Ooh-oooh, that smell...

[Ryanbee]

Can't figure out how to edit my previous post, although this one is actually editable...maybe because I used the quick-reply button? Anyway:

It's actually not 2" of lees. Optical illusion with the reflection of my carboard "pad" in the glass carboy It's more like a quarter-inch of fine lees.

Funny thing is, I definitely detect a very slight burnt rubber-ish aroma from the airlock...will I need to rack again to get it off the lees? I'm thinking I'll just wait a couple months and see if the smell goes away. Although, it would be a great excuse to run out and buy another carboy, so I can finally start on batch #2...

[yeoldtimer]

Originally Posted by Chevette Girl

Regarding step feeding, that's not quite how the calculations work... you also need to know exact volumes to figure out how much the additional honey you add will dilute the ethanol. I never have accurate enough volume measurements for that so I just feed it till it stops eating and then do a spirit indication test later. If you know your SG water delivery phoenix at room temp (should be your final gravity reading), take a known volume of finished mead, boil it almost dry and then reconstitute it with water until it's the exact volume you'd started with, check the SG (this will be higher because you've boiled all the ethanol out of it), and because the specific gravity of the ethanol removed is known, and the specific gravity of water you replaced it with is known, you can calculate the alcohol concentration by the difference in SG at a place like here...

great advice thanks for the link

[Chevette Girl]

Originally Posted by Ryanbee

Can't figure out how to edit my previous post, although this one is actually editable...maybe because I used the quick-reply button? Anyway:

It's actually not 2" of lees. Optical illusion with the reflection of my carboard "pad" in the glass carboy It's more like a quarter-inch of fine lees.

Funny thing is, I definitely detect a very slight burnt rubber-ish aroma from the airlock...will I need to rack again to get it off the lees? I'm thinking I'll just wait a couple months and see if the smell goes away. Although, it would be a great excuse to run out and buy another carboy, so I can finally start on batch #2...

You can only edit your posts for an hour.

And yes, once things slow down, stuff starts dropping out and racking (and sometimes bottling ) can encourage flocculation and settling.

I like to swirl with the airlock on until no more bubbles, a few times a day for a few days usually does it.

Burnt rubber aroma, huh? My best suggestion if it's only an aroma and not a taste is to splash the hell out of it, don't worry about oxidation. A very splashy racking can sometimes encourage the stinkies to leave. If it tastes like rubber though, then you have to look at other things...