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To Rack or Not to Rack

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Ken2029

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Oct 26, 2015
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Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving.

What I have is one gallon of Northern Light mead that is twenty two days old. The only ingredients other than honey are the zest of one lemon and one tablespoon of tea.

The yeast is Red Star Champagne plus a teaspoon of nutrient. The fermentation started strong, within a few hours. It is now down to one bubble every thirty seconds. The liquid is cloudy, but getting less cloudy than earlier. The gas coming off has very little smell, but smells good. There is about 1/4" of sediment in the bottom.

Should I rack it off to a clean jug?
 
S

Squatchy

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Nov 3, 2014
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You need to use hydrometer readings to really know where you are at. That would include a OG to know how much honey you have now ate through. One last thing you should keep your yeast in suspension the whole time. Not letting it get all buried on the bottom.
 
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Farmboyc

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Sep 2, 2015
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OG stands for Original Gravity. It is a measure of how much fermentable sugar/honey is in your must. This in relation to you FG Final Gravity will give you your ABV- Alcohol by Volume. It also gives insight into possible fermentation issues.
 
K

Ken2029

NewBee
Registered Member
Oct 26, 2015
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Unfortunately, I didn't measure that. I can get a hydrometer tomorrow if knowing the current specific gravity would be helpful.
 
mannye

mannye

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If your gravity is anything higher than 1.000 then you probably want to wait. At 22-23 days, champagne yeast is still eating. It will most likely take it dry. You will see bubble slow to once every 5 minutes and the mead will start to clear.

BUT since we don't know how much you started with, its hard to say it will go all the way down to 1.000 or .990 Get the hydrometer and tell us where you are.

Then its a matter of measuring once a week or every 10 days and when it sits at one number for a week, you're probably ready to rack. It will probably also start looking clear


Sent from my TARDIS at the restaurant at the end of the universe while eating Phil.
 
K

Ken2029

NewBee
Registered Member
Oct 26, 2015
162
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LOL. I'm watching Dr Who right now.

I'll get a hydrometer tomorrow and report back. Thanks!
 
K

Ken2029

NewBee
Registered Member
Oct 26, 2015
162
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Just measured the specific gravity. It is 1.00. The mead tastes yeasty, but otherwise good. No odd flavors. Also, it is not sweet at all.
 
bmwr75

bmwr75

Worker Bee
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Oct 2, 2014
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1.000 SG is dry. Here is a useful sweetness chart (was for wine, but should be in the ballpark for mead too).

Dry .990 to 1.000
Semi 1.000 to 1.010
Sweet 1.010 to 1.020
Dessert 1.020 to 1.030
 
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Squatchy

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Nov 3, 2014
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It's not sweet because the yeast have eaten all the sugars in your must. So you have options depending on what you want. Do you want a higher ABV? Do you like it dry? Do you want to add fruit or spices? Do you want it sweeter?

Lastly ,, do you know how much honey you put in it when you started? If you can answer these we can help you more
 
K

Ken2029

NewBee
Registered Member
Oct 26, 2015
162
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Squatchy said:
It's not sweet because the yeast have eaten all the sugars in your must. So you have options depending on what you want. Do you want a higher ABV? Do you like it dry? Do you want to add fruit or spices? Do you want it sweeter?

Lastly ,, do you know how much honey you put in it when you started? If you can answer these we can help you more
Click to expand...

Well, higher ABV is good and I prefer dry, but this is already bone dry. Now that I have tasted it, I would not mind a little back sweetening plus a light citrus and cinnamon flavor.

Almost forgot: I started with three pounds of honey.

Thanks, everyone. I appreciate the helpful replies.
 
K

Ken2029

NewBee
Registered Member
Oct 26, 2015
162
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I went ahead and racked it. After I tasted it yesterday, I thought it tasted pretty boring. Plenty of alcohol and almost no other flavor. With that in mind, I added an orange, some raisins, a cinnamon stick, a teaspoon of vanilla, and a pinch of nutmeg. I was pleased that it did not taste bad,

Time will tell.
 
S

Squatchy

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Nov 3, 2014
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Did you add the peel or just the fruit? Did you smash the fruit some? The peel will make it bitter if you have the pitch in there. In the future you can use vanilla beans. To me that seems like a boat load of vanilla. I doubt you will taste the raisins. You need to mush them a bit to get past the skin.

You may enjoy a JOAM. Look it up and make it exactly as it says. Do not deviate from the recipe or you will pay :)
 
K

Ken2029

NewBee
Registered Member
Oct 26, 2015
162
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No, I cut the peel completely away. No pulp at all. I did not mash the fruit, but I did cut it into numerous small pieces. It was dripping a lot of juice.

A JOAM is next on the list. I am going to make a batch with my daughters when they get back from school in a couple of weeks. I will follow it exactly. No "self expression" on that one.
 
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