Just racked my wildflower mead and got just over 4 litres into a 5 litre demi-john. Do I need to eliminate the headspace for extended aging, and if so, how??
Would I be be better off just bottling now and sticking in the shed for a year?
Hi,
How old is this batch? What was the starting gravity? I can post instruction of my DIY "CO2 generator" if you want (~100ml water + 10-15g sodium bicarbonate + 5-10g citric acid)
(http://s13.postimg.org/6vc6gekaf/CO2generator.jpg)
Looks interesting.
The mead is already bottled actually. Even though I didn't prime the bottles, there's still a little sediment in there. Probably should have racked and cold crashed before bottling. I'm currently doing this with a batch of cyser I made from the group buy juice.
Cool. Two days ago I started new batch of "KAPUCYNSKI trojniak" (Capuchins Triple Mead) formed by mixing one part honey with two parts water (1L:3L) & spices:
* 5L of honey (~7kg)
* 9L of water + 0.9L yeast ('Zamojscy' Johannisberg m35): 0.1g DAP, x3 spoons of honey and... special care).
* 1L of the must boiled for 15-17minutes with: one cinnamon stick (2.7g), x1 vanilla pod (vanilla pods are filled with thousands of fragrant little black seeds - open pod before boiling!), 6g of fresh ginger and... 7.5g Fuggle hops
(http://s24.postimg.org/rb8hezp5x/Kapucynski2.jpg)
Honey is extremely poor in nutrients. First signs of fermentation (24-36h after the yeast have been pitched - not before!) 5g of DAP + 6g of nutrition rich sterols, inmiconutrients, organic Nitrogen, etc. B1-B6 vitamins and (NH4)2HPO4 (DAP) are most important. At sugar depletion (1.1057-1.1197) 1-1.5g DAP & 2-3g nutrition. Don't add any of the citric acid or lemon before fermentation is over.
Starting gravity: 1.1536; expected gravity: 1.0318 - 1.0359 (I like sweet/rich mead, not a honey poitin...). To achieve maturity, it must lie in a cellar for minimum 1-2 years...
1st batch of the Capuchins Triple Mead (January 2014)
(http://s16.postimg.org/z3s0ura9x/image.jpg)
This was a long time coming but worth waiting for >:D
I love the label! Where you make that template ;)
Bacchus - that's a whole lot of honey! :D I've been meaning to put on a big batch of mead but wondering if there's a place where you can buy in bulk cheaper than buying in supermarkets. Like a caterers that sells retail. Any leads??
I think there is a chap in Clonmel in Tipperary that sells in bulk but if you can find a local apiary you could most likely cut a deal with the keeper for some honey. There are a good few keepers around where I live in Tipperary
I don't know about buying off a local supplier - that's premium stuff they're producing and would cost a pretty penny I'd say. Almost be a shame to make mead out of it...
I made my last 2 batches out of local honey. I would disagree and say that it's perfect to put into your must. It's pure from the source. Most imported cheaper honeys are mixed with non EU honeys and instead of getting one pure ingredient you are getting several honeys mixed together making it impossible for consistency in your brew.
I'm not saying that it's not suitable for mead - on the contrary I'd say it'd be feckin gorgeous! It's just too expensive for me to afford that much local honey so I've to stick with the cheap imports. And in fairness i always get a delicious mead out of it.
I eat my own weight in local honey every day (feckin love the stuff) so I'm not doing anyone out of a sale!
Yeah it is really expensive alright. The only major down side in it. Im hoping to start a Braggot during the week and Im debating which honey to use.