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jtbutcher

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I started a mead 10 days ago, this evening it seems to have stopped already and its reading about 0.98, is this normal?

I forgot to take a reading before hand but by sugar content from the honey and the grape juice, it should have been roughly 1.10. I was expecting it to take far longer or am I just misinformed. It smells ok and tastes a little rough, though the sweetness is definitely there.
 
Sounds a bit quick to me. Hydrometer calibrated in plain water? It may be off. And at .98 it ought to be fairly dry
 
well, I checked it in water and it looks spot on 1, so I took a sample in the tube that came with the hydrometer instead of trying to read it through the dj,

and then took a proper swig instead of some drips of the hydrometer, I suspect that it has finished because dammmmnn, I think I need to sit down :shock: definitely dry, but not unpleasantly so.

My start should have been 1.11 even, not 1.10, and the final 0.99 so apparently almost spot on 16%
 
Well, that's nice and quick!
How warm was it? Which yeast?
I think I might want to try your recipe! - If you reckon it tastes good...
 
Have you got a recipe?

Sounds like it was a quick ferment. Are you going to back sweeten it at all?
 
To avoid confusion, hydrometer readings should always be given to three decimal places, even if those digits are noughts.

For example, your hydrometer in water at its calibration temperature (which is usually going to be 20°C if it's a fairly recent one) should read 1.000

I am assuming from what you've told us that your mead started at 1.110 and has finished on 0.990 ?
 
Moley said:
To avoid confusion, hydrometer readings should always be given to three decimal places, even if those digits are noughts.

For example, your hydrometer in water at its calibration temperature (which is usually going to be 20°C if it's a fairly recent one) should read 1.000

I am assuming from what you've told us that your mead started at 1.110 and has finished on 0.990 ?

Yes, sorry that's correct, the starting value is only a guess based on sugar content by the gallon. I would say the finish was actually more like 0.992 to 3 decimal places.

Well, that's nice and quick!
How warm was it? Which yeast?
I think I might want to try your recipe! - If you reckon it tastes good...

3 x 454 g Tesco Clear Honey
1 Litre of Welches Rose Grape Juice
Juice of 1 Lemon
1/2 teaspoon of vanilla essence
approx 25g of soft brown sugar
1 Satchet Young's Super Compound Yeast
2 Teaspoons of Young's Yeast Nutrient

Sugar content to start was approx 1300 grams based on the reported sugar content on the packaging.

I pre-warmed the grape juice in a pan and then added the sugar and vanilla and mixed till dissolved, and then moved that off to a jug and added the yeast and let it sit while I prepared the honey. Honey was added to the pan on a low heat and then water added up to about 2.5 litres. Warmed it through for about 20 minutes then added to the DJ, topped up to around 3 litres, temperature was about 24 degrees Celsius at this point, I then topped off with the litre of grape juice.

At no point did I boil the honey or scrape any scum off.

For most of the ferment I had the brew belt on a 2 hour timer (2 hours on, 2 hours off) The max temp probably peaked around 24-26 degree Celsius during this time. The last 4 days with the cold I had taken the timer off and adjusted the brew belt a bit higher to maintain 22 degrees Celsius.

I will rack it off and leave it to sit for a couple of months and report back what it really tastes like after that. I crushed up a campden tablet last night and its now sitting in the cold waiting for the sediment to drop out before I do anything with it.
 
stevie1556 said:
Have you got a recipe?

Sounds like it was a quick ferment. Are you going to back sweeten it at all?

I think I might pick up some more grape juice and use that to sweeten, though I have got some sweetener to use. I'm not sure what would be better.
 
Is the vanilla noticeable? I have half a memory that I read somewhere it's better to put it in at the end.
 
Not in the sample I had, but I was pretty overwhelmed by the strength and dryness. I think I will leave it to clear up a bit before racking it and take another sample then and see if it needs any more. I received a box of goodies this morning, including pectolase, potassium sorbate, glycerine and kwik clear; the temptation is to throw a bit of everything in and see what happens :p
 
Whatever you do, I recommend give it time.
A good guide is leave it in primary for at least a fortnight but better to give it a month or more, then rack off the gross lees (all the yeast and crud).
Take some time.
Leave it another month or more so it settles and clears, before racking again.
Have a taste.
Take some more time.
Say about 2 months, making your mead about 4 months old and nice a clear.
Taste, rack, then backsweeten if desired (remember to stabilise with Potassium Sorbate and some Campden/Sodium Metabisuphite)
Put it somewhere dark and forget about it.
Check back when its around 9 months to a year and think about bottling, or maybe age some more.

Mead is the oldest alcoholic beverage known to man; so take your time, relax and make sure you have a good bunch of DJs to fill while it grows old gracefully ;)
 
Cpt.Frederickson said:
Whatever you do, I recommend give it time.
A good guide is leave it in primary for at least a fortnight but better to give it a month or more, then rack off the gross lees (all the yeast and crud).
Take some time.
Leave it another month or more so it settles and clears, before racking again.
Have a taste.
Take some more time.
Say about 2 months, making your mead about 4 months old and nice a clear.
Taste, rack, then backsweeten if desired (remember to stabilise with Potassium Sorbate and some Campden/Sodium Metabisuphite)
Put it somewhere dark and forget about it.
Check back when its around 9 months to a year and think about bottling, or maybe age some more.

Mead is the oldest alcoholic beverage known to man; so take your time, relax and make sure you have a good bunch of DJs to fill while it grows old gracefully ;)

:thumb:

Stabilised and left to clear now.

I have another DJ of wine needing degassing and racking off from kit as well, hopefully it will be drinkable in a few weeks because its smells terrible at the moment :sick:

I also have a couple more 5 litre plastic bottles sterilized and ingredients to try a cranberry wine and a coffee wine ready to do at the weekend when i have made some more space.
 

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