Back Sweetening question

[Cambion7]

I'm working on my second batch of mead, which is a 1 gallon batch. Recipe was as follows:

3# Wildflower plus spring water to make 1 gallon.
1 Gram Pottasium Carbonate
GoFerm, and DV10 Yeast
Stagged feeding Fermaid K and DAP.
OG was right around 1.106

At the end of fermentation, I racked and lost a cup to avoid being greedy. I added 1 cup 100% Tart Cherry juice and a madagascar vanilla bean split in two and let that sit for a week then racked again and put it in the fridge for a week. I then took it out and set it on the counter for a couple more weeks.

Last rack, now I'm about 4 cups short, put a bunch of marbles to reduce head space. My FG is at 1.004 and I want to add a bit of sweetness. So I'm testing my limited knowledge and hopefully one of you gurus can give me some insight.

Medium meads are between 1.006 and 1.015 so I know mine is high end of dry. Would it be fair to say to take mine to medium of 1.010 I need to adjust my batch to that SG? If so, I used the mead calculator, two parts of it.

The blending calculator I put in #1 values of 1.004 and 12 (cups), vol #2 4 (cups) the total volume self-populated, and the blended SG as 1.010 so the SG#2 showed 1.028 SG. The recipe caculator at top for a 4 cup volume and SG Target 1.028 at around 0.2# or approx one quarter cup.

Do I have this right, or am I a newbee that's way off the mark?

Thanks in advance!
Scott

[Cpt.Frederickson]

The way I've done it (and i'm not sure if its right either) means you need to know your current SG and volume and use the main calculator to work out what you'd like to sweeten to.
SO, you want to sweeten by 0.006 to reach 1.010, so the figure to put in the target gravity box is 1.006. Check in the little box in the top left.
Next, is the volume. Guesstimating you're 4 cups down means you're on 0.75 gallons, and I expect you'd want to get this back to one gallon? Put one gallon in the volume box and check the little box in the corner.
Tada, your approximate honey volume will be in the first additional sugars box. This isn't 100% accurate due to variations in sugar content of honey, but gives you a ball park figure to shoot for.
This is the method I've used in the past, but here is another thread with a bit more detail in the discussion if you need further reference.
Best of luck with it dude!

[Cambion7]

Hi Cpt!

Yes, I'm at .75 gallon due to racking loss. I'll take notes on what you've said below and check that link out as well. Much appreciated. With so many hits on a search word it's hard to weed through it all.

I'm getting ready to start my third batch. I'll be posting the recipe and all the tid bits to the appropriate recipe forum once I get started.

Regards,
Scott

[Cambion7]

I went over and read the link. Good information on adding just honey for back sweetening. For bringing volume back up and hitting a specific target, following what I did seems to be what it takes.

By using the blending calculator to find out what the addition's SG needs to be, and the main calculator to figure the honey amount in the new must, I plugged the following into Hightest's calculator:

0.2# Honey (0.27 cups)
Water 3.73 Cups
Juice 1 (my mead) SG 1.004 V=12.00

New SG = 1.010 which is the target I'm shooting for. I'm going to sorbate and cold crash to make sure nothing starts up. After a few weeks in the refrigerator I'll take it out and put it in the closet and let it age there.

I'll report back the results for sure.

[akueck]

Usually it's better to sweeten to taste. Those "dry, medium, sweet" gravities are just guidelines, and every mead is different.

[Cambion7]

Originally Posted by akueck

Usually it's better to sweeten to taste. Those "dry, medium, sweet" gravities are just guidelines, and every mead is different.

Point taken. I'll go this route as I was thinking "what if it goes too sweet"... though I could then just at an acid blend. The joys of being a newbee!

[Medsen Fey]

Originally Posted by Cambion7

... I was thinking "what if it goes too sweet"... though I could then just at an acid blend.

More meads have been ruined by overzealous additions of acid than by anything else (with the possible exception of oak, though oak usually ages out)

[Cambion7]

Originally Posted by Medsen Fey

More meads have been ruined by overzealous additions of acid than by anything else (with the possible exception of oak, though oak usually ages out)

That goes back to your point of back sweetening to taste and not to a specific SG, right? Add to taste, always. It might be fine to say (Add 1/2 tsp per gallon) but that might be way too much. I might just take this melomel and leave it where it's at, bottle what I've kept and be done with it. My whole idea was to get a gallon.

I forget where I read it. Ferment more than what you expect to get because you'll have loss at each rack. Sounds like good advice eh?

Again, thanks for the valuable suggestions.

[Chevette Girl]

Usually what I do is take a sample (one big enough to get a SG reading with) and add little bits of honey and stir, tasting small amounts till I think it's right, then check the SG and adjust the rest of the batch to match...

And that whole "ferment more than you need" thing? Yeah, we may have mentioned that a time or two... This is one of the main reasons why I do most of my fermentations (especially those involving fruit) in a bucket, and make an extra quarter to half-gallon (depending on fruit volume and batch size) so I know my first racking will be a full carboy.

[Cambion7]

Originally Posted by Chevette Girl

Usually what I do is take a sample (one big enough to get a SG reading with) and add little bits of honey and stir, tasting small amounts till I think it's right, then check the SG and adjust the rest of the batch to match...

And that whole "ferment more than you need" thing? Yeah, we may have mentioned that a time or two... This is one of the main reasons why I do most of my fermentations (especially those involving fruit) in a bucket, and make an extra quarter to half-gallon (depending on fruit volume and batch size) so I know my first racking will be a full carboy.

I love both ideas. I did buy a 6 gallon bucket and a 5 gallon plastic carboy. I like the idea of going more in the fermenter to have a nice full carboy without needing marbles to take up head space.

Thanks again!
Scott