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3 Questions: ADF, Cap, Yeast

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ipscman

NewBee
Registered Member
Oct 25, 2011
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Newbie with 3 questions:

1. Yeast volume: I'm making 4 meads, 2 1/2 gallons each. Any problems with using a single pack of Lalvin on each of these (i.e., 4 packs total)?

2. Punching the cap: Any reason not to simply weigh down the bag of fruit with a stainless weight so don't have to punch down the cap during primary?

3. Attenuation variables: I see attenuation varying as much as 30% in Schramm's recipes with the same yeast. I understand that the amount of honey is probably the main variable here. Are there others?

Major thanks.

Mark
http://www.hiddenwellbrewery.com
 
Chevette Girl

Chevette Girl

All around BAD EXAMPLE
Moderator
Lifetime GotMead Patron
Apr 27, 2010
8,447
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Ottawa, ON
Welcome to the forum!

1) No problem, each packet is good for 1-5 gallons.

2) No reason not to sink your fruit bag but it may still make foam that needs to be re-introduced to the must so nothing spoils (biggest cap I ever had was from fresh-pressed apple juice, no fruit at all! I find just bagging the fruit in the first place helps a lot, usually. Then you just take your sanitized spoon and push it under the surface a few times, done...

3) "Attenuation" is a term more often used in reference to beer because not all of the factors in a wort that raise your specific gravity are fermentable, whereas honey is (or at least, that's how I understand it from what I've read around here so far). But I haven't yet gotten my hands on Ken's book yet so I don't know how it pertains to wines and meads. Usually, if you formulate your must so that its sugars content is within the yeast's tolerance, it should go all the way to dry, unless it's a stuck fermentation. Hopefully if I'm wrong on this, folks will chime in and set you straight! :)
 
AToE

AToE

NewBee
Registered Member
Jun 8, 2009
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Calgary AB Canada
CG is right on that, "attenuation" is basically meaningless in mead because honey is essentially 100% fermentable unlike malt. You can make any mead bone dry or sickeningly sweet simply by using more or less honey than would potentially provide the maximum (estimated) alcohol tolerance of your yeast.

So once you pick your yeast, you figure out what starting gravity would equal the potential alcohol tolerance of that yeast, then shoot for more/less/the same as your starting gravity depending on what you'd like (sorry if that's all obvious to you, just being thorough, never know how experienced with general fermentation new folks are around here!).
 
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ipscman

NewBee
Registered Member
Oct 25, 2011
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Thank you both. Simple, clear - kind of like, why didn't I think of that? Obvious when you know. Thank you again.
 
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