First post! (If I missed an introduction forum or thread, I apologize. Please direct me to the right place if I did.)
So I'm fresh off the heels of bottling my first batch of mead (5 gallons of the Medium Sweet Orange Blossom Mead from 'The Compleat Meadmaker'). I bottled it last Saturday night after it sat in its carboy for 8 months. Still needs to sit for a bit longer, but it tastes and smells great, aside from the slight tinge of alcohol. I'm guessing it is still a bit young.
Anyway, I just started a test batch of black tea metheglin. Recipe as follows, modified from another recipe to have more honey.
3 lbs acadiana (local) honey
1 tsp each of nutrient and energizer
2 tbsp loose english black tea
1 packet Lalvin 71b-1122
For reference, I used a 1 gallon glass carboy instead of a fermentation bucket (I realize now that this was probably a mistake)
Everything went very smooth, from sanitation to popping on the airlock took less than an hour. An hour later fermentation was already starting.
A few hours later, everything was going to hell. All the loose tea is above the liquid (I didn't consider using a coffee filter and string or something to keep it contained) and mead has filled the airlock. I pulled the airlock off, cleaned it with vodka, refilled it, and popped it back on. As of this morning, the airlock is full of mead (and tea), but its still bubbing ferociously.
What are my options?
As I'm fairly new to this whole thing, I did not know about blowout tubes, etc.
I'm hoping the tea stayed in the must long enough to impart flavor, but I'm worried it may not have. I was planning on rack it into a second carboy after a month, but can I even wait that long? Last I checked it was bubbling to the top of the airlock, but it hadn't overflown, so I may be okay. I'll have to wait and see when I get home from work.
Any suggestions are of great help. ;D
So I'm fresh off the heels of bottling my first batch of mead (5 gallons of the Medium Sweet Orange Blossom Mead from 'The Compleat Meadmaker'). I bottled it last Saturday night after it sat in its carboy for 8 months. Still needs to sit for a bit longer, but it tastes and smells great, aside from the slight tinge of alcohol. I'm guessing it is still a bit young.
Anyway, I just started a test batch of black tea metheglin. Recipe as follows, modified from another recipe to have more honey.
3 lbs acadiana (local) honey
1 tsp each of nutrient and energizer
2 tbsp loose english black tea
1 packet Lalvin 71b-1122
For reference, I used a 1 gallon glass carboy instead of a fermentation bucket (I realize now that this was probably a mistake)
Everything went very smooth, from sanitation to popping on the airlock took less than an hour. An hour later fermentation was already starting.
A few hours later, everything was going to hell. All the loose tea is above the liquid (I didn't consider using a coffee filter and string or something to keep it contained) and mead has filled the airlock. I pulled the airlock off, cleaned it with vodka, refilled it, and popped it back on. As of this morning, the airlock is full of mead (and tea), but its still bubbing ferociously.
What are my options?
As I'm fairly new to this whole thing, I did not know about blowout tubes, etc.
I'm hoping the tea stayed in the must long enough to impart flavor, but I'm worried it may not have. I was planning on rack it into a second carboy after a month, but can I even wait that long? Last I checked it was bubbling to the top of the airlock, but it hadn't overflown, so I may be okay. I'll have to wait and see when I get home from work.
Any suggestions are of great help. ;D