Subject: Mead Lover's Digest #1643, 20 August 2013 Date: Tue, 20 Aug 2013 15:18:05 -0600 (MDT) From: mead-request@talisman.com Mead Lover's Digest #1643 20 August 2013 Mead Discussion Forum Contents: Re: new topic ("David Houseman") NOTE: Digest appears whenever there is enough material to send one. Send ONLY articles for the digest to mead@talisman.com. Use mead-request@talisman.com for [un]subscribe and admin requests. Digest archives and FAQ are available at www.talisman.com/mead#Archives A searchable archive is at http://www.gotmead.com/mldarchives.html Digest Janitor: Dick Dunn ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Subject: Re: new topic From: "David Houseman" Date: Wed, 14 Aug 2013 19:25:09 -0400 Carl, I'll toss in my two cents and suggest that there are some problems with this being a been that you can serve young. At that gravity (1.135) it's a big mead that will likely need extended aging. For me primary might be a month or two, then I'd age this for 6 to 12 months or longer (depending on taste as we go along) before kegging or bottling. You are on the right approach to staggered nutrient additions; mind is 1/4 tsp/gal at pitching, then 1/4 tsp/gal in 24 hours, then again in 48 hours. I rehydrate the dry yeast (71B) in a solution of the initial nutrients and water at 100oF. I aerate the must to oxygenate well; I use O2. At the end of fermentation you will have 1 volume of CO2 in solution. You need to gently agitate the mead so as not to introduce O2 but to get as much CO2 out of solution as possible. I suspect you are still getting a good deal of fermentation even after you think its done. Wait a lot longer before bottling. The best meads I've made for relatively quick consumption had an OG of about 1.070 (hydromel), used orange blossom homey and used 71B yeast. At the lower gravity it was very good in 3 months and two rackings. Could be that you are using too much nutrient and energizer; what you pitched should have be consumed. But then it may be that the gravity was just too high for the yeast to have been able to make use of what was pitched or still was at bottling. I've never had a problem tasting the yeast nutrients, but then I have let fermentation go to completion. Dave Houseman ------------------------------ End of Mead Lover's Digest #1643 *******************************