"Doug" comcast.net> wrote in message
news:efa731a0-c039-485a-8c3e-38f8cdbf194d@c65g2000hsa.googlegroups.com...

I tend to agree with you. I'm going to experiment with this and report back
to the groups in 6-8 months. I think I'll sweeten a gallon of blackberry
with honey and another gallon with sugar, just to see what happens.

pli

I have a sweet mead that's been fermenting since Aug. 24, and is
nearly done attenuating now (og=1.109, was down to 1.038 on Aug. 31).
I'd been maintaining it at 70 F in an icebox, but moved it out last
week since it was almost done attenuating, and I needed the space for
a beer. Now I'm noticing some small white spots, about the size of
my pinky fingernail, on the surface. I'm wondering if these could be
a bacterial infection. We've actually been drinking the some of this
mead already, and it's possible that I brought in some contamination
when I took the airlock stopper out and put it back in again. The
temperature in my house has been about 78 F, which I imagine could
be less favorable for the yeast and more favorable for bacteria. Are
spots like this anything that could just normally happen...

I've been making wines and meads for a few years now and I've learned that
meads, cysers, all honey-based fermented beverages need to age out for
several years before they're really drinkable. But what if they honey isn't
used in the fermentation process but added and stabilized after fermentation
is done? Would it still have to age for several years or would it be
drinkable in the normal time?

For example, let's say I make a batch of wine from elderberries, sugar and
water. It ferments to dryness and gets racked a few times along the way.
When it's about ready to bottle, I split it into two batches. To one, I add
a bit of honey and sorbate to stabilize and let it sit for another month
before bottling. The other gets sweetened with sugar and stabilized.

Would both types be drinkable at the same time or would the honey-sweetened
batch take several more years to mellow out?

Paul

OK, I've got some wyeast 3184 sweet mead yeast. Which seems to be
universally bagged on the net as being a crook mead yeast. I've played
with it a few times making cider - which certainly weren't sweet, but
otherwise OK. And an ale (just for the heck of it) which turned out
quite dry.

Or I've got some whitelabs (o23) burton ale yeast (a favourite of mine).
This is what has me thinking that it might be good for a cyser...

"...this yeast is packed with character. It provides delicious subtle
fruity flavors like apple, clover honey and pear..."

I guess I'm leaning toward the latter. I've got 6 litres of preservative
free apple juice (11%% sugar), 4 litres of preservative free apple and
(2%%)blackcurrant juice (9%% sugar) and a kilo of rainforest honey.

A half gallon of Apple Juice and six tablespoons
sugar went into a 2-liter soda bottle. I made
two of these. After a 5g packet of 71B-1122 was
rehydrated, it was pitched - half in one and half
in the other.

10 days later it tastes awfully yeasty. No way
am I buying a wine filter. My thought is to run
it through a coffee filter. But will that make
a noticebale difference? Any better ideas?

Dick

Ok, I purchased a gallon of pH UP at a very low
customer service store. The owner says it's a
40%% solution. The container indicates that it
is potassium hydroxide and water.

If it is a 40%% solution,
1. How do I calculate expected pH of the solution?

2. How do I calculate the ppm of the solution?

3. How do I calculate the amount of distilled water
to add to the solution to get a 500 ppm solution?

Dick

In my search for Potassium Hydroxide (KOH), I have
done the following:

1. Called three manufacturers of KOH each of whom
told me it is now against Federal law to sell
many chemicals to individuals.

2. Went to my local plumbing supply house where I
was told they could only sell to could only sell
KOH to licensed contractors.

3. Called my local Hydroponics store and asked
"What besides Potassium Hydroxide is in "pH UP"?
The answer was "Water"!

So unless someone can tell me of a source from whom
Potassium Hydroxide can be purchased, I will presume
it can not be purchased by individuals.

I am still skeptical of "pH UP" and am planning to
stop at the local Hydroponics store tomorrow to read
the label myself.

Dick

Referring to Kristin England's NHC Presentation:
http://www.beertown.org/events/hbc/presentations/KrisEngland_NHC.pdf

Where can Potassium Hydroxide be purchased in 2.5kg
packages?

Cynmar, a major producer of Potassium Hydroxide, no longer
sells chemicals to individuals.

Dick

My Question:
What is the optimum pH level for Mead fermentation and does
it vary based on the yeast used?

I received the following answer, which I condensed, from
a contact in the yeast industry:
Honey has little to no buffering material. As a result the
natural pH of honey, 4.5 - 5.0, will drop to as low as 2.7
during the first 12 hours of fermentation and dramatically
stress the yeast. It can take several weeks to months to
recover.

At pH below 3.0 the yeast have a real problem with their
transport systems in and out of the cell. Fortunately
yeast function satisfactorily at 3.2 pH. There seems to be
a barrier at 3.0.

Yeast love 4.8. But Mead tends to be a little flat at 4.8.
Mead tends to develop a nice crisp flavor as the pH goes
below 3.5. This is especially useful when trying to balance
a sweet Mead.

I'm starting my second batch of mead, and now that I think I have more
of a grip on the basics I'm going to try to do something like the
even-speed-mead method
http://beertown.org/events/hbc/presentations/KrisEngland_NHC.pdf
developed by Kris England and Curt Stock of the Saint Paul
Homebrewers Club
http://sphbc.org/ .
They show examples of complete fermentation in 9 days, and they've won a
bunch of prizes. There's been some discussion already on this group
about how to interpret the info from their pdf. In a lot of places, it
wasn't very straightforward to figure out what they meant.

They never explicitly state the size of the batch they're talking
about, but Dick Adams pointed out that the use of 2 packets of yeast
on p. 20 probably implies a 5-gallon batch.

They use pure oxygen for aeration, but I'm using air with an
aquarium aeration stone.

For raising pH, they advocate using KOH rather than KCO3, since
KCO3 leaves CO3 behind. I don't know how any of this compares
with pH Up, since I don't know what's in pH Up. My suppliers
don't sell KOH...