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First time brewer, first time poster

Barrel Char Wood Products
M

Mlawson

Guest
Guest
OK, think i got it going, might not but i need help. I got six lbs of honey (clover), 40oz of raspberries, some Montrachet Red Star Yeast. I boiled the berries, honey and some water togather. I was thinking of only makin 3 gallons for my first batch.
Questions:
1. Should i skim out all of the raspberries?
2. Should i let everyhting sit overnight to get to room temp before adding yeast and setting up the waterlock?
3. This was a total BS off the top of my head Recipe, how does it sound?

Lemme know what yall think.
Matt
 

JoeM

NewBee
Registered Member
Jan 9, 2004
665
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What was your final volume? If you were going to skim the berries the best time to have done it would have been while the must was still hot. I would be cautious about doing it at this point in order to avoid contamination. Your best bet is probably to leave them alone as they will be left behind after the first rack anyway. You definately need to let it cool before pitching the yeast, however, the sooner you pitch the better. what is it in right now if its not under airlock? it should be protected under airlock (or sealed untill you pitch) at all times.
 
M

Mlawson

Guest
Guest
ok, I didn't want to wait for a reply so i added water to get to 3 gallons, Waited 'till it was just above room temp and chucked the yeast in. I started the yeast in some warm sugar water btw. I got into that habbit w/ bread makin.
 

JoeM

NewBee
Registered Member
Jan 9, 2004
665
1
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43
sounds like you're off to a good start, 6 lbs of honey in three gallons is a good ratio...just keep sanitization in mind, little things can make a big difference. For example did you sanitize the container that you made your yeast starter in? Yeast starters are an excellent idea as they increase your pitching rate, i usually start mine a day or two in advance in a pint of water with half a cup of honey added which i boil for a few minutes and cool completely before adding the yeast.
 

ThistyViking

NewBee
Registered Member
Nov 15, 2003
529
0
0
This will be a DRY mead. Also alchohol wil be less than typical wine. Off hand probabyly about 8-9% ABV

This will leave the door open for infection I believe... so i'd strongly consider k-meta to protect your must.

I've not used rasberries but the amount per volume sounds like a subtle taste.
 
T

TeaTruck

Guest
Guest
can you explain DRY mead to me pls?

It won't be at all sweet, though it could still be quite good--matter of taste. It sounds to me like you could have used a bit more honey. I don't know much about different strains of yeast, but just about any strain will eat up 6 pounds of honey in three gallons, leaving you with very dry (not at all sweet) mead. I think 9 pounds would be more common.

As long as everything was sanitized well, and you've got it under an airlock, I wouldn't worry too much about infections. Just keep everything clean and you should be ok. That being said, I don't have an airlock on my primary fermenter--it's just a covered bucket. I rack in to an airlocked carboy just before I expect the fermentation to slow down, and I've never had any problems--though that's with beer. I have yet to taste how my fist batch of mead will fare under this treatment, but it smells pretty good, for the moment at least.
 

ThistyViking

NewBee
Registered Member
Nov 15, 2003
529
0
0
can you explain DRY mead to me pls?

Wine or mead is reffered to as DRY when it has almost no residual sugar content. Hydrometer readings of final gravity less than 1.000. When you drink this type of wine/mead it tends to leave you with a dry mouth (the alchohol content of the wine causes water to flow out of the cells into the mead in your mouth). The opposit of DRY is SWEET when you talk about wines/meads(also considerably less dry mouth, perhaps the sweet activates saliva glands <shrug>). Sweet wines retain more fruit taste typically. In the case of mead, you are dealing with honey instead of fruit but the same applies.
 

ThistyViking

NewBee
Registered Member
Nov 15, 2003
529
0
0
As long as everything was sanitized well, and you've got it under an airlock, I wouldn't worry too much about infections. Just keep everything clean and you should be ok. That being said, I don't have an airlock on my primary fermenter--it's just a covered bucket. I rack in to an airlocked carboy just before I expect the fermentation to slow down, and I've never had any problems--though that's with beer. I have yet to taste how my fist batch of mead will fare under this treatment, but it smells pretty good, for the moment at least.

I don't have exact numbers here, but it is my understanding that at about 12% the alchohol content is high enough to prevent most infections. I rely on good sanitation AND rapid fermentation to get the alchohol level up. The mead he has proposed is never going to hit 12%ABV so even a few airborn germ things that fall into the mead when he racks it will be able to slowly grow over time in his bulk aging and/or in the bottle. I don't have numbers on likelyhood here. Just the belief that he has left the door open by having a LOW Final ABV. k-meta would balance this by preventing the small random infection I believe almost all musts see from getting big enough to affect flavor. Red Star montrachet is cultured to work in the precense of 100ppm of Sulfite as normal.

