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Dead Batch?

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Gonzo

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Jan 20, 2005
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I have a batch of
Strawberry/Rasberry 1 gal total steeped in about 1 gal of water
7 lbs. of Honey
2 gal. of water
handfull of rasins
B11 yeast

Now I already know my mistake first off, my SG was way to high. I learned this after about a month of minimal fermenting. She did bubble but not much. So now I've added about 1 gal of water to it and the sg is now 1.14 and repitched it with EC-1118 and added a tsp of energizer. After stirring the hell out of it for 2 days and resealing it. It hasn't moved since then and that's been two days ago. Did I make draino?

Gonz
 

David Baldwin

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Jun 29, 2004
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Gonzo,

I'm trying to add this up.

3 gallon batch to start?
7 pounds of honey
1 gallon Strawberries/rasberries...???

Added another gallon of water to bring to SG of 1.14?
Total volume now of 4 gallons?

Do you know the SG when you originally pitched?

Temperature of your must in the carboy?


Pile on the info Gonz! Don't give up hope yet!!!
 

Dan McFeeley

Lifetime Patron
Lifetime GotMead Patron
Oct 10, 2003
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Gonzo said:
. . . Did I make draino?

Not just yet. A gravity of 1.14 may be a little too high to get things going. I'd suggest diluting the must a tad more and pitching a packet or two of Lalvin KIV-1116 -- great stuff for stuck fermentations!
 

Oskaar

Got Mead Partner
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Dec 26, 2004
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Oskaar - steps on the soapbox:

Gonz . . . Dude!

You're asking a lot of questions without ponying up the information everyone is asking in return. You need to post your EXACT recipe and list ingredients, amounts, correct yeast names, individual and total volumes and other helpful information we need to try and help you. Eveyone here wants to help you, but you make it difficult to do so without giving us the information WE need.

'nuff said.

steps off soapbox
 

Gonzo

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lol...your a gem oskar.

Ok ok, I'll try it again.

Originaly the first attempt went like this.
Strawberrys and Rasberrys minced 1 gal total steeped in about 1 gal of water
7 lbs. of Honey
2 gal. of water
handfull of rasins
Lavlin NARBONNE 71B-1122 yeast

Total volume 3 gal. and yeast pitched at 78 deg.
Sg 1.19

Bubbled for about 2 weeks real slow at starting.
2 weeks ago after learning that the yeast was not strong enough for the content of honey I added.

1 gal of water
1 tsp of energizer
1 pack of Lavalin CHAMPAGNE EC-1118
Total volume 4 gal. SG now at 1.14
Stirred and beatered it for 2 days and resealed the lid. I have had no activity for 2 weeks.

Total weeks in the bucket 5. I don't smell bad, I can tell that i does have a little alcohol aroma to it.

gonz
 

Oskaar

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Dec 26, 2004
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OK, now THOSE are some great recipe listings. Nice job!

Let's see here OG was about 1.19 and the SG is currently 1.14 if I'm reading this right.

Dan is right on the money from where I sit. I'd add enough water to bring your gravity down to 1.125 - 1.130, and pitch the Lalvin K1V-1116 (MONTPELLIER is the isolate) just spin your hydrometer right in the bucket. I'm gonna guess that you'll end up with close to 5 gallons more or less.

Here's a question for you. How are you rehydrating your yeast? Make sure to follow the rehydration recommendations exactly from Lalvin's site. Here's a link in case:

http://consumer.lallemand.com/danstar-lalvin/lalvinrehyd.html

The original Yeast, 71B-1122 was not suited to that starting gravity. Whoo hoo, and I thought I liked them sweet.

Here's another link to some great articles on the Lalvin Webste. You'll get a lot of great information that you will be able to use in devising your subsequent batches, and it will help you to get a good grasp on the fermentation process.

http://consumer.lallemand.com/danstar-lalvin/InFerment/InFerment.html

Cheers,

Oskaar
 

Jmattioli

Senior Member
Lifetime GotMead Patron
Frankly put, You have me baffled. How you can get an SG reading of 1.190 out of the recipe is beyond me. Most Hydrometers only go up to 1.170 . I think there is a reporting error somewhere in Denmark.
I wish I could help but my suspision is your readings are not correct.
Joe
 

JoeM

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Jan 9, 2004
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I agree with Joe, something isnt right here...I just didnt want to be the one to say it ;D . could it possible be the largish amount of smashed/cooked fruit he had in his primary?
 

Gonzo

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Jan 20, 2005
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The boyancy made it read past the last numbers available on the meter, so It's sort of a guestamation. My spelling sux. Anyway the last reading was 1.14, that is where we are at untill I can get my hands on some more yeast.

Where does fleishmans fall on the list of yeasts in terms of alcohol content and strength compared to other yeasts?

gonzo
 

jab

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Registered Member
Mar 15, 2004
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radiofreeomaha.net
Hey Gonzo, not trying to be the psycho forum police here but...

As has been suggested many, MANY times before...use the search. The alc. tolerances for most yeasts, including bread yeast, have been discussed elsewhere on the board.

You could be finding the answers to most of your questions in less time with the search function that it takes for you to ask a previously answered question and wait for a response.
 

Gonzo

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Jan 20, 2005
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Sheeesh, again with the search lecture.

It's time I guess to come clean, I don't like this forums search feature. There is something wrong with it. I swear I can do a search for two different topics and I get the same results. I have better luck googling gotmead >topic<.

Well today I came home from a short shift of work and I noticed that this batch we have been discussing has started to percilate. It's bubbling at about 1 bubble every 5-7 seconds.

No I haven't added water to the 5 gal. mark or repitched and more yeast. We are still at the second phase discussed.


gonz
 

JoeM

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Jan 9, 2004
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You know what i'm thinking gonz? maybe you should just ride this one out...i mean i dont know if any of us really know whats going on with that batch. if i were in your situationm i would throw it into the back of the closet and forget about it for two three months. let it do whatever its going to do, give it a rack, taste it, and then figure out what it needs. for all you know it may come out awesome and not need anything. what do you think?
 

Oskaar

Got Mead Partner
Administrator
Dec 26, 2004
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The OC
Glad to see your batch has resurrected, kind of apropos given the Easter season!

On another subject, I'll post some information in the site toys section for those of you who are seach tool challenged.

Cheers,

Oskaar
 

Gonzo

NewBee
Registered Member
Jan 20, 2005
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Ok, this baby has been racked once and sitting over a month and is crystal clear and red as Cranberry. There is about a half inch of lees on the botttom. What now, rack again and age or bottle?


gonzo
 

Gonzo

NewBee
Registered Member
Jan 20, 2005
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Ok so I racked this one today too, did a good job of keeping the gunk at the bottom there and instead of in the tube. She's sweet'n fruity, needs some maturity tho.

gonz
 
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