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skålduggery

skålduggery

NewBee
Registered Member
Jun 13, 2012
4
0
0
River City, VA
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. :eek: 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

hepcat

Worker Bee
Registered Member
Feb 7, 2012
282
4
18
Central Florida
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?
 
hepcat

hepcat

Worker Bee
Registered Member
Feb 7, 2012
282
4
18
Central Florida
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

Chevette Girl

All around BAD EXAMPLE
Moderator
Lifetime GotMead Patron
Apr 27, 2010
8,447
59
48
Ottawa, ON
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

skålduggery

NewBee
Registered Member
Jun 13, 2012
4
0
0
River City, VA
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

Deacon Aegis

NewBee
Registered Member
Mar 22, 2012
164
0
0
Marietta, Georgia
www.aegissteamcraft.com
skålduggery said:
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.
Click to expand...

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...
 
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