Stupid Mistake With My Mead

[Chookers]

Well Im no expert or even close when it comes to homebrewing.. I just start dabling with mead. But I did something really stupid, I was tired and it was late. I put my hot honey mixture in my 1 Gallon glass demijon and fitted the airlock with a bleach solution.. I know I should not have done this.. I got up this morning and of course some of the solution had gotten sucked in..

My question is: Should I thow the lot away.. or will the bleach solution in the mead mix eventually evaporate leaving a safe drink behind.

Any help on this matter would be very much appreciated... I really dont want to waste it, I think I had been on a good one.

 

[newguy]

Pretty much every municipal water authority chlorinates the water so unless it was pure bleach I think you'll be okay. Meads usually take a long time to finish anyway so that gives you time for it to dissipate. I wouldn't worry about it too much.

 

[Chookers]

Pretty much every municipal water authority chlorinates the water so unless it was pure bleach I think you'll be okay. Meads usually take a long time to finish anyway so that gives you time for it to dissipate. I wouldn't worry about it too much.

Thanks for that.. it was that aldi brand bleach..

On the note of it taking a long time.. I once made a mead one year and years later found it still sweet (too sweet infact) I added 1/3rd more water with some yeast nutrients and some EC-118.. and it made a fantastic spritzy semi-dry drink.. it was lovely.. since then I have been unsucessful in recreating it.. very sad.

So is there such a thing as a fast track mead.. Im not the most patient person in the world.

Thanks for you reply

 

[Lecterfan]

Gday, I have a mate who brews strange fruit wines and meads etc almost exclusively. He sometimes takes up to 18 moths before deciding that it is "done". Sorry to dissappoint. I have a friend who racked a mead after 2 months, bottled it after 4 and the bottles are so friggin cloudy that it is off putting.

My current mead is about 4 months in the first demijohn, basically reached it's fg but still bubbling on warm days and is as cloudy as the day I pitched the yeast. I got some good advice on this board, and subsequently from my friend who assured me just to leave it alone. It sits at my feet at the computer table like a patient lap dog.

If you want a quick mead then you best put up with the flavour from the ones available at Dans. :icon_cheers:

Personally I'm sticking with beers and pitching slurry into fruit juice for my girlfriend.

I'm also not sure I'd worry about a few mls of bleach into a 4-5 L batch, but then I'm no authority on the topic.

I started using pure spirit (%40) from a mates still ages ago and have contiued that practice in any airlocks that I'm using...a tip I heard ages ago on the grumpys forum, not sure who from.

Good luck.

 

[Chookers]

Gday, I have a mate who brews strange fruit wines and meads etc almost exclusively. He sometimes takes up to 18 moths before deciding that it is "done". Sorry to dissappoint. I have a friend who racked a mead after 2 months, bottled it after 4 and the bottles are so friggin cloudy that it is off putting.

My current mead is about 4 months in the first demijohn, basically reached it's fg but still bubbling on warm days and is as cloudy as the day I pitched the yeast. I got some good advice on this board, and subsequently from my friend who assured me just to leave it alone. It sits at my feet at the computer table like a patient lap dog.

If you want a quick mead then you best put up with the flavour from the ones available at Dans. :icon_cheers:

Personally I'm sticking with beers and pitching slurry into fruit juice for my girlfriend.

I'm also not sure I'd worry about a few mls of bleach into a 4-5 L batch, but then I'm no authority on the topic.

I started using pure spirit (%40) from a mates still ages ago and have contiued that practice in any airlocks that I'm using...a tip I heard ages ago on the grumpys forum, not sure who from.

Good luck.

Lecterfan,
Thats a great idea using spirits in the airlock.. I will do that from now on :beerbang: .. I dont mind if some of that falls in..
I used to use the sodium metabisulfide solution, but I was very allergic to the fumes, it was putting me off trying to brew, then I read diluted bleach was a good substitute and start using that to sanitise everything and use in the airlock.

Thanks for the great advice

 

[manticle]

Just cover the airlock with glad wrap and a rubber band. That's what I do for anything ageing in glass.

I've heard (not sure though) that spirits can attract vinegar flies.

 

[SuiCIDER]

I use cheap vodka (the stuff that tastes like engine cleaner) for my airlocks. No flies, nothing. And when it gets sucked down, I just get a higher ABV!

 

[Airgead]

I use cheap vodka (the stuff that tastes like engine cleaner) for my airlocks. No flies, nothing. And when it gets sucked down, I just get a higher ABV!

Higher ABV and a mead that tastes like engine cleaner...