Ok i tried to get some backing....
http://www.homebrewheaven.com/item786.htm

The hydrometer can be used to determine the natural sugar content of the "must." In most instances additional sugar should be added to this "must" to assure that the alcohol content of the finished wine is sufficient for the wine to keep. Alcohol is a preservative, and you should insure that your wine have alcohol content of at least 9 - 10%. Lower strength wines will be susceptible to spoilage. By determining the natural sugar content you can then adjust the sugar content to the desired S.G. reading. In many cases a S.G. of 1.090 is desired to begin the "must," as this give a potential alcohol by volume of 12%.
 
M

Mlawson

Guest
Guest
Man yall are goin over my head a bit, hehe, im a newbie, what can i say. I forgot to mention that i added some sugar, around 3/4 a cup. Dont know if that was a good thing or not. I also ran into a problem yesterday. I was putting my air lock back on the bucket when the ruber bushing that keeps the seal between the bucket and the arilock fell into the bucket of mead. Will this be very bad joo joo? I opened the bucket to get it out but it sank strait to the bottom. Thoughts?

Matt
 

ThistyViking

NewBee
Registered Member
Nov 15, 2003
529
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0
hmmm a very long serving spoon?manuver the gromet to the side of the bucket then up the side with the spoon.

or sterilized bar-b-que tongs maybe.
 
M

Mlawson

Guest
Guest
cant see through the jiuce. Not to mention the pile of raspberries at the bottom.
 

Hidalgo

NewBee
Registered Member
Jan 25, 2004
140
0
0
disinfect a something that you can put your arm through and feel around the bucket like that??
 

JamesP

Senior Member
Lifetime GotMead Patron
Dec 3, 2003
654
1
18
Brisbane Australia
People have been crushing grapes with their bare feet for centuries.

Surely if you wash your arm/hand, it won't be any worse than some toe jam :-X (Go for at least 12% Alcohol in the mead)

At least you can say you have really had a hands-on experience.
 
M

Mlawson

Guest
Guest
Ok i looked for the bushing but no luck. I stuck a piece of duct tape over the hole and stabbed the water lock down through it. i am getting no bubbles. i would say it has been over 48 hours. should i be worried?
 

ThistyViking

NewBee
Registered Member
Nov 15, 2003
529
0
0
No worries, looking for the grommet would have agitated the must and released C02, give it another 48 IMO
 

JamesP

Senior Member
Lifetime GotMead Patron
Dec 3, 2003
654
1
18
Brisbane Australia
If there is a slight air gap around the airlock base, then the CO2 might be escaping out of there. It shouldn't be an issue.

To avoid contamination, you could splash some K-meta solution (or whatever you sanitize with) around the base of the airlock.

To recover your grommet, rack early to another carboy, once the fermentation has settled down a bit.
 

Gabe

NewBee
Registered Member
Dec 23, 2013
3
0
0
First mead ever! Looking for predictions.

First off, from what ive found here...this forum is EXACTLY what i was looking for and the people here are extremely knowledgeable and from what i read, LOVE the craft of brewing mead! So with that i hope yall can give me some pointers and insight on what my mead will turn out to be and how long.
I am a seasoned beer brewer but just brewed my first 5 gal batch of mead 1 week ago in a 5 gallon glass carboi. I pasturized my honey at 150 deg F for 30 min.
My ingredients are as follows.
14 Pounds of dark unfiltered raw wildflower honey
1 tbs of yeast nutrient
2 packets of lalvin D-47 wine yeast

And thats all folks. My OG was 1.112
I just started degassing as per everyones recommendation here. I wasnt aware of degassing until today reading this forum.
Anyways, i would like to extend my hello to everyone and see what your input is on how this will turn out, along with fermentation length, how many times it should be racked, how long it should age before and after bottleing.
Or ANY tips on the proccess that will help this turn out awesome.
I am a HUGE fan of medieval lore and fantasy and thought it would be fun to brew some mead and take a step back in time since mead is claimed to be the oldest alcoholic beverage of mankind. So I wanted to brew just a straight up mead...since ive never even tasted it before.
I am very excited to be doing this and sure i will be brewing mead on the regular. Very intriguing craft to me, and would love to learn all i can and plan to be at home here on gotmead. Thank you!
 

