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

[Guylee]

I made mead in my barracks room once and let it sit in the closet while I was deployed.

It was terrible. Tasted like turpentine.

[CS1983]

Rear D found it, siphoned, and replaced with turpentine. lol

Did you make mead or gin? Mead shouldn't taste like pine trees.

[GilpinGuy]

OK, I racked my first gallon this evening. I made some newb mistakes, but that's to be expected.

This gallon is just about a month old. No activity from the yeast in a 3 or 4 days. I siphoned some off and it was at .99 SG or so. So I decided to rack it. Naturally, I jostled it around a little, wiggled the siphon a bit and got some of the lees churned up, but that's ok. I''m learning here.

The mead smelled very "fermenty" if you know what I mean. I took a sip. Not pleasing.

The recipe was super simple:
Honey, water, cuvee, blanc, fermax and water. Plus slices from an orange for this one (I have 4 others going now and I'm a total newb here )

So, should I be worried a this point? I watch YT videos of guys racking and taking a sip and being like "oh, this is so good....". Mine was not "so good". Yeah, I'm a bit impatient, but if this gallon is junk, I'd rather know now than waiting months to find out.

[CS1983]

Cuvee is a high ABV yield yeast and you said before that you are running about 70*F, right? It will probably need a little while to smooth out.

It's not beer or something complicated. It's mead. Let it sit in primary for a few months and then bottle it. If it tastes off still at bottling, put it away for a year to let the fusels mellow.

[GilpinGuy]

Cuvee is a high ABV yield yeast and you said before that you are running about 70*F, right?

70*F is probably the max. I thought that was too low, but alas, I have learned that it's not with this yeast.

Let it sit in primary for a few months and then bottle it.

Even with fruit sitting in there? I guess I ASS-U-ME-ed it was necessary to rack it after a certain point to avoid problems with the fruit. Such a newb...... Thanks for the info man!

[CS1983]

Sorry, I just realized I wrote 'sit in primary' instead of secondary. I'd remove the fruit and push to secondary. Just sit the secondary w/ the mead itself. My main concern is that you'd end up with orange Pledge instead of something more drinkable. However, you have tasted it and I have not, so that is your call.

Cuvee is definitely better w/ lower temps. 70* would be a few degrees too high for my comfort. I'm slightly nervous w/ my own batch at a constant 68*.

[Brian]

I don't know about your batch, but I've had several batches now that just plain do not taste good a few months in, but really change after 6-12 months sitting in a corner somewhere. Rack it, put a good "S" airlock on it and don't let it dry out, and forget about it for a while.
I'd never even consider drinking a month-old mead though. There's a recipe out there for BOMM (Bray's One Month Mead) that's supposed to be ok to drink that soon, but I've never tried it. Especially if it tastes "fermenty" I'm guessing you still have yeast in solution. Is it still kinda cloudy or is it clear?

I honestly treat this hobby kinda like NFA stuff. Start something, do all the work and then forget it for a while. Start something else next month, and repeat. Eventually, you start getting to the point where things are ready to drink, or at least for the next step on a regular basis, but you're not sweating that thing you just started, waiting to see when it will be ready.

Best advice is patience...

Second best advice is to start bottling at least one extra bottle and setting it away, for the day we all eventually figure out how to organize a tasting party. If you're taking decent notes, even the nasty batches can be helpful as we all share what to do and what not to do.