My Batch #5.

This is my latest project.

I got a bit of Honey from a supplier who was trying to sell it out so this is how I am going to use it

5 Pounds Buckwheat Honey
5 Pounds Wildflower Honey
3 Pounds Blueberry Honey
2.5 Pounds Wildflower Honey (different Supplier)
1.37 Pounds generic Honey (all he had left)
2 packets of 1168
2 tablespoons fermax.
1 ounce of Phoenix hops pellets
1 ounce of Goldings Hops pellets
1/2 ounce of Sweet Orange Peel.

The 1.37 Generic also is very crystallized and has to be boiled.

The plan is to boil that 1.37 crystallized in 2 gallons of water for about 15 to 20 minutes until it's clear. Then boil for 15 more minutes with the hops and orange peel and then put this into a prepared carboy with the rest of the honey and 3 gallons of water. I will then top it off with water, and shake the bejesus out of it, and the airlock it and pray.

Any thoughts? I won't have an Initial gravity until I put it in the carboy, so I will post that later.

I also saw an old post about what to do with old yeast. I have like 8 or 9 old packages of red star that has long since expired. I took this yeast and boiled it for 25 minutes to ensure the yeast die and I will be including them in the pitching as well. This is a cheap and dirty way to get yeast hulls?

skunkboy said:

The two 1 gallon batches I made having boiled the hops were overly bitter to my tastes. I have been
meaning to try running another gallon batch, and dry hopping it instead.

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I'll keep it in mind. I forget what silly book I read that mentioned a tiny bit of hopping helped out, so i only left them steeping for 10 minutes, and not fifteen.

Still brewing

Temperature at putting into Carboy -91F
SG - 1.088

I fear I'm right at the maximum.

Can someone convert that to the right measurement, because the math to get to the 'real' temp at 60 always confuses me.

Somehow I ended up having an overage, the 2 gallons i boiled didn't fit in the carboy so I threw that into a sterile [edit: sanitized] 1 gallon jug with some 1168 and a pound of whole-foods-loves-you-cheap-special honey. I'm sure it's going to be awfully weak.

A weird thing. Both the carboy and the one gallon jug have this weird greenish tinge. Is that just from the hops?

skunkboy said:

Yeah, if you didn't add anything else with a color to it, your must will almost certainly be green from the
hops. You definitly want to keep this out of the light, or you will get a light reaction with the hops, and
skunk, wet cardboard smell.

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It's in a darkened basement. I only have the light on when I check it. Even a fluorescent light is enough to damage it if it's on long enough? The color has levelled out a bit and it's mostly cyanish-yellow tinted now.

Even in the finished product light-safety will be an issue?

Well.

My lees stirrer came in, and I think I botched a bit using it.

I stirred it for five minutes and all the white foamy head that was on it is now gone. It's still bubbling and the airlock is going.

What exactly is the foamy head? I was going under the impression that it was healthy and it seems to be all mixed up in the must now. How often do I have to be aerating it? It's a little scary as far as aeration goes!

SG at 1.080 at 72 degrees in the carboy. So it's down a bit. Does this sound about healthy?

I also added one teaspoon of Fermaid K, and I think I may have done this sort of wrong, as it was too soon, and I'm not at the first breakpoint, or am I?

Update:

The 1 gallon splitter of this batch finally fermented clear.

It's a luscious gold color. The SO describes it as a hoppy, very dry beer. Almost like a watery beer. This was mostly because it was the leftover that didn't fit into the 5 gallon carboy. Total time to clear was a little over a month.

It had a decent mouthfeel, and it was very alcoholic. It's almost drinkable, and I'm contemplating, should I back backsweeten this, or let it go as is, and bottle it for the sake of being my first 'finished' mead?