What's up good people?

mrngbear · Jan 22, 2016

This is my first post here, so first of all... Cheers to all!

I have never brewed anything but a cup of coffee or an occasional herbal tea, but I've have had an interest in Mead and Mead making since I visited "Rocky Mountain Meadery" in Grand Junction, CO. several years ago.
I've spent many, many hours reading here, and on other sites taking in as much as possible, there's a lifetime of learning in this craft, and far more than I'll ever know, but if you never start, you'll never finish.
So here's a brief summary of where I'm at, and perhaps with the help from some of you, I'll get to some decent Mead's someday (you got me this far).

Today I visited a local Honey Farm ("The Bee Tree" in Lewis Colorado) and picked up 6lbs of a raw honey (Clover/Sagebrush). What an amazing flavor!

Mixed up a batch in a 3gal carboy to be racked-off into 1gal glass jugs. I'm thinking I'll leave 1gal as a Traditional Show and the 2nd perhaps will get cherries or black currants, maybe some spices or toasted oak cubes, who knows (I might enjoy the Traditional so much I won't be able to add anything)

2.25 gallons of spring water
5.5 lbs of the Bee Tree honey
5 g pack of Lalvin D-47
Staggering "LD Carlson's" (started with pitch)
Yeast Nutrient (total 2 tsp) and Yeast Energizer (total 1 tsp) over the next 48hrs or so.
OG is at 1.079 (seems a little low using Got Mead Calculator???)

I prefer a med dry but might have to back sweeten this a bit?

I also have a "Storm The Castle" easy mead that I started on 01/06/16 (balloon on plastic "Spring Water" container is still inflated, LOL, this is my first brew ever)
1 gal water
2.4 lbs clover honey (walmart)
1pkg Flieshmans bread yeast
1 orange
12 raisins
OG 1.096
Plan on adding 2 cups of blueberries and 1/2 cup dried rosehips to the secondary

Any thoughts on today's mix, or the balloon experiment (LOL) are welcome

Thanks to all of you who share your knowledge and experience here, and to those who take care of this great site!

TK

mrngbear · Jan 23, 2016

Now I'm worried. 25 views and no reply, is it because everything I've done is hopeless?

I am hoping for a little feedback as to (primarily) my new batch in the 3gal carboy.
The airlock is steady this morning at about 1 bubble per/ 60-90 seconds (approx. 12hrs after yeast pitch).

I am not looking for a high ABV but seems a little too low( I have no idea). With the OG at 1.079 (is my OG too low?) and a Final Gravity of 0.998 potential ABV of 10.8%
1) Should I be concerned that the ABV level might not be high enough to prevent any nasty bugs? Should I consider something like Campden tablets, and if so when would I add them?
2) Am I making this TOO dry, should I add more honey now, or should I wait to back sweeten and if so, when (during secondary)?

Any thoughts would be appreciated,
TK

Farmboyc · Jan 23, 2016

As far as your 3 gal batch I think our are doing fine. A lower a ABV mead will generally age faster and become drinkable earlier. You may want to stabilized this after secondary with Potassium Metabisulfite and Potassium sorbate particularly if you are looking for long term storage and/or a back sweetening.

The recipe will likely result in a dry mead with D47 but how dry you like it is a personal call. Adding more honey now will certainly increase your ABV but I believe D47 can easily go 14% so it really depends on you goals here.

Mazer828 · Jan 23, 2016

Don't be discouraged! There always seems to be a conversation or two on here that has everyone (myself included) too wrapped up to remember we're here to help the newbees too! My apologies.

It looks like you have a pretty good start. I have looked at the storm the castle recipes myself a few times, and it looks like you're making a JAOM (Joe's Ancient Orange Mead). Excellent choice for a first mead. It is simple, easy, foolproof if you follow the instructions to the letter (!), and really good to drink! I myself have never made a JAOM and can't rightly explain why not.

Guess I'll have to rectify that someday. Word of advice: have you ever seen one of those movies like American Werewolf in London, where they tell the protagonist in the beginning of the movie "don't go out at night, and never leave the road"? And they always do, and that's when all the running and screaming and turning into werewolves starts? Yeah, that's what a JAOM is. Don't leave the path! When it says put it in a closet and forget about it, do it. When it says go out in your front yard in a toga and dance a Scottish jig, do it, and post the video here.

mrngbear · Jan 23, 2016

Farmboyc said:
As far as your 3 gal batch I think our are doing fine. A lower a ABV mead will generally age faster and become drinkable earlier. You may want to stabilized this after secondary with Potassium Metabisulfite and Potassium sorbate particularly if you are looking for long term storage and/or a back sweetening.

The recipe will likely result in a dry mead with D47 but how dry you like it is a personal call. Adding more honey now will certainly increase your ABV but I believe D47 can easily go 14% so it really depends on you goals here.

