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Ok, what are the new forum rules? Or is it just me again...

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Chevette Girl

All around BAD EXAMPLE
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Apr 27, 2010
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I was trying to post a suggestion in the section "Site Suggestions, New Toys and Tools" that says, "If you have a constructive idea, suggestion or questions about the forum post here."

And when I hit the "new thread" button it told me I didn't have permission to post there. Its little main page icon shows as "locked", as do the other two sections in that top area.

Now, I'm assuming this is something that's slipped through the cracks during Oskaar's last renovation, because I'd posted there before, can we perhaps address that if it's locked to other users? (or fix my account if it's unique to me, I think the last posts including one of mine were before Oskaar's changes and before I upgraded to patron status). Or if it's now intentionally a moderators-only thing, please change the description to indicate where regular users should post while waiting for a mod to decide if it's appropriate and move it to that area. Thanks.
Ok, my original reason for wanting to post in that area:

Newbee Guide suggestions: Hydrometers and acids

I think if we were to take a poll about the most common Newbee "mistakes", the top three would probably be counting airlock bubbles, boiling must and adding acid pre-fermentation. So I went and re-read the Newbee guide to see if it was as outdated as a lot of the recipes some of us find (and occasionally still use).

It had been a long time since I've read it myself but it's right there in the newbee guide that the no-boil method is equally valid. But I did see a spot where the acid thing could be expanded and also hydrometers promoted a bit more...

In chapter 5, the section on acidity does recommend holding off on acid additions until the end because honey has its own acidity but since I somehow missed it on my first read (I may have been skimming because I already had years of winemaking experience), I would like to see a mention of gluconolactone to attract the attention of people who come from a winemaking background, "Fermenting honey for meads is different from using sugar or juice in wines because of the gluconolactone content of honey which turns into gluconic acid to maintain honey's pH, so acid additions should not be necessary and could hinder fermentation." Or something along those lines if anyone else could word it better.

However, the section on racking, it does actually advise counting airlock bubbles, and it also doesn't suggest when throughout the whole process one should be checking the specific gravity.

I propose that we add a line in the beginning of the process (maybe something in bold type in chapter 4) that the hydrometer is the most important tool for a meadmaker to have, maybe put they hydrometer entry up at the top of the list?

Then in chapter 14, I suggest that somewhere around step 5 or step 6, we add "Check and record the specific gravity. The Mead Calculator is only an estimation."

In chapter 15, under the heading "Fermentation" right after where it says to rack when airlock bubbling is once every 30 seconds, revise "As soon as it slows to approximately 1 bubble every 30 seconds, it is ready to move onto the next stage – Racking." to say, "As soon as it slows to approximately 1 bubble every 30 seconds, it is time to check the specific gravity to confirm that it is ready to move on to the next stage - Racking. Unless you started with a must whose alcohol production will exceed the yeast's tolerance, you're looking for a specific gravity approaching 1.010 to 1.000. If it's above that, give it a stir, wait a few days and check again, if it hasn't moved at all and is still above (arbitrary threshhold?1.030?), please see the chapter on troubleshooting."

And maybe one more mention in chapter 18 a caution about not bottling until your specific gravity has stopped changing along with all the other bottle bomb prevention information. Maybe in step one, "About a week before you plan to bottle, check the specific gravity and rack the mead one last time." At the end of step one, "Before starting to bottle, check your SG one last time, if it is still dropping, even slowly, you need to stabilize your mead, please see the "Chemicals" section below."

Hope this is helpful, I think someone's working on a rewrite (I'm sorry, I can't remember who it was and 1 2-min search didn't find it) but this could maybe hold things until that gets done.
 
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