Just plain old water in mine. Or iodphor solution if I have some lying around from brewing. You only need to worry about it getting sucked in if the stuff in the fermenter is hot and cooling down or when moving them around. Iodophor is OK in the brew if it accidentally get sucked in. It just sublimates back out again. Water does just fine at keeping bugs out. All it needs to do is prevent direct air exchange and stop stuff falling into your brew through an open top. Once fermentation has well and truly stopped and I don't need to worry about pressure build up I just use a rubber bung. Or gladwrap.

Cheers
Dave

 

[Chookers]

Do you think if I used grape concentrate (I have reisling grape concentrate at hand) with honey, I could make a cheats mead that would be ready to drink in a few months.. or sooner than actual mead anyway..

 

[Airgead]

Do you think if I used grape concentrate (I have reisling grape concentrate at hand) with honey, I could make a cheats mead that would be ready to drink in a few months.. or sooner than actual mead anyway..

Grape and honey is known as a Pyment. They are very nice.

Sadly though, they still need a fairly long aging time. 6-12 months. Mead really does require patience.

The fastest things to mature are things like melomels with lots of fruit in them. They are often drinkable after 3 months or so. They are much better after 6-12 months though.

The fastest type of mead to mature are braggots. If you use only 15-20% honey in a fairly light style of beer you will have something that is good after only a few weeks. The more honey you use the longer it takes to age.

Cheers
Dave

 

[Chookers]

Grape and honey is known as a Pyment. They are very nice.

Sadly though, they still need a fairly long aging time. 6-12 months. Mead really does require patience.

The fastest things to mature are things like melomels with lots of fruit in them. They are often drinkable after 3 months or so. They are much better after 6-12 months though.

The fastest type of mead to mature are braggots. If you use only 15-20% honey in a fairly light style of beer you will have something that is good after only a few weeks. The more honey you use the longer it takes to age.

Cheers
Dave

Thanks Airgead
Yes I have been looking at doing a Braggot, I have a can of Spicy Ghost Wheat Beer lying around, I wonder if I could make Braggot out of it. Do you have a good recipe for Pyment. Something semi-dry.. we dont like too sweet or too dry.. I need to use my grape concentrate (I dont know if it has a used by date, but I've had it for awhile now)

 

[newguy]

So is there such a thing as a fast track mead.. Im not the most patient person in the world.

Actually there is. Off the top of my head I can't remember the guy's name, but he's won the american homebrewer's association (AHA) meadmaker of the year several times. His technique is as follows:

- Instead of adding all the yeast nutrient/energiser to the honey at the start, only add 1/8th of this amount.
- Every 12h after that, add another 1/8th until you've added 8/8ths (4 days).

The meads fed in this fashion finish in 2-3 months. I tried one like this and it did finish in 2 months. The one I have on the go now was done in the traditional manner (all nutrients up front) and it's been 18 months and it's still not done. I wanted to feed it 2x per day as above but I was going to be away and couldn't manage it.

 

[Airgead]

Actually there is. Off the top of my head I can't remember the guy's name, but he's won the american homebrewer's association (AHA) meadmaker of the year several times. His technique is as follows:

- Instead of adding all the yeast nutrient/energiser to the honey at the start, only add 1/8th of this amount.
- Every 12h after that, add another 1/8th until you've added 8/8ths (4 days).

The meads fed in this fashion finish in 2-3 months. I tried one like this and it did finish in 2 months. The one I have on the go now was done in the traditional manner (all nutrients up front) and it's been 18 months and it's still not done. I wanted to feed it 2x per day as above but I was going to be away and couldn't manage it.

Ahhh... you want to talk to Brewer Pete about that. He's a big fan of that method. The guy's name is Ken Schwarber or something like that.

From what I can gather the method accelerates the fermentation and appears to accelerate the aging as well. I have some serious concerns about its impact on long term stability. I think it is a competition brewing method - get something drinkable quickly for competition and not worry about how it tastes a week after that.

I am doing some side by side tests to see what the long term impact is. I'll report back later...

Cheers
Dave

 

[The_Duck]

I believe you may be referring to Ken Schramm who wrote "The Complete Meadmaker". A worthy addition to any mead makers library.

My copy came from www.thebookdepository.co.uk for about $23 shipped to Oz. I highly recommend it.

Recipes for various meads, pyments, cysers, braggot, melomels etc

I have been able to do a crystal clear mead in about 6 weeks that tasted awesome. I used a honey called "Tropical Fusion" that I picked up in Cairns while on holiday and a Lalvin DV-10 yeast from my LHBS. Could not believe how quickly it cleared without any interference or additives.

