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Aerating question

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PirateNigel

PirateNigel

NewBee
Registered Member
Jan 15, 2012
10
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So, I posted my recipe over in the general recipe section.

Everything was going along splendidly. I had bubbles out of the airlocks. So, it appears the yeast is doing it's thing. I can smell fermentation taking place. The house smelled of wonder and awe when I came in this afternoon. Like strawberries and a hint of honey wafting through the air. Beautiful.

I'm aerating the must per experienced makers before me. I was using a spoon and creating a nice vortex. But CO2 was causing it to bubble over. Tiring of losing my mead I decided to plug the whole with my thumb and shake-stir the whole thing. The strawberry didn't mind this at all. THe Traditional on the other hand after giving the must a good 1-2 shake filled so much with pressure that the bung flew off into the house and with a spray of sweet honey liquor. I lost a good 16 oz form the carboy. ANy tips for a beginner on how to properly aerate the mixture without giving the kitchen a honey bath?

I quickly thought that if I add more must that matches the gravity of the must right now that it will still finish right about where I want to. SO, I grabbed the tools needed and sanitized. Checked the gravity on original must and mixed until I had gravity matching.

I doubt I ruined the mead but does this logic hold up in the world of meadmaking. Being so early into the fermentation I think the mead will either produce more alcohol because of added fresh honey or it will finish just about where I want it to.

Thoughts?
Opinions?

Thanks,
Jerry
 
mmclean

mmclean

Honey Master
Registered Member
Jul 22, 2010
1,135
2
38
Tennessee Valley
As long as your must is the same S.G. as your starting S.G. you should be on track. You also lost some strawberries. You can add more at any time. I say. good call.

To prevent this from happening in the future, primary in an open bucket and rack into a carboy after active fermentation is over.

Another advantage is you can make more than you will need to fill secondary. This will leave some "left overs" for topping off after racking and tasting.

Craft on.

-M-
 
veritas

veritas

NewBee
Registered Member
Dec 7, 2007
294
2
0
Wisconsin BEER Capitol USA
I'm sure your mead should be fine. I pump oxygen into my must but using your spoon should work just fine. The benefits to a pale or bigger container for initial fermentation are being able to displace that reaction. All I would say is try to oxygenate without such vigor if you don't have room for it.
 
Y

YogiBearMead726

NewBee
Registered Member
Aug 21, 2010
1,519
3
0
San Francisco, CA
Another option is to use some anti-foam drops. I personally prefer to primary in a bucket and then rack into a carboy for secondary (as stated in the two answers before), but I know Medsen Fey uses the anti-foam drops every now and again. Seems like a good investment if you can't do primary in a bucket for whatever reason.
 
Chevette Girl

Chevette Girl

All around BAD EXAMPLE
Moderator
Lifetime GotMead Patron
Apr 27, 2010
8,447
59
48
Ottawa, ON
Degas before you aerate is how I do it... stir very slowly and every time it fizzes up, remove the stirrer and let it settle down a little before I go back at it. Eventually enough CO2 will have come out that it stops being so violent, and THEN you can stir it and splash it and shake it without taking a shower in must...

But yeah, buckets rock.
 
PirateNigel

PirateNigel

NewBee
Registered Member
Jan 15, 2012
10
1
0
If I had only realized about the aeration I would have surely gone for more buckets.

I must say, though, the skin on the hand that got covered with the must looks ten years younger. And the paper my daughter brought home for me to sign for school has a sweet aroma.

Next ones are for sure going in buckets. I have a feeling I'll be doing bigger batches anyway. :)
 
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