lethargy
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- Aug 30, 2009
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so 2 1/2 weeks ago i threw together 2 brews- raspberry banana wine, and cinnamon tangerine mead. this is the first time i've ever used yeast nutrient (diammonium phosphate). i then left town for xmas. i got back 2 weeks later to find that both brews had 100% stopped fermenting.
at first i thought something must be wrong. i decided to rack both brews then figure out what was going on. i tasted each one as i was racking it, and both still had a littlebit of co2 in them, and where dry (like 1.5 on a scale of 5). i then proceeded to drink a bunch of each one on separate nights, and got hammered both nights. i then took a hydrometer reading on the mead and calculated the % to be 21% (seems a bit high to me though). (i didnt calculate the % of the rasp banana because i didnt take an initial reading from it (too many banana chunks floating in the must to see the reading)).
it seam as though both of my brews have finished fermenting in just 2 weeks. my first brew that i did (without nutrient) took 1.5months to finish fermenting. im so far ahead of schedule that i now have no idea how to proceed from here.
should i throw in some campdens to kill off any yeasts that may still be living then clarify the brews and bottle, or should i left them sit for a while? if so, how long?
- as a side not, i used too much cinnamon in the mead, it has a very strong taste. the recepy i read said 1 stick per gallon, so i used 4 sticks. in future i think im gonna go with 1 stick per 2 gallons. i also cant taste the tangerine at all, which isnt surprising as i didnt put that many in (3 tangerines per gallon) as i didnt want to drop the acidity too low which i read is a big problem while brewing with citrus fruits. i hope with time the cinnamon mellows and the tangerine becomes noticeable. anyone ever brew with citrus fruits? if so, how much is too much.
also, if anyone wants to try something new that tastes good, i highly recommend raspberry banana- even green as it is, it tastes spectacular. the banana is more pronounced right now then the rasp, but again with time im hoping they'll balance out. this is the recipy for anyone whos interested:
8lb banana
8lb rasp
10lb sugar
lalvin 1118
water untill a total volume of 4gal
i feel like its missing something though, needs a hint of spice i think, but im not sure what. maybe cinnamon, but i dunno about that. any suggestions?
at first i thought something must be wrong. i decided to rack both brews then figure out what was going on. i tasted each one as i was racking it, and both still had a littlebit of co2 in them, and where dry (like 1.5 on a scale of 5). i then proceeded to drink a bunch of each one on separate nights, and got hammered both nights. i then took a hydrometer reading on the mead and calculated the % to be 21% (seems a bit high to me though). (i didnt calculate the % of the rasp banana because i didnt take an initial reading from it (too many banana chunks floating in the must to see the reading)).
it seam as though both of my brews have finished fermenting in just 2 weeks. my first brew that i did (without nutrient) took 1.5months to finish fermenting. im so far ahead of schedule that i now have no idea how to proceed from here.
should i throw in some campdens to kill off any yeasts that may still be living then clarify the brews and bottle, or should i left them sit for a while? if so, how long?
- as a side not, i used too much cinnamon in the mead, it has a very strong taste. the recepy i read said 1 stick per gallon, so i used 4 sticks. in future i think im gonna go with 1 stick per 2 gallons. i also cant taste the tangerine at all, which isnt surprising as i didnt put that many in (3 tangerines per gallon) as i didnt want to drop the acidity too low which i read is a big problem while brewing with citrus fruits. i hope with time the cinnamon mellows and the tangerine becomes noticeable. anyone ever brew with citrus fruits? if so, how much is too much.
also, if anyone wants to try something new that tastes good, i highly recommend raspberry banana- even green as it is, it tastes spectacular. the banana is more pronounced right now then the rasp, but again with time im hoping they'll balance out. this is the recipy for anyone whos interested:
8lb banana
8lb rasp
10lb sugar
lalvin 1118
water untill a total volume of 4gal
i feel like its missing something though, needs a hint of spice i think, but im not sure what. maybe cinnamon, but i dunno about that. any suggestions?