So stabilize with Potassium Metabisulfite and Potassium Sorbate AFTER secondary? So I should not add either to the secondary?
I do plan on bottling for long term storage (at least what I don't drink)

And...the back sweetening is done best at what point in the process?

I suppose my goal is a med-dry (semi-sweet) with an ABV of 10-12%

Thanks

mrngbear · Jan 23, 2016

No worries Mazer, and thanks for the JAOM info!
Video coming soon!

Farmboyc · Jan 23, 2016

Yeah you stabilize after secondary. Basically what I do is rack from secondary onto a mixture of dissolved sulfide and sorbate.
You can tell when secondary fermentation is completed using your hydrometer. When readings have been stable for a couple of weeks your fermentation is complete. I personally like to wait for things to clear up before I rack.

Cold crashing before racking can help clear your mead as well as put the yeast in a dormant state and is often recommended prior to racking. This involves putting your secondary in a cool/cold environment for a period of time.

I would expect your batch to be 1.000 or likely even less.
After you rack onto the sorbate/sulfide let it sit for awhile 1 or 2 weeks then taste. This is the time to add sweetness if you want to.

There is a bit of debate as to what to use. One camp says use a priming sugar other camp like to use honey. The choice is your but know that if you use honey then your mead will become cloudy and require additional time to clarify.

That is my take on things but I am fairly inexperienced. I just clearly remember what it is like to be in your shoes so I hope that helps.

mrngbear · Jan 23, 2016

Thanks Farmboyc! What you say makes complete sense, I was thinking that I would back sweeten with the original clover/sage honey, but it does have a light film of pollen as it is raw (would time clarify that, or perhaps bentonite?) I might be better off using priming sugar? (then again I might be best off adding the honey now...so many decisions, LOL)
Is the priming sugar like sugar dissolved in water? If so, at what proportions?
Thanks

Update on airlock...bubble approx. every 10-15 seconds now!

Farmboyc · Jan 23, 2016

Priming sugar is dextrose. It is what you mix with a fermented beer before bottling to carbonate it. I have yet to back sweeten but I imagine you could dissolve in a small amount of hot or boiled water them stir into your mead.
Sweeten to taste. I think it is wise to start small and wait for it to integrate so you don't end up with a product that is too sweet.

Others more experienced at this please feel free to chime in.

brentG · Jan 23, 2016

D-47 likes cooler temperatures, so keep that in mind. Ive had batches throw off a lot of fussels using D-47 when I fermented it in the mid-70 degree range (took two years to age out).

I wouldn't bother stabilizing the balloon batch (unless you plan on back-sweetening). From what I understand, once bread yeast goes dormant it tends to stay that way.

Just my .02 -- I'm sure someone with more experience will chime in.

bernardsmith · Jan 23, 2016

Importantly, you want to stabilize (add K-meta and K-sorbate) when you have virtually no living yeasts left. Stabilization does not in fact kill an active colony of yeast. It will prevent a small population from reproducing... So it is always best to stabilize AFTER you have racked several times and allowed about 2 -3 months to elapse between rackings. In other words, after you rack to the secondary, allow the mead to age 2 months, then rack. Allow that to age another 60 -90 days then rack. Allow it to age another 60 days then rack and then if it is bright and clear (you can read a newspaper through the carboy) and you are ready to bottle then you can stabilize...
As for the JAOM... I agree (and now I understand the use of bread yeast) - follow those instructions to the letter... If you deviate then all bets are off! JAOM is a counter-intuitive recipe but it makes use of key principles and good science..

mrngbear · Jan 23, 2016

brentG said:
D-47 likes cooler temperatures, so keep that in mind. Ive had batches throw off a lot of fussels using D-47 when I fermented it in the mid-70 degree range (took two years to age out).

I wouldn't bother stabilizing the balloon batch (unless you plan on back-sweetening). From what I understand, once bread yeast goes dormant it tends to stay that way.

Just my .02 -- I'm sure someone with more experience will chime in.

Thanks, The current temp on the carboy is 69 deg. F Only 10hrs into fermentation.
Am I wrong, or did I read that there is a increase in temp as brix level goes down during fermentation? And if that's true what might be expected?

I am fermenting in a walk-in closet and shut the heater vent (after reading this), however, it might not help too much because there is no door to the closet, but should drop the closet temp at least a degree or two from the 69 (house, room temp) . I also dampened a towel and draped that over my carboy, hoping that the cooling effect from evaporation may help also.

I will monitor it closely, thanks and..........yikes!

