't come running to me when Cthulhu wraps his tentacles around your neck.
 

mannye

Administrator
Administrator
Moderator
Oct 10, 2012
4,167
25
38
57
Miami Beach, FL
Actually, vodka is a great idea. I still remember my first batch of beer over 20 years ago. I wanted to take a peek at what was going on in the bucket so I lifted the lid.... without first removing the bung and SHLOOOP! all the funky liquid in the airlock got sucked into the batch. I was fit to be tied. Had it been vodka, I would have simply shrugged.


Sent from my galafreyan transdimensional communicator 100 years from now. G
 

EJM3

Honey Master
Registered Member
Nov 21, 2013
1,015
3
38
50
The Boozevarian Village of Leavenworth WA
I use vodka in all my airlocks, yeast or bacterial ferments. I use it in the airlock to prevent "suck back" of the liquid into my must/mead, I have found several fruit flies and a few other types of midge like critters in my airlocks almost as soon as the ground started to stay thawed. I would hate to think what fermenting fly would contribute to my must/mead :-X:-X!!! I also use it to sterilize the bung and the neck of my vessel, various bits of equipment (hydrometer, tubing, flask, etc...) as well as my hands. I figure that if I cannot handle drinking the stuff that they (bacteria, yeasts, etc..) can't either!!!
 

antonichen

NewBee
Registered Member
Feb 27, 2014
68
0
0
Hey OP thanks for posting this thread. I was just about to get into this section of the forum and ask some questions about the BOMM.

Now, the yeast being smacked, does that just mean activated? Also, once the the primary fermentation is complete, is it advised to rack into a secondary? I know this is a very fast turnaround mead, but, is there any use in tucking it away to age? I think I remember reading about someone debating on whether or not the BOMM improves much with different levels of aging.

Thanks again for the info!
 

loveofrose

Got Mead? Patron
GotMead Patron
Nov 9, 2012
2,582
21
38
Texas
I can vouch that it improves up to a year. Still aging to determine the peak.


Better brewing through science!
 

loveofrose

Got Mead? Patron
GotMead Patron
Nov 9, 2012
2,582
21
38
Texas
I generally bottle directly from primary. I'm lazy like that. Racking is generally reserved for melomels and metheglins for me.


Better brewing through science!
 

mannye

Administrator
Administrator
Moderator
Oct 10, 2012
4,167
25
38
57
Miami Beach, FL
Hey OP thanks for posting this thread. I was just about to get into this section of the forum and ask some questions about the BOMM.

Now, the yeast being smacked, does that just mean activated? Also, once the the primary fermentation is complete, is it advised to rack into a secondary? I know this is a very fast turnaround mead, but, is there any use in tucking it away to age? I think I remember reading about someone debating on whether or not the BOMM improves much with different levels of aging.

Thanks again for the info!

You break the little pouch inside the bag. You can smack it or like I do, place it on a table and lean on it until you feel it pop. Then you shake it and let it sit for AT LEAST 3 hours but 12 is better. You know you did it right because the bag puffs up like a little balloon.

Then you just cut off the top corner and pour it into the carboy/bucket/whatever.


Sent from my galafreyan transdimensional communicator 100 years from now. G
 
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