Wanting To Try Mead

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Yep, yeast should be stored in the fridge, and allowed to warm up before making the starter or pitching. I get it out of the fridge as soon as I begin starting a must so it is the same tempas the room when it is pitched. I also turn it over now and then as it lays on the counter and knead it a little. George and I were talking about this very thang just the other day. I have been meaning to bring it up on the forum for months, and keep forgetting. Sorry Waldo.
 
Martina. I read on one site where they actually advocated putting the Mead in the frige or outdoors in the cold to fix a stuck fermentation.


http://www.gotmead.com/making-mead/problem-solving.shtml


Stuck Fermentation - Sometimes your mead will just stop fermenting. It happens.Your mead will bubble along merrily for a few weeks, then just stop. This is where a hydrometer comes in handy. Mead fermentation wants to go towards the zero mark (we'll be adding pages on measuring alcohol potential and on how to see when your mead is done soon). A carbonated mead is a sign of a secondary fermentation, and an invitation to bottle bombs.


Perhaps your yeast is old, or the temperature is not right, or the nutrients have run out, or the yeast has just died. You can tell from taste if the mead is low-alcohol and overly sweet if this is the case.
<UL>
<LI>If your yeast is old, set up a new starter with new yeast and pitch that into the batch. It should start bubbling up again in a day or so.
<LI>If the temperature is too cold (&lt;40 d F), move the carboy, wrap it in an electric blanket, build a box with a light bulb in the bottom, or move to southern California.
<LI>If the mead has a decent alcohol content (around 8%), then try shocking it. Turn it out in the cold (or refridgerate it) and forget it for a while. When you bring it back in, it may start to re-ferment. (You may also just fish out the ice, and then you have a fortified mead!) </LI>[/list]
 
Thanks Hippie..I have now carved another notch in my stick of wine making skills. I was keeping it in the fridge but not letting it warm up. Just snatching it out, ripping er open and chunking it in.
 
Interesting reading on the stuck fermentation Waldo...but I would be curious as to why chilling it and then warming it back up would help restart a stuck fermentation.
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A active fermentation of honey stops for a reason and from my research, it most likely is a lack of nutrients (available nitrogen) or a drop of pH below the low threshold of a good environment. Honey is not stable like grape must is and yeast produce various organic acids themselves during the process of metabolizing the sugars which can cause the pH to drift low.
 
So Waldo how is the mead doing? I am bummed since I ordered some honey and UPS managed to damage most of the shipment
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but I hope to get the replacement next week and start a few new batches.


I will be bottling two of my meads tomorrow...the Tupelo Vanilla and Orange Blossom Cyser.
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I am keeping my fingers crossed Masta. The fermentation has slowed back down considerably but I am not sure that that is not normal with mead. From what I am reading and understanding, the fermentation is not as prominent as what we are accustomed to seeing. I am going to take another SG this morning. Give her another good stirring and add the extra 1/2 lb. of Honey we discussed.
 
Added the additional 1/2 lb Honey to my Must yesterday. Stirred it in good, sang it a little lullaby and put the lid back on it. Also made another potential label for my daughters lovely mead.





Well, it will not post the picture Gerorge/Masta. It says that it is "Done but with errors"


Edited by: Waldo
 
Not sure why you couldn't post a picture...try again. Did you add the 1/4 tsp of nutrient with the honey?
 
Just tried again and same error message. I e-mailed the picture to George.


I did add the nutrient
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Fermentation is going strong again. Checked the SG and it is at 1.020
 
Checked SG this evening at it is at .095 so I racked it from fermnter into two one gallon carboys. Color is almost that of pink grapefruit and I had a taste of it and
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. Put airlocks on themand put them in the corner to age for a while longer. Hopefully by next racking the boquet and taste will be greatly improved.


Should I stabilize it or just let it rock alongEdited by: Waldo
 
Let them rest in the corner for the next few months and don't do anything with them. Don't expect the taste to improve for quite a while...like 6 months! Two of the batches I just bottled I started back in March and the other was started in January.
 
They are now out of sight and out of mind...well..out of sight anyway
 
Finally got my label for the Mead for my daughter to post
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2005-09-23_005527_meed_label.jpg
Edited by: Waldo
 
Armed with the knowledge I acquired withmy first batch of Mead I went ahead and started me another gallon batch last Sunday(while my first batch is aging) just tosee what the differences might be . I will say that this batch might not prove in the long run to be any better or worse than the first but it is definately getting off to a better start.


