I'm worried about my 3-gal batch of Ancient Orange. My inability to follow simple (and humorous) directions has left me uncertain of the outcome of this batch. Here's my story- or confession, if you like.
I racked it after only one month instead of waiting two like the directions said. I did this because a- there was almost zero airlock activity, b- the orange slices were turning brown, and c- I forgot the directions saidtwo months instead of one and didn't bother to check before I racked it.
I racked to a clean 3-gal carboy and topped up with about 1/2-gal of water. Before racking I checked my SG and estimated that the bread yeast had produced around 11% ABV. For 7-10 days after racking nothing happened. The mead just sat there. No airlock activity and no signs of clearing. I moved the carboy out to my garage with the rest of my carboys and then thedaytime temps started rising. I've been really busy lately, but I noticed about a week ago that the airlock was bubbling again. This concerned me.
Did I introduce a different strain of yeast during the racking process? I try to be as sanitary as possible and spray everything with sulphite solution, but you never know. Does this renewed fermentation mean this batch will finish off dry? I sure hope not. Given all the honey it started out with, that would most likely produce something undrinkable.
So a couple of days ago, I popped the carboy into my new wine refrigerator, which is set at about 30 degrees F. That effectively stopped all airlock activity, and now it shows signs of starting to clear. I guess when I rack it again I should probably give it a dose of K-meta and K-sorbate, huh? Has anyone else had an experience like this? Am I the only one who can't follow directions?
Ken
I racked it after only one month instead of waiting two like the directions said. I did this because a- there was almost zero airlock activity, b- the orange slices were turning brown, and c- I forgot the directions saidtwo months instead of one and didn't bother to check before I racked it.
I racked to a clean 3-gal carboy and topped up with about 1/2-gal of water. Before racking I checked my SG and estimated that the bread yeast had produced around 11% ABV. For 7-10 days after racking nothing happened. The mead just sat there. No airlock activity and no signs of clearing. I moved the carboy out to my garage with the rest of my carboys and then thedaytime temps started rising. I've been really busy lately, but I noticed about a week ago that the airlock was bubbling again. This concerned me.
Did I introduce a different strain of yeast during the racking process? I try to be as sanitary as possible and spray everything with sulphite solution, but you never know. Does this renewed fermentation mean this batch will finish off dry? I sure hope not. Given all the honey it started out with, that would most likely produce something undrinkable.
So a couple of days ago, I popped the carboy into my new wine refrigerator, which is set at about 30 degrees F. That effectively stopped all airlock activity, and now it shows signs of starting to clear. I guess when I rack it again I should probably give it a dose of K-meta and K-sorbate, huh? Has anyone else had an experience like this? Am I the only one who can't follow directions?
Ken