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Messed up the ratio?

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Mattzak

Worker Bee
Registered Member
Feb 15, 2020
57
2
8
Central California
Attempted Recipe:
3# honey
1gal water
Red star Premier blanc yeast
Aiming for 14.5% or so...

What actually fit into the 1gal jug... -_-
3# honey
Yeast
.75 gal water
Achieved 37 brix before yeast (suggesting over 20% potential alcohol)

When I looked up the batch recipe i just assumed this would all fit and hadn’t seen a warning for this, although it sounds like common sense now.

Did I screw up like I think I did...? I started off aiming for dry and boozy, which I was going to sweeten up afterward... but now I think I’ll have boozy and overly sweet- a hefty amount of extra honey unintentionally.

Is it okay to top off the next jug when I rack? I assume if that’s true I can just keep checking specific gravity to see what changes.

I’m very new and welcome all critique and/or suggestions.

Thanks in advance!
 

4give

Honey Master
Registered Member
Jan 1, 2018
402
76
28
Montrose, CO
Welcome Mattzak. I'm not sure how you took the reading and with what instrument, but i think it may need to be calibrated. I'm guessing you're closer to the 14.5% potential ABV. If you've followed modern protocols well, then that yeast can actually go higher. I haven't used it, but I've heard some folks can get over 16% when having a healthy ferment (happy yeast from good rehydration, O2 up front, proper nutrients, etc.).
You'd do well to post your plans on this forum to get feedback before starting a batch.
Invest the time to check out the podcasts on this site starting around Sept 5, 2017 - well worth it.
 

Mattzak

Worker Bee
Registered Member
Feb 15, 2020
57
2
8
Central California
Thanks for the heads up, I’m always looking for new podcasts. As far as the volume of water vs honey, did I need a larger initial vessel or is this normal?

I am thinking the Brix is so high because of the lack of water, meaning the intended amount of honey should have had a little more water?

I got the initial amounts off the calculator here, and I’m very new to this resource. I apologize if I’m either annoying or not picking up what’s being laid down. :)

Edit:
I used a hydrometer and took pictures of it sitting in the foam. Tried spinning, stirring, whirring, and Jedi mind tricks to get the bubbly broth to simmer while I was checking but couldn’t. I figured the picture could easily be measured later when I needed to.
I am on my cell and hadn’t figured how to include the picture yet this way in the forum for reference.
 

bernardsmith

Got Mead? Patron
GotMead Patron
Sep 1, 2013
1,611
32
48
Saratoga Springs , NY
Hi Mattzak, and welcome. Generally, in the US - and I assume everywhere 1 pound of honey dissolved in water to make 1 US gallon volume will give you a gravity reading of 1.035 so 3 lbs dissolved in water to make the same volume (1 US gallon total) will give you a gravity of .035 * 3 = 1.105 and that will have a potential ABV if all goes according to plan of about 14% (you multiply the total gravity lost through fermentation (in this case .105) by 131.25.
Note how I wrote this. You are not adding 1 gallon of water to the honey but adding enough water to make 1 gallon of must. Do you see the difference?. The MORE water you add , the LESS the gravity (density) will be and the LOWER the potential ABV. Bottom line? You should not need larger carboys IF your intention is to make single gallons of mead. Hope this helps.
 

rb2112br

Honey Master
Registered Member
Mar 27, 2018
156
34
28
One thing you might want to keep in mind though is that a 1 gallon carboy making a 1 gallon batch of mead doesn't leave a whole lot of head space during fermentation, so you might end up with some foam overflowing out of the airlock.
 

Mattzak

Worker Bee
Registered Member
Feb 15, 2020
57
2
8
Central California
Bernard, thank you for the info! That’s the answer I was looking for.

I’ll just carry on as usual then. I will recheck the gravity, I’m assuming the bubbles sticking to the side of my hydrometer on the surface messed with my reading.
 

Squatchy

Lifetime GotMead Patron
Lifetime GotMead Patron
Nov 3, 2014
5,542
261
83
Denver
So spin the hydrometer and then wait till it stops. It won't make enough difference to really be concerned about. At least I'm not worried about it. If it's covered in bubbles you have an active ferment anyway. So it's not that critical in my mind
 
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