Howdy,
A quick where I been, where I am, where I want to be (this is where most the questions will come)
First "Brewing" I ever did was at 16, Biology/Chemistry teacher showed a group of us the wonders of Raisin "Wine". Entry into beer brewing was a gift of a Mr Beer set-up for college graduation, which soon morphed into, well, a bigger, slightly more "real" set-up. Marriage and kids put a halt to the brewing in the house, equipment stored for quite a while.
Today, kids are older, have a closet with a ventilation fan to put fermentables, but making wort is still not in the cards, so to mead I turn. Currently have multiple gal, single 3 gal, and single 7 gal fermenters all glass, multiple airlocks, sanitizer, etc.
I don't think I'll have the patience to wait a year plus for mead, but splitting a primary between multiple secondaries to keep the thirst sated is an option I'm looking at to get the best of both worlds. Have read up on BOMM, and its variations on denardbrewing.com. Have a couple of "concerns" which it would be helpful if addressed.
I have a source of local honey, spring water, and good chunk of seasonal local produce, just typically would have to buy the Saturday before making must.
1. External Unchangeable Parameters:
a. Live in Texas, for Summer 1, Summer 2, and Summer 3 (that's spring, summer, and fall to those of you who experience more than two seasons) the house stays between 72-78 F. During Non-Summer (winter) the house is between 64-68 F. "Fermenting closet" stays in the 74-75 range over the past month. Have not measured non-summer temps.
b. I travel, a lot, so my typical time allocation for brewing would be best case, Thursday night begin, tend to it Fri-Sun, and then it is on it's own until Thu again at the earliest. Typically not gone for more than 17 days at a time, with most trips being a week or less.
c. I prefer not so sweet stuff. As in single malt scotch over bourbon type of not so sweet. I will most likely move more into Cysers as I have found those to be quite refreshing with a hint of sweetness. Not sure about what commercial meadery they came from, but found them last year at Renaissance Festival.
Questions:
1. Does the mead calculator not have a Cider option for additional sugars? Or does just using apples work?
2. How much head room is needed in the primary for aeration/degassing? I've read/seen some pretty "violent" (read rose high) reactions with must and stirring/swirling/shaking... 1 gal headroom in a 3 gal carboy enough, too much?
3. How much "loss" is there typically with lees not transferring? If I want to bottle 128 oz, how much must should I start with, allowing for losing 4-6 oz for sampling. (I use a SG refractometer hydrometer)
4. BOMM, I see where Bray did some dry yeast experiments. And as they are easier to bulk buy and cold store, CBC-1 is one that I am both familiar with, and looks pretty good on his results. It also "fits" with my temperature constraints, barely. Will it convert over to the BOMM Cyser recipe adequately?
5. How sweet is BOMM? Does it do well going drier? (I'd rather go too dry and then back sweeten rather than be too sweet)
Thanks in advance.
A quick where I been, where I am, where I want to be (this is where most the questions will come)
First "Brewing" I ever did was at 16, Biology/Chemistry teacher showed a group of us the wonders of Raisin "Wine". Entry into beer brewing was a gift of a Mr Beer set-up for college graduation, which soon morphed into, well, a bigger, slightly more "real" set-up. Marriage and kids put a halt to the brewing in the house, equipment stored for quite a while.
Today, kids are older, have a closet with a ventilation fan to put fermentables, but making wort is still not in the cards, so to mead I turn. Currently have multiple gal, single 3 gal, and single 7 gal fermenters all glass, multiple airlocks, sanitizer, etc.
I don't think I'll have the patience to wait a year plus for mead, but splitting a primary between multiple secondaries to keep the thirst sated is an option I'm looking at to get the best of both worlds. Have read up on BOMM, and its variations on denardbrewing.com. Have a couple of "concerns" which it would be helpful if addressed.
I have a source of local honey, spring water, and good chunk of seasonal local produce, just typically would have to buy the Saturday before making must.
1. External Unchangeable Parameters:
a. Live in Texas, for Summer 1, Summer 2, and Summer 3 (that's spring, summer, and fall to those of you who experience more than two seasons) the house stays between 72-78 F. During Non-Summer (winter) the house is between 64-68 F. "Fermenting closet" stays in the 74-75 range over the past month. Have not measured non-summer temps.
b. I travel, a lot, so my typical time allocation for brewing would be best case, Thursday night begin, tend to it Fri-Sun, and then it is on it's own until Thu again at the earliest. Typically not gone for more than 17 days at a time, with most trips being a week or less.
c. I prefer not so sweet stuff. As in single malt scotch over bourbon type of not so sweet. I will most likely move more into Cysers as I have found those to be quite refreshing with a hint of sweetness. Not sure about what commercial meadery they came from, but found them last year at Renaissance Festival.
Questions:
1. Does the mead calculator not have a Cider option for additional sugars? Or does just using apples work?
2. How much head room is needed in the primary for aeration/degassing? I've read/seen some pretty "violent" (read rose high) reactions with must and stirring/swirling/shaking... 1 gal headroom in a 3 gal carboy enough, too much?
3. How much "loss" is there typically with lees not transferring? If I want to bottle 128 oz, how much must should I start with, allowing for losing 4-6 oz for sampling. (I use a SG refractometer hydrometer)
4. BOMM, I see where Bray did some dry yeast experiments. And as they are easier to bulk buy and cold store, CBC-1 is one that I am both familiar with, and looks pretty good on his results. It also "fits" with my temperature constraints, barely. Will it convert over to the BOMM Cyser recipe adequately?
5. How sweet is BOMM? Does it do well going drier? (I'd rather go too dry and then back sweeten rather than be too sweet)
Thanks in advance.