2005-09-30_024511_new_mead.jpg






I would attribute the better success with fermentation on this batch with the making and nurturing of a good starterand adding it to my must instead of just pitching the yeast as I did with the first batch.


2005-09-30_024546_new_mead_fermenting.jpg
Edited by: Waldo
 
masta said:
Here is a mead that many have made and it will be ready to drink fairly quickly....I hope to make some soon and try it:





Joe Mattioli's Ancient Orange and Spice Mead

It is so simple to make and you can make it without much equipment and with a multitude of variations. This could be a first Mead for the novice as it is almost fool proof. It is a bit unorthodox but it has never failed me or the friends I have shared it with. (snip)...it will be sweet, complex and tasty.

1 gallon batch


3 1/2 lbs Clover or your choice honey or blend (will finish sweet)
1 Large orange (later cut in eights or smaller rind and all)
1 small handful of raisins (25 if you count but more or less ok)
1 stick of cinnamon
1 whole clove ( or 2 if you like - these are potent critters)
optional (a pinch of nutmeg and allspice )( very small )
1 teaspoon of Fleishmann’s bread yeast ( now don't get holy on me--- after all this is an ancient mead and that's all we had back then)
Balance water to one gallon

Process:

Use a clean 1 gallon carboy

Dissolve honey in some warm water and put in carboy

Wash orange well to remove any pesticides and slice in eights --add orange (you can push em through opening big boy -- rinds included -- its ok for this mead -- take my word for it -- ignore the experts)

Put in raisins, clove, cinnamon stick, any optional ingredients and fill to 3 inches from the top with cold water. ( need room for some foam -- you can top off with more water after the first few day frenzy)

Shake the heck out of the jug with top on, of course. This is your sophisticated aeration process.

When at room temperature in your kitchen, put in 1 teaspoon of bread yeast. ( No you don't have to rehydrate it first-- the ancients didn't even have that word in their vocabulary-- just put it in and give it a gentle swirl or not)(The yeast can fight for their own territory)

Install water airlock. Put in dark place. It will start working immediately or in an hour. (Don't use grandma's bread yeast she bought years before she passed away in the 90's)( Wait 3 hours before you panic or call me) After major foaming stops in a few days add some water and then keep your hands off of it. (Don't shake it! Don't mess with them yeastees! Let them alone except its okay to open your cabinet to smell every once in a while.

Racking --- Don't you dare
additional feeding --- NO NO
More stirring or shaking -- Your not listening, don't touch

After 2 months and maybe a few days it will slow down to a stop and clear all by itself. (How about that) (You are not so important after all) Then you can put a hose in with a small cloth filter on the end into the clear part and siphon off the golden nectar. If you wait long enough even the oranges will sink to the bottom but I never waited that long. If it is clear it is ready. You don't need a cold basement. It does better in a kitchen in the dark. (Like in a cabinet) likes a little heat (70-80). If it didn't work out... you screwed up and didn't read my instructions (or used grandma's bread yeast she bought years before she passed away) . If it didn't work out then take up another hobby. Mead is not for you. It is too complicated.
If you were successful, which I am 99% certain you will be, then enjoy your mead. When you get ready to make different mead you will probably have to unlearn some of these practices I have taught you, but hey--- This recipe and procedure works with these ingredients so don't knock it. It was your first mead. It was my tenth. Sometimes, even the experts can forget all they know and make good ancient mead.


This is an excellent recipe. I just bottled my first little batch last night and all I can say is WOW, what a treat. It by far exceeded my expectations. It was easy, cheap and fun to make.


I just wish I had some 375 ml bottles as this is really sweet and will be drank in small doses. I got 4 750's out of my gallon batch. It was really fun to make something from scratch that turned out so good.


Smurfe
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I'm going to try a pear-mead wine in abouta month. pears are in the freezer right now. my problem is finding a recipe. do I use a pear recipe andsubstitute honey for sugar or find a mead recipe and dump the pears in with the must?
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How much and what kind of pears do you have? I have plenty of links and will find a recipe for you to try.
 
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