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Mead Lovers Digest #1449
Subject: Mead Lover's Digest #1449, 26 November 2009
From: mead-request@talisman.com
Mead Lover's Digest #1449 26 November 2009
Mead Discussion Forum
Contents:
Re: Mead Lover's Digest #1448, 18 November 2009 (bjezierski1@comcast.net)
Re: Mead Lover's Digest #1448, 18 November 2009 (Edward Verhagen)
Re: Mead Lover's Digest #1448, 18 November 2009 (Dave Chubb)
Re: Rapid onset of fermentation (MeadGuild@aol.com)
A Plug for a New Meadery (docmac9582@aol.com)
Re: Rapid onset of fermentation (mail-box)
Re: Rapid onset of fermentation (Marc Shapiro)
Dealing with crystallized honey ("Patrick St. Jean")
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Subject: Re: Mead Lover's Digest #1448, 18 November 2009
From: bjezierski1@comcast.net
Date: Wed, 18 Nov 2009 14:13:40 +0000 (UTC)
Joe,
While I've not been at the mead game all that long (4 or 5 years) I can
tell you that what you're seeing pretty much sums up what I've seen with
every batch I've made.? I generally use Redstar Dry Champagne yeast
(I prefer a drier mead) and 15 lbs of honey (for a 6 1/2 gallon initial
batch).? I whip the yeast, yeast energizer and nutrients in a blender
for about half an hour? with 2 cups of water I've boiled and cooled.?
Some of the initlal fermentation I've had has been so robust that it's
actually blown the airlock off the carboy after 12 hours.
Generally by 2 weeks, it's settled down to a few bubbles a minute, and
I'll rack it off into a 5 gallon carboy and let it set for a month.?
After that, I'll rerack every month or two depending on the amount of
yeast that's settled onto the bottom of the carboy.
Hope this helps
Ben
------------------------------
Subject: Re: Mead Lover's Digest #1448, 18 November 2009
From: Edward Verhagen <wobbleygoose@yahoo.com.au>
Date: Wed, 18 Nov 2009 06:35:05 -0800 (PST)
One packet of yeast for 5 gal should be enough.
I am curious. 15lbs honey for 5 gal?
I do a small mead and use 10lbs for 6 gal.
Edward
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Subject: Re: Mead Lover's Digest #1448, 18 November 2009
From: Dave Chubb <wyrdone@gmail.com>
Date: Wed, 18 Nov 2009 10:05:15 -0500
Joe,
Yes fermentation with a basement as warm as yours is going to be fast. If
you have issues with it foaming over, get a blowoff tube or change your
airlock regularly.
In about a week it should slow enough that you won't need to worry about
swapping airlocks.
If you want to slow the rate, find a cooler place for your initial ferment.
55-60'F is good target, but make sure fermentation has caught before moving
your carboys to somewhere that cool.
------------------------------
Subject: Re: Rapid onset of fermentation
From: MeadGuild@aol.com
Date: Wed, 18 Nov 2009 12:27:25 EST
Joe:
> I started my first mead last Wednesday (11/11/09), and I have
> 2 questions about the normal rate at which I should expect it
> to release CO2. It is a 5-gallon batch of traditional mead
> with about 15.5 lbs of wildflower honey from a hobbyist
> beekeeper near Keyser, WV.
> I pitched two 5-gram packets of dry Lalvin 71b-1122 (Narbonne)
> yeast at about 11:30pm. I put the bucket in my basement, which
> is uncommonly warm at about 72-74F. When I got up for work the
> next morning, at about 7am, the airlock was already bubbling at
> an estimated rate of 30-40 bubbles per minute (about once every
> 2 seconds). That evening, about 22-23 hours after pitching the
> yeast, it was bubbling easily 90-100 times per minute. My first
> question is: is it normal for fermentation to be so robust so
> early? If that is not normal, is it just that I pitched two
> packets of yeast, or should I be concerned? I was expecting to
> see some action within 24 hours, not 8.
Your experience is normal for mazers using fresh honey and fresh yeast,
> My second question relates to the period of time that I should expect
> fermentation to continue. I have read that it takes about two weeks
> for fermentation to slow down enough that I should rack the mead. How
> frequently should bubbles be rising when it is time to rack? They have
> already slowed(as of 11/15/09) to about 30 per minute.
30 per minute is not slow to me. One every two minutes is my idea of slow.
I have had fermentations take as long as 28 days and also had one that took
only 10 days.
The main ingredient in fermentation is patience.
Best regards,
Dick
- --
Richard D. Adams
------------------------------
Subject: A Plug for a New Meadery
From: docmac9582@aol.com
Date: Wed, 18 Nov 2009 15:12:44 -0500
I was not satisfied with commercial meads, so have been making my own for
11 years (currently 36 carboys fermenting - but many are long-term so less
than 200 gal/year). At the International Meadfest a couple years ago, I
thought Maxwell's Meadery had the best meads, but unfortunately they are
located near Adelaide, Australia and I can't get them in Ohio (although
I can buy Maxwell's grape wines). Last year I found a good mead at the
Vulcano Winery on the Big Island in Hawaii (made from Macadamia Nut Flower
Honey), but I can't get it here either. A week or so ago, I discovered
the new Long Island Meadery and was pleasantly surprised by his meads.
He has only been open a year or so, but if anyone is visiting NYC, I would
suggest trying his meads (only open on weekends).