fatbloke

good egg/snappy dresser.....
GotMead Patron
First off, from what ive found here...this forum is EXACTLY what i was looking for and the people here are extremely knowledgeable and from what i read, LOVE the craft of brewing mead! So with that i hope yall can give me some pointers and insight on what my mead will turn out to be and how long.
I am a seasoned beer brewer but just brewed my first 5 gal batch of mead 1 week ago in a 5 gallon glass carboi. I pasturized my honey at 150 deg F for 30 min.
My ingredients are as follows.
14 Pounds of dark unfiltered raw wildflower honey
1 tbs of yeast nutrient
2 packets of lalvin D-47 wine yeast

And thats all folks. My OG was 1.112
I just started degassing as per everyones recommendation here. I wasnt aware of degassing until today reading this forum.
Anyways, i would like to extend my hello to everyone and see what your input is on how this will turn out, along with fermentation length, how many times it should be racked, how long it should age before and after bottleing.
Or ANY tips on the proccess that will help this turn out awesome.
I am a HUGE fan of medieval lore and fantasy and thought it would be fun to brew some mead and take a step back in time since mead is claimed to be the oldest alcoholic beverage of mankind. So I wanted to brew just a straight up mead...since ive never even tasted it before.
I am very excited to be doing this and sure i will be brewing mead on the regular. Very intriguing craft to me, and would love to learn all i can and plan to be at home here on gotmead. Thank you!
Welcome......
Just a minor "pick up" though. I'd have been better to have starter your own thread.... the one you've tagged onto is not that recent, but some might still think of it as incorrect.....

Anyway......

1.112 isn't drastically high to start so that's good. It's well worth reading the newbee guide linked left in the yellow box, despite beer experience. You'll notice similarities but also some techniques that'd be considered heresy to a beer maker.

With your current ingredients, 1 pack of yeast would have been fine but 2 packs isn't an issue. D47 carries a caveat, inasfaras, it's known to produce fusels if fermented at over 70f/21C. A nice whack of nutrient, great. Yet its worth thinking along the lines of energiser instead.

Honey is famously low in both nitrogen and non-nitrogen and problems like stinky batches are connected to lack of thiamine as well as nitrogen. So things you might notice are staggered nutrients and the mixed nature i.e. energiser and nutrient, but I err toward 2 parts energiser to ensure enough of the non-nitrogen elements but then top up with 1 part DAP for the extra nitrogen (Ken Schramm's nutrient article from Zymurgy mag is linked in my blog and shows why it can help to use Lalvin stuff because they publish more data than any other maker - other nutrients are available of course, just that Lallemand are better for the info to work the numbers).

If you tried commercial meads, theyre not always the best guide to taste, because a lot of them are "dessert" type meads and can be cloyingly sweet. Equally, I'd suggest that you may well find that if your batch ferments dry or pretty close to, you will instantly learn whats meant by "young mead nastiness". People find this surprising - though I'd allege this is because we're so familiar with the mega sweetness of honey we just don't understand how it tastes when the sugar has been fermented out.

Presuming you'll be finding this, there's 2 possible methods to sort it out. 1) read up about ageing the brew once its cleared - this has the downside of taking a long(ish) time relatively speaking, but give it say 6 months and you'll notice a huge difference, its usually a massive change....... or 2) you can back sweeten it (for the best results IMO from the original honey). The downside of this is that if you wait till until its cleared before sweetening, honey can cause a haze that either needs aging out or needing finings to clear.

I routinely use the second method but I ferment dry, then stabilise, then sweeten with honey to a "medium" sort of level (1.010-1.015) then clear it and invariably age it in bulk. If you bottle once clear, bottle in a mix of sizes as smaller bottles can be used for testing the aging progress.......

Hopefully that lot helps explain some of the nuances and difference between beer and mead making.......
 

kudapucat

NewBee
Registered Member
Dec 2, 2010
2,383
10
0
Bundoora, Melbourne, Australia
Yes. Massive thread revival.

I agree with everything FB has said.

I prefer fermenting with residual sugar, rather than backsweetening, but it's more variable, and more art than science. YMMV

D47 as I recall has a 14% tolerance, which may leave you with some residual sweetness. Say 1.005-1.010.
But it could just as easily go dry. Yeast is fickle like that.

Good luck, and welcome to the madness.
 
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