Homebrew Mead Wine

[GilpinGuy]

Temp is about 70. Kind of low I guess.

Here's a question. My hydrometer hits the bottom of my gallon jugs. Can I pour some mead into the grad. cylinder (sterilized), take a reading, then pour it back in or is that a big no-no due to contamination, etc.?

[Brian]

Temp is about 70. Kind of low I guess.

Here's a question. My hydrometer hits the bottom of my gallon jugs. Can I pour some mead into the grad. cylinder (sterilized), take a reading, then pour it back in or is that a big no-no due to contamination, etc.?

It's an infection risk, but you definitely wouldn't be the first or the last to do it. Especially with 1 gallon batches that are really hard to measure. Dunk the cylinder and the hydrometer in starsan for a few seconds first and try not to splash too much when you pour it back in. 9 times out of 10 you'll be totally fine.

On a related note, there are probably two general kinds of people that make mead/wine/beer/etc. Those of us who are pretty anal - my glassware is super clean and steriized, I take and record measurements, read about the differences between yeast strains, etc. But there are the others, like my good friend who got me into this. He does stuff that makes me cringe, uses more or less any old container, and doesn't always keep track of what he did. But his stuff usually turns out just as good or better than mine. While the scientist in me says that you're likely to have more repeatable, better quality results by treating it like a chemistry experiment, I do have to agree that it's probably more fun to just play around and then enjoy the results. So don't sweat it if your personality or equipment doesn't lend you to do everything you read about online that you are "supposed" to do.

[CS1983]

Temp is about 70. Kind of low I guess.

Here's a question. My hydrometer hits the bottom of my gallon jugs. Can I pour some mead into the grad. cylinder (sterilized), take a reading, then pour it back in or is that a big no-no due to contamination, etc.?

70 is near the top end of what you want for cuvee yeast. Higher and you risk it becoming too high in ABV and the various off-tastes. Guys in warmer climates stay away from it unless they have a fermentation area which they can get down to ~mid 60's. I'm lucking out that my basement is a consistent 68.

There's always contamination risk when you do anything. From primary to secondary to bottling.

There is a sampling tube that Fermentations in the Springs sells. I'm sure other places sell it. You can suck out the needed amount, drop in your hydrometer, and then drop the liquid back in after your reading. Apparently wine brewers use it a lot.

As Brian said, sanitize.

I have a buddy that's anal about everything he brews. Beer, mead, wine. The best this the best that. Reminds me of AR gear queers. "This honey is imported from a farm in Florida in the middle of the oldest citrus grove, so the blossoms are on a more mature tree. I paid $30 extra per bottle over typical suppliers. I think I can tell a difference." No, no you can't. lol