That's not what I wanted to see.

**1k_wayne** · 06-04-2012, 05:57 PM

Shot the corks across the basement. The 3 Magnums that were left from the same batch survived, although one cracked the wax. I already transferred everything to a cooler and covered them in ice.

This was a Cyser I made in the fall of 09, bottled in the summer of 10. Yeast was 71b, finished sweet at 1.020 and 14%. Pretty sure the last time I had one of these was Thanksgiving, and it was clear with no indication of carbonization then.

**veritas** · 06-04-2012, 06:04 PM

Originally Posted by 1k_wayne

Shot the corks across the basement. The 3 Magnums that were left from the same batch survived, although one cracked the wax. I already transferred everything to a cooler and covered them in ice.

This was a Cyser I made in the fall of 09, bottled in the summer of 10. Yeast was 71b, finished sweet at 1.020 and 14%. Pretty sure the last time I had one of these was Thanksgiving, and it was clear with no indication of carbonization then.

Ouch that sucks! Cant imagine your basement hit a new temperature high lately in WI.

**fatbloke** · 06-05-2012, 03:13 AM

Hum ? Bummer.

I suppose that it demonstrates that even when a batch hits the published tolerance of the yeast, it's probably worth hitting it with stabilising chems.

We all read the blurb (especially for Lallemand/lalvin products - given the good data they publish), but then forget that it's meads/honey must we're dealing with, not a grape wine must/juice. A lot of people have posted, with apparent surprise, when they use a yeast and it exceeds the tolerance. I reckon we should use the numbers for what they actually are i.e. a guide, not "set in stone"......

**wayneb** · 06-05-2012, 01:20 PM

I agree with all that fatbloke says, and I want to offer the addional "cautionary tale." Years ago (well, decades ago, actually) I bottled a traditional mead that I was convinced had been fully fermented, finishing at a final gravity of around 1.005 (dry by most standards) and fairly high in ethanol content. The bottles slept soundly in my basement for the better part of 3 years... and then for no obvious reason (neither temperature nor disturbance), they spontaneously re-fermented, providing me with similar results.

I was one to avoid all "chemical additions" to my "all natural" meads back then - and I never expected that any mead bottled in an apparently stable state for over two years would all of a sudden turn into all natural bottle bombs.

These days, I stabilize anything with residual sugar with metabisulphite and sorbate. Not worth taking a chance on huge messes, indents in the ceiling above my bottle storage area, nor personal injury, IMHO.

Oh, and inevitably at every Mazer Cup entry check-in, we get at least one entry that blasts corks across the room. Inevitably they are a sweet or semi-sweet that the entrant believed to be stable....

**Chevette Girl** · 06-05-2012, 01:34 PM

Originally Posted by wayneb

Oh, and inevitably at every Mazer Cup entry check-in, we get at least one entry that blasts corks across the room. Inevitably they are a sweet or semi-sweet that the entrant believed to be stable....

So what about show meads? How does one deal with that? The "hope and pray" method?

**wayneb** · 06-05-2012, 01:37 PM

I haven't had many semisweet or sweet show meads, except for those that had been aged for half a decade before bottling. I suspect that more than a few folks' attempts at sweet finishing show meads have later on become dry sparklers!

**wayneb** · 06-05-2012, 01:43 PM

Originally Posted by Chevette Girl

So what about show meads? How does one deal with that? The "hope and pray" method?

OH! Congrats on your 4500th post to the forums, BTW!! I similarly congratuated Medsen Fey, and he ended up becoming our posting leader (not counting Oskaar, who still has the ultimate lead, but he's as they say, "vetustior humo!") less than six months later. Of course it took him 4-1/2 years to get to the 4500 milestone, and you're there in just over two...

**Chevette Girl** · 06-05-2012, 01:45 PM

Oh, well, guess it'll be a while before anyone gets to try my boil/no boil comparison tests then!

They were both down at 1.010 in September.

**Chevette Girl** · 06-05-2012, 01:46 PM

Originally Posted by wayneb

OH! Congrats on your 4500th post to the forums, BTW!! I similarly congratuated Medsen Fey, and he ended up becoming our posting leader less than six months later. Of course it took him 4-1/2 years to get to the 4500 milestone, and you're there in just over two...

Oop, hadn't even noticed myself! Thanks! See above... "verbose intermeadiot", I think that says it all

**THawk** · 06-11-2012, 03:27 AM

Fortunately most of my bottled meads are in the fridge... either that or they're given away and consumed...

**TheAlchemist** · 06-11-2012, 07:06 AM

Originally Posted by wayneb

... posting leader (not counting Oskaar, who still has the ultimate lead, but he's as they say, "vetustior humo!")...

I thought only my brother was vetustior humo.

**Medsen Fey** · 06-11-2012, 11:03 AM

Originally Posted by Chevette Girl

So what about show meads? How does one deal with that? The "hope and pray" method?

If you let the mead finish out at a high temp (which reduces yeast viability) and let it bulk age for a few weeks in the upper 80s it may be enough to make sure all is finished. I'd still error on the side of long bulk aging under airlock (or in a keg).

Sent from my DROID RAZR using Tapatalk 2

**Chevette Girl** · 06-11-2012, 08:48 PM

Originally Posted by Medsen Fey

I'd still error on the side of long bulk aging under airlock (or in a keg).

Fortunately, this is my usual MO anyway.

**skunkboy** · 06-11-2012, 09:25 PM

Originally Posted by wayneb

Oh, and inevitably at every Mazer Cup entry check-in, we get at least one entry that blasts corks across the room. Inevitably they are a sweet or semi-sweet that the entrant believed to be stable....

Hopefully its just corks. Last year while helping to check beer in the for a local competition I had a trippel explode in a case next to me. Thankfully the case was closed enough to contain most of the glass

**wayneb** · 06-11-2012, 10:57 PM

Fortunately we've not had any bottles blow while we're sorting, but on a couple occasions over the past few years we've had a damp box or two delivered - with remnants of mead and yeast inside, amongst the glass shards. In at least one case there was no evidence of external mishandling (no dented or scuffed boxes), so we probably had bottles blow in transit. People do need to be more careful to ensure that their products are stable before shipping. If anything blows up in shipping and happens to injure a carrier (mail or UPS/FedEx), you can be charged with transporting hazardous materials (explosive), and that these days is a federal offense.