Squatchy · Jan 23, 2016

You did read right. However in small vessels it's not something to worry about. If you were doing big batches and/or not doing cap managemnt you could run into problems. It's very easy for the small amounts of heat to dissapate in your particular situation. I would try to keep your temps stable (with in a couple degrees) if you can.

mrngbear · Jan 24, 2016

Thanks Bernard!

mrngbear · Jan 24, 2016

Squatchy said:
You did read right. However in small vessels it's not something to worry about. If you were doing big batches and/or not doing cap managemnt you could run into problems. It's very easy for the small amounts of heat to dissapate in your particular situation. I would try to keep your temps stable (with in a couple degrees) if you can.

GO BRONCOS! sorry, couldn't resist after seeing your in Denver. I am in SW CO been here from Ft Collins now for just over a year.

This must be what it's like to be pregnant (sort of). I woke up at 5:15am concerned for my little yeasties, checked the fernometer on the carboy and Viola! it was reading about 64 F. The room temp had no noticeable change, so I can only attribute the change to the "damp towel" (wish I could remember where I read this suggestion so I could give credit)
Overnight I had a dry washcloth folded over and taped over the fernometer, with a thick piece of plastic over that, to minimize the direct effect of the damp towel to the fernometer.
I removed the damp towel from the fernometer side at 5:15 (and have left it off that side), when I first checked the temp, and now over 1 1/2 hrs later it is holding a temp of 64 F. so it does seem that I will be able to have some control over temp with the damp towel.
Now it only remains to be seen if I can maintain an acceptable temp to within a couple degrees. Luckily I'm currently semi-retired and will be able to monitor throughout the day.

58limited · Jan 24, 2016

Welcome mrngbear! Looks like you are off to a good start and already have some good advice. My take on back sweetening is this: I like meads for the honey so I choose to use honey - no other reason than this. I have had good meads back sweetened with sugar so try both and decide what you want to use.

Personally I like my meads semi - sweet (around SG 1.012-1.015) so I back sweeten to that level if fermentation goes too low. However, taste first! Some of my meads have been great at 1.005. My first pyment (made last year with Tempranillo and Zinfandel juice and wildflower honey) went from a starting of SG 1.097 to a final SG 0.991 and is very astringent, lacks body, and has a strong alcohol taste. Not a very good pyment. But by adding a little honey to each glass it really smooths out and it becomes good. I'm going to open all the bottles and pour them back into a bucket so I can add some honey and Zinfandel juice to the entire batch to an SG of about 1.010.

I've been making meads since about 1997 and I'm still learning. A lot of new ideas have come out in the last decade such as staggered nutrient additions, etc. I joined GotMead last spring and this site has really opened my eyes and expanded my mead knowledge.

mrngbear · Jan 24, 2016

58limited said:
Welcome mrngbear! Looks like you are off to a good start and already have some good advice. My take on back sweetening is this: I like meads for the honey so I choose to use honey - no other reason than this. I have had good meads back sweetened with sugar so try both and decide what you want to use.

Personally I like my meads semi - sweet (around SG 1.012-1.015) so I back sweeten to that level if fermentation goes too low. However, taste first! Some of my meads have been great at 1.005. My first pyment (made last year with Tempranillo and Zinfandel juice and wildflower honey) went from a starting of SG 1.097 to a final SG 0.991 and is very astringent, lacks body, and has a strong alcohol taste. Not a very good pyment. But by adding a little honey to each glass it really smooths out and it becomes good. I'm going to open all the bottles and pour them back into a bucket so I can add some honey and Zinfandel juice to the entire batch to an SG of about 1.010.

I've been making meads since about 1997 and I'm still learning. A lot of new ideas have come out in the last decade such as staggered nutrient additions, etc. I joined GotMead last spring and this site has really opened my eyes and expanded my mead knowledge.

Thanks for the welcome! I am so happy to have found this site and to receive so much great advise from people like you, thx.
I just added my 24hr staggered nutrient/energizer pre-mixed into 1/2 cup of must and slowly added...swirled the carboy several times... replaced the airlock (sterilizing everything I use).

I too like Meads for the honey so if I do need to back-sweeten I will use honey... Hopefully with the "Bee Tree" honey, still wondering if the (minimal) pollen in the raw honey can be cleared through racking or otherwise if used to back-sweeten.

Temp at 0940 is still at 64F

Squatchy · Jan 24, 2016

mrngbear said:
GO BRONCOS! sorry, couldn't resist after seeing your in Denver. I am in SW CO been here from Ft Collins now for just over a year.

What part of "SW"? The reason I ask is we are starting to have a monthly get together with other CO mazers and I'd like to invite you if you think you could make it

Another way you can control you final sweetness level is this: I have some traditionals that I have made with the intent to use them to add sweetness to something to dry,, or dry out something that is too sweet. By simply making a trad too sweet and another too dry you can use these to balance out your new batches.

mrngbear · Jan 24, 2016

Cortez, CO
Where do you meet, I would love to meet some "real" CO mazers. Always looking for a destination to take my scoot (summer for the scoot of course)

Squatchy · Jan 24, 2016

Suburbs of Denver mostly

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