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Bentonite is gross

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AudioDaddio

NewBee
Registered Member
Nov 21, 2018
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New mazer here. Decided to try Bentonite to help clarify some mead. Got it in, mixed it per directions, and I am looking at this gray sludge thinking "how can anyone put this in their mead?!"

Am I being punked, or is this a real thing?
 

m0n5t3r

Got Mead? Patron
GotMead Patron
Mar 24, 2018
106
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Romania
it's clay, that's the normal look :)

that gray sludge will bind stuff that makes mead cloudy and sink to the bottom; you'll want to rack after 1-2 days to get rid of it, because the bottom deposit will also contain yeast pulled from the solution and it will bubble and prevent the rest from settling; after a few more days it should be crystal clear and ready for racking again, then stabilizing / bulk aging, etc.
 

Squatchy

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Nov 3, 2014
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No. You don't want to rack in a few days. Why even use it if you don't leave it in long enough to work. You need to turn the mud into a slurry. And then add it and stir the hell out of when you add and then again in 12-24 hours. Then wait till it's clear
 

AudioDaddio

NewBee
Registered Member
Nov 21, 2018
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No. You don't want to rack in a few days. Why even use it if you don't leave it in long enough to work. You need to turn the mud into a slurry. And then add it and stir the hell out of when you add and then again in 12-24 hours. Then wait till it's clear

What's the limit on how long I should leave it in for? If it clears up crystal, then great. But as a first timer, so I'll definitely be guessing at when it's done as much as it can if it doesn't completely clear.
 

Squatchy

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Well at some point. If it doesn't seem like it will ever get any clearer. Then it's time. That would be an indication that you didn't stir it enough the first few times you stirred it. Or you didn't use enough. Or you need another finning agent to capture the other fractions of the haze. I general add it to the ferement at pitch. 1 tablespoon per gallon. Toss it in dry once your yeast have started working.

Kieselsol after it's been stabilized and cold crashed seems to get it most of the time. If that doesn't get it all then Chitosan next. Make sure to use Pectinase up front prior to pitch if you're using things with pectin in it.

I do bench trial to find what will work. And I do then to determine how much to use.
 

m0n5t3r

Got Mead? Patron
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Mar 24, 2018
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I assumed the "make it a slurry and stir well" was in the instructions on the package :)

The reason I rack after most of it has settled is to get rid of the yeast that it pulled down: usually it's nearly crystal clear, but from time to time there are bubbles coming out of the mud on the bottom and they leave streaks of dirt as they go up; I guess if I leave it long enough that will stop, but racking and letting the rest settle at its own pace (which takes a week or more) and then racking again seems to work for me.
 

AudioDaddio

NewBee
Registered Member
Nov 21, 2018
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... I general add it to the ferement at pitch. 1 tablespoon per gallon. Toss it in dry once your yeast have started working.

Thanks Squatchy. I'm on episode 3 of your modern mead series, great stuff. I haven't heard anything about this... For my traditional mead batches, I would just always add this to the must, a couple days into fermentation? And just throw it in dry, just sprinkle it on top?
 

Squatchy

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Nov 3, 2014
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Thanks Squatchy. I'm on episode 3 of your modern mead series, great stuff. I haven't heard anything about this... For my traditional mead batches, I would just always add this to the must, a couple days into fermentation? And just throw it in dry, just sprinkle it on top?

Yes, sir. That's what I do
 

Squatchy

Lifetime GotMead Patron
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Nov 3, 2014
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I assumed the "make it a slurry and stir well" was in the instructions on the package :)

The reason I rack after most of it has settled is to get rid of the yeast that it pulled down: usually it's nearly crystal clear, but from time to time there are bubbles coming out of the mud on the bottom, and they leave streaks of dirt as they go up; I guess if I leave it long enough that will stop, but racking and letting the rest settle at its own pace (which takes a week or more) and then racking again seems to work for me.

I misunderstood your first post. Sounds like you doing fine. Pardon the pun ;) If you're adding pre-fermentation. Just add it dry if you're adding it post fermentation. You need it to be a slurry. Mud on the bottom won't help much. When I used to use it as a surry. I would add it to hot water a little bit at a time and stir it as I was pouring it real slow. I added it in a mason jar and then shook the hell out of it. Waited a few hours, or overnight. Then shook it again. And then when I add it, I stir the hell out of several times in a few hours and then let it rest.
 
Last edited:

AudioDaddio

NewBee
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Nov 21, 2018
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Ok so making my batch of mead, everything going along nicely. Day 3 I add the bentonite and it has changed the composition of the mead a lot. Before, it was honey colored and had that frothy stuff on top. When I stirred it, it frothed up like crazy and I had to go slow and be patient while the bubbles slowly receded. Now with the bentonite, there's no froth. It sits and bubbles like champagne the color of dirty water. When I stir, any bubbles just die instantly on the surface, like there's no surface tension to make any actual bubbles.

This is normal?
 

Squatchy

Lifetime GotMead Patron
Lifetime GotMead Patron
Nov 3, 2014
5,542
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Denver
Ok so making my batch of mead, everything going along nicely. Day 3 I add the bentonite and it has changed the composition of the mead a lot. Before, it was honey colored and had that frothy stuff on top. When I stirred it, it frothed up like crazy and I had to go slow and be patient while the bubbles slowly receded. Now with the bentonite, there's no froth. It sits and bubbles like champagne the color of dirty water. When I stir, any bubbles just die instantly on the surface, like there's no surface tension to make any actual bubbles.

This is normal?

Yes. Don't worry, you are fine. It foamed up when you added it because of nucleation. Look it up. Sand or salt or any granular medium would have done the same thing.

And now. The bentonite catches the CO2 as it's being made. It then causes the bentonite to float to the top. Once it gets there the bubble pops. The bentonite falls to the bottom. Repeat. So that is how the bentonite gets moved around in the batch. That is also why your not seeing tones of foam. Which will have slowed way down anyway as the ferment commences.

The color will be fine at the end of the day.
 
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