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Quick question

Barrel Char Wood Products

Ershin

NewBee
Registered Member
Sep 7, 2012
8
0
0
I was just taking a gravity reading on a batch of mead, which I think is around about the 10% mark at the moment (its my first mead and i think i substituted an imperial gallon for metric, or vice versa, and i didnt have a hydrometer when i started so its all approximate, unfortunatly)

anyways, just after i sealed up the bucket and handed the sample glass to my girlfreind, she promptly leant on the bucket, and the airlock refluxed a couple of drops into the mead.

there is a small cloudy mass in the airlock, though the bulk of that was too far the other way to have refluxed, and i told her i think itl (probably) be ok.

she is a little distressed that she may have 'ruined the mead made for [her]'. i understand its not a good thing, but im hoping the chances of it affecting the mead are slim, and she has said shed feel better if i asked on here.

as a second question, its been quite a slow ferment, and im currently getting a reading of 1.03 which has come down from 1.036 a week or so ago, so it does look like its almost finishing. i put ~1.5 kg of honey in 4.5 litres of water (i calculated it based on 3.5, because im an absent minded imbecile *sigh*) with a teaspoon of youngs yeast nurtient and lalvin rc-212

from what i can get out of the calculator i should have had an estimated sg of 1.1, and an fg of 1.03 would indicate an abv of 9.5% - now, obviously, because i didnt take the reading to begin with, i can only guess, but im now not sure if its finishing at a higher percentage than im estimating (i would have believed someone if theyd told me it was around 12/13% based on taste, i think - i know thats not much to go on) or whether its starting to stall, or just being really slow. it does taste delicious, and frankly, id be more than happy with the taste were it to have either finished or stalled, though presumably if it has stalled id need to stabalise it before bottling to be on the safe side, yes?

i have promised myself to do a proper log next time, so hopefully i wont run into that issue again, lol
 

Vance G

NewBee
Registered Member
Aug 30, 2011
564
3
0
Great Falls Montana
Leverage is good in any relationship! She now owes you. How much she owes you is entirely up to your conscience. No harm was done. Just drink the evidence when it is ready and that depends on your palate. I like to keep good records because it allows me to discover I made the same mistakes again! You being smarter than I will use those records to keep improving your mead. Remember that medevial customs disallowed your beating a woman with a stick bigger than your wrist for harming the mead and if you expect to go anywhere in meadmaking you have to maintain standards.
 

Khan

Worker Bee
Registered Member
Apr 11, 2012
93
2
8
South jersey
she is a little distressed that she may have 'ruined the mead made for [her]'. i understand its not a good thing, but im hoping the chances of it affecting the mead are slim, and she has said shed feel better if i asked on here.

I don't think that she ruined anything. I assume that everything was properly sanatized, and there was a little water in the airlock? just change the airlock (or clean, sanatize, and refill) and move on.

it does taste delicious, and frankly, id be more than happy with the taste were it to have either finished or stalled, though presumably if it has stalled id need to stabalise it before bottling to be on the safe side, yes?
I am no aficionado on yeast strains, nor do I calculate ABV in my own mead, so I can't address the first part of this; but as for your finished product... if you think that your fermentation is completed, I suggest you gather three hydrometer readings over a period of one week or more... if the readings are the same, then fermentation is done. after you have confirmed fermentation is over, then you can rack it off the lees and age it for a bit, or stabalize and bottle it if you prefer.

i have promised myself to do a proper log next time, so hopefully i wont run into that issue again, lol
Not a bad Idea, I have found it frustrating trying to recreate a certain flavor without one ;)
 

Ershin

NewBee
Registered Member
Sep 7, 2012
8
0
0
well, the concern was that the water in the airlock has been sitting there during whats been quite a long ferment - and i imagine is by now hardly all that clean - but im guessing that, were anything in the water than got pulled back into the mead, that what little there was would be killed by the alcohol before it did any damage
 

Chevette Girl

All around BAD EXAMPLE
Moderator
Lifetime GotMead Patron
Apr 27, 2010
8,443
53
48
Ottawa, ON
If it's still an active ferment (kind of), you'll probably be fine, if you're concerned, when the fermentation's done, stabilizing it should kill any remaining ick that may have survived despite the yeast.
 
Barrel Char Wood Products

Viking Brew Vessels - Authentic Drinking Horns