Carl McMillin
Brecksville, OH
------------------------------
Subject: Re: Rapid onset of fermentation
From: mail-box <mail-box@comcast.net>
Date: Wed, 18 Nov 2009 21:58:33 -0500
> Subject: Rapid onset of fermentation
> From: Joe Records <joseph.p.records@gmail.com>
> Date: Sun, 15 Nov 2009 18:03:07 -0500
>
> Hi all,
>
> I started my first mead last Wednesday (11/11/09), and I have 2 questions
> about the normal rate at which I should expect it to release CO2. It is a
> 5-gallon batch of traditional mead with about 15.5 lbs of wildflower honey
> from a hobbyist beekeeper near Keyser, WV.
>
> I pitched two 5-gram packets of dry Lalvin 71b-1122 (Narbonne) yeast at
> about 11:30pm. I put the bucket in my basement, which is uncommonly warm at
> about 72-74F. When I got up for work the next morning, at about 7am, the
> airlock was already bubbling at an estimated rate of 30-40 bubbles per
> minute (about once every 2 seconds). That evening, about 22-23 hours after
> pitching the yeast, it was bubbling easily 90-100 times per minute. My first
> question is: is it normal for fermentation to be so robust so early? If
> that?s not normal, is it just that I pitched two packets of yeast, or should
> I be concerned? I was expecting to see some action within 24 hours, not 8.
>
> My second question relates to the period of time that I should expect
> fermentation to continue. I have read that it takes about two weeks for
> fermentation to slow down enough that I should rack the mead. How frequently
> should bubbles be rising when it?s time to rack? They have already slowed
> (as of 11/15/09) to about 30 per minute.
>
> Thanks in advance for your input!
>
> - -Joe
Joe,
That is a rapid start to fermentation, but I do not think you have
anything to be concerned about. I don't think that any spoilage
organism could have begun activity that fast, the safe bet is that your
yeast just got to work fast. I'm not familiar with 71b-1122, never
having used it. But I do get pretty much the same results as you have
with many other yeasts, although I do work at it. I pitch an active
liter starter, and I oxygenate (by hand) both before pitching and once
daily for 2-3 days, and I add nutrients. I also make almost exclusively
wine strength (~12% or ~1.085 OG) meads. That you got the same results
with dry yeast, no oxygenation or nutrients, and in a higher (but not
outrageous) gravity must is fantastic.
Your fermentation should continue for about 5-12 days from pitching. I
wouldn't bother racking until all fermentation stops, as the point of
racking is to leave the lees behind. With CO2 forming the lees can't
settle completely, and so there is little point in racking before this
point. You're not making wine, there are no gross lees, you could wait
2 weeks after the end of fermentation with no ill effects. This would
see far more settling of your lees and might mean that you only needed
to rack one more time before bottling.
I'm guessing that your OG was about 1.110, and if you ferment to dryness
you'll have a ~14.5% mead. Red wines these days often hit 15%, so it
should be nice but not overpowering mead.
Welcome to the hobby, and good luck with your first mead!
Regards,
Ken Taborek
------------------------------
Subject: Re: Rapid onset of fermentation
From: Marc Shapiro <mshapiro_42@yahoo.com>
Date: Wed, 18 Nov 2009 21:18:49 -0800
> From: Joe Records <joseph.p.records@gmail.com>
> Date: Sun, 15 Nov 2009 18:03:07 -0500
>
> My first question is:
> is it normal for fermentation to be so robust so early? If
> that?s not normal, is it just that I pitched two packets of yeast, or should
> I be concerned? I was expecting to see some action within 24 hours, not 8.
I usually make a starter solution and add it to the must when it is
active, but... When I do make a starter, it is usually active within a
few hours. If I add it to the must in the evening then I expect a good
fermentation by morning. Bubble rates of 100 to 120 bubbles per minute
are not uncommon and can continue for a few days. Then fermentation
will usually slow down. It sounds like this is exactly what you are
experiencing.
> My second question relates to the period of time that I should expect
> fermentation to continue. I have read that it takes about two weeks for
> fermentation to slow down enough that I should rack the mead. How frequently
> should bubbles be rising when it?s time to rack? They have already slowed
> (as of 11/15/09) to about 30 per minute.
While I have had fermentation slow sufficiently for racking after two
weeks, I find that a month is more likely. I wait until there is
sufficient sediment on the bottom and noticeable clearing within the
carboy before racking, and a month is generally about right. Bubbles
through the airlock will normally be no more than a few per minute.
Much faster than that will usually prevent the clearing that I like to
see. After that initial racking, I leave the mead in the carboy through
at least two, or three additional rackings every one to three month
(as additional noticeable clearing occurs). When I can read a small
newspaper headline through the mead I know it is time to bottle.
The main advantage that I have seen with this method, is that by the
time the mead is bottled, it is also drinkable. This is not to say that
additional aging does not improve the mead, just that it is drinkable as
soon as it is in the bottle.
- --
Marc Shapiro
------------------------------
Subject: Dealing with crystallized honey
From: "Patrick St. Jean" <stjeanp@pat-st-jean.com>
Date: Sat, 21 Nov 2009 05:33:31 -0600
Hi everyone,
I've got a 5 gallon bucket (~60 pounds) of honey here which has
crystallized and I'm wondering if anyone has any tips on how to deal
with it. I'm probably going to break it down into 4 15 pound batches,
but it's going to be tough to dig it out the way it is. Can I just dig
out chunks and use them by weight or is there maybe a way to soften the
whole thing?
Thanks!
Pat
- --
Pat in Lewisville BS#140 K0OOK EKIII rides with me
'04 BMW R1150RT (das schwarze Schaf) '97 XLH 883 (Rocinante)
http://www.pat-st-jean.com/ http://www.bikerscum.org/
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End of Mead Lover's Digest #1449
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