Power Outage!

skålduggery · #1 06-26-2012, 07:48 AM

So I was 24 hours early when I predicted in my post last week that my first panic moment would hit on Sunday.

I got home from work yesterday to a power outage, and the condo was already heating up.

The back closet, er mead room, has a vent and stays much cooler if the door is kept closed. I didn't want to go in there and let all the cooler air out so I didn't aerate or check the gravity yesterday. The power was still out when I crashed last night, and I didn't have time this morning to mess with the must.

My question now is what are the effects of not aerating the must 48-72 hours after pitching the yeast? Bubbles are still chugging away through the airlock...

FYI:

7.5 lbs clover honey
1 lb wildflower honey
6 qts Newmans Own 100% grape juice
water to 3 gallons
O.G. = 1.138
S.G. @ 24 hrs = 1.133

the smell has changed from very yeasty to kind of sour...

hepcat · #2 06-26-2012, 10:32 AM

Hopefully your power is back on now. But even if it is, I'd set up a swamp cooler. It's quick and easy to set up and works very well. Temp control is important.
What yeast did you pitch?

skålduggery · #3 06-26-2012, 10:58 AM

I used K1-V1116.

I chose temp control over aerating. I'm just wondering what I bought with that decision...

hepcat · #4 06-26-2012, 11:06 AM

Well you used a good yeast for higher temps, it will probably be ok.
I'll let the experts advise you on aerating, but I'd go ahead and get a gravity reading to see where it's at. Good luck.

Chevette Girl · #5 06-26-2012, 12:18 PM

Go check your SG when you get home, if it's not below the halfway point, give 'er another thorough aeration... and yeah, I think Medsen's done some research on warm-tolerant yeasts and K1V comes out on top of the commonly-used Lalvin yeasts.

D-47, on the other hand, definitely panic mode if the AC's off... putting it in a pan of water with a wet towel or shirt over it would have been my first thought.

If you've aerated it at all prior to this, you're still doing better than I did with a lot of my early batches where I didn't understand that the yeast needed O2 to breed, even if the process by which they convert sugar to alcohol did not, so it'll probably be fine.

skålduggery · #6 06-27-2012, 09:46 PM

I guess I'm just going to assume that everything is fine and progressing as it should.

Yesterday's SG - 1.097
Aerated it well.

Today's SG - 1.090
Degassed but didn't aerate.

So if OG is 1.138, the 1/3 break should be 1.092 and I should be done aerating, right?

The must is still bubbling like crazy, and tastes pretty good.

Deacon Aegis · #7 06-28-2012, 03:03 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by skålduggery

I guess I'm just going to assume that everything is fine and progressing as it should.

Yesterday's SG - 1.097
Aerated it well.

Today's SG - 1.090
Degassed but didn't aerate.

So if OG is 1.138, the 1/3 break should be 1.092 and I should be done aerating, right?

The must is still bubbling like crazy, and tastes pretty good.

You are correct on the 1/3 sugar break. Though you may stop aerating it, it is not a bad idea to continue to stir the mead a couple of times a day to mix the yeast back into suspension. If you haven't added nutrients, this is also a good time to add some. The yeast can still use DAP and a shot of Fermaid or other yeast nutrient to keep it going smoothly. K1-V1116 yeast is not a major nutrient hog, so I tend to err on the lighter side of SNA's with K1V...