Last night I put down another batch using leatherwood honey and the same yeast. Will see if it is the honey variety or yeast that makes the difference.

(1 Gallon batch)

Recipe: "Champagne" mead

1Kg Varietal honey
3.5 L Boiled water
1/2 tsp yeast nutrient
2g Lalvin DV-10 yeast


Boil the water, then et it cool a little.
Add the honey.
Rinse the jar/s with more boiling water (from a kettle) to get remaining honey out

Add to 1 Gallon Demijohn (sterilised)

Top up Demijohn to the shoulders. Add airlock and a SMALL amount of water to seal.
Allow to cool in a sink of water etc and when down to ~35c pitch yeast.


Duck

 

[Airgead]

I believe you may be referring to Ken Schramm who wrote "The Complete Meadmaker". A worthy addition to any mead makers library.

That's the one.

Interested to know how that mead held up after a few months/years.

Cheers
Dave

 

[The_Duck]

That's the one.

Interested to know how that mead held up after a few months/years.

Cheers
Dave

With such a small volume it may not last year/s. The batch I made with "Tropical Fusion" is all gone I think (need to check the cupboard for a stray bottle !)

Not sure how a champagne style leatherwood will come out. I had a sample during the week from one of my club members of a 2 1/2 year old sweet leatherwood mead that was delicious.

Best thing is, with small batches there is low $ at risk if the batch turns out poorly.

Duck

 

[Chookers]

Actually there is. Off the top of my head I can't remember the guy's name, but he's won the american homebrewer's association (AHA) meadmaker of the year several times. His technique is as follows:

- Instead of adding all the yeast nutrient/energiser to the honey at the start, only add 1/8th of this amount.
- Every 12h after that, add another 1/8th until you've added 8/8ths (4 days).

The meads fed in this fashion finish in 2-3 months. I tried one like this and it did finish in 2 months. The one I have on the go now was done in the traditional manner (all nutrients up front) and it's been 18 months and it's still not done. I wanted to feed it 2x per day as above but I was going to be away and couldn't manage it.

Sounds good newguy, now all I gotta do is buy some nutrients, I had some that went all clumpy and I threw it away, It smelled like a cup-a-soup.. I wonder if vegimite would work in place of nutrients. I need more 5L Demijohns. I will definately be trying this. :icon_cheers:

 

[Chookers]

I believe you may be referring to Ken Schramm who wrote "The Complete Meadmaker". A worthy addition to any mead makers library.

My copy came from www.thebookdepository.co.uk for about $23 shipped to Oz. I highly recommend it.

Recipes for various meads, pyments, cysers, braggot, melomels etc

I have been able to do a crystal clear mead in about 6 weeks that tasted awesome. I used a honey called "Tropical Fusion" that I picked up in Cairns while on holiday and a Lalvin DV-10 yeast from my LHBS. Could not believe how quickly it cleared without any interference or additives.

Last night I put down another batch using leatherwood honey and the same yeast. Will see if it is the honey variety or yeast that makes the difference.

(1 Gallon batch)

Recipe: "Champagne" mead

1Kg Varietal honey
3.5 L Boiled water
1/2 tsp yeast nutrient
2g Lalvin DV-10 yeast


Boil the water, then et it cool a little.
Add the honey.
Rinse the jar/s with more boiling water (from a kettle) to get remaining honey out

Add to 1 Gallon Demijohn (sterilised)

Top up Demijohn to the shoulders. Add airlock and a SMALL amount of water to seal.
Allow to cool in a sink of water etc and when down to ~35c pitch yeast.


Duck

Thanks Duck,
I have just printed off that recipe will try it very soon, all I got for honey is Capilano in 1.5kg bucket..(hasnt got much flavour) I been looking for someone who can supply honey in my area southern suburbs of sydney, they're are as rare as hens teeth though.

 

[Chookers]

On a sepparate note: does anyone know of a place to get 5Ltr Glass bottles to use as Demijohns.. I found a place that sells the type of bottles Im after but you have to buy at least one pallet and thats 108 bottles.. I little too many for me... I think they called them Olive Oil bottles.

 

[The_Duck]

I bought my demijohns at my LHBS in Boronia Vic. From memory about $18-$20 each. If you're stuck after searching Sydney, PM me and I could get you some and freight up if necessary.

Can't imagine using clear glass for olive oil :blink: Sunlight on the oil turns it rancid in a very short time, which is why it is usually in a green or brown bottle.

I guess it is similar to beer in that regard.


Duck