[frankerector]

psolio, on 09 October 2009 - 04:44 AM, said:

Tried mine at the GABF homebrew tasting. I think it was ####ing amazing - well done recipe, HT.

Man that sounds good!

[Hightest]

psolio, on 09 October 2009 - 05:44 AM, said:

Tried mine at the GABF homebrew tasting. I think it was ####ing amazing - well done recipe, HT.

Good to know it was enjoyed. It took 3 generations to get to this recipe version...

[psolio]

Today I added 5 tsps of hot-mix Sparkolloid.

[JimSar]

Hi, first time post here.

I made a batch on 12/4/09, SG 1.113, PH 4.4. Fermentation temperature ranges from low to mid 60s F. Racked onto fruit on 12/8/09. By the 14th, SG was 1.022. Racked off fruit on 12/18/09 after 10 days in fruit, SG still at 1.022. Today, 1/18/10, SG remains at 1.022, PH 3.8. Tastes sweet, no complexity, but very pleasant. I want it to finish a bit dryer; any suggestions? Should I do secondary fermentation, and if so, what yeast to use?

Thanks.

Jim

[strangebrewer]

JimSar, on 19 January 2010 - 01:40 AM, said:

Hi, first time post here.

I made a batch on 12/4/09, SG 1.113, PH 4.4. Fermentation temperature ranges from low to mid 60s F. Racked onto fruit on 12/8/09. By the 14th, SG was 1.022. Racked off fruit on 12/18/09 after 10 days in fruit, SG still at 1.022. Today, 1/18/10, SG remains at 1.022, PH 3.8. Tastes sweet, no complexity, but very pleasant. I want it to finish a bit dryer; any suggestions? Should I do secondary fermentation, and if so, what yeast to use?

Thanks.

Jim

First off welcome aboard! Always good to have more mead makers.

I'd treat this case just like a stuck ferment. Here's the FAQ I'd follow to try and eek a couple more points out. I've restarted a ferment doing exactly this with good success but do realize it's a SLOW process. If you can drop 10 points in 30 days I'd be happy. Good luck!

[JimSar]

Thanks for the suggestion. Since it will be a couple of days, at least, before I can get my hands on some EC-1118, I started the awakening by increasing the must temperature to 70F using a Fermwrap heater with Ranco controller. 71-B has a fermentation temperature range of 59F to 86F, so I arbitrarily picked 70F to be on the conservative side. I had the controller set at 65F during primary, by the way. Took out the heater during secondary because it went to work on another batch, so this one has been fluctuating with uninhabited room temperature, low to mid 60s. I'll add 5 grams of yeast hulls later tonight.

Comments / suggestions will be greatly appreciated. I'll take SG and PH readings before pitching the champagne yeast starter and will post them here.

[Wayne B]

If you're planning on following Hightest's re-start protocol, then you are going to have the best chance of getting it restarted. I don't have any further comments to add other than if it hasn't moved off of 1.022 on its own, you're already at over 12% ABV, so re-starting is going to be a challenge, even if you follow Hightest's plan to the letter.

If all else fails, you can always make a fully dry batch and then blend the two later. But also keep in mind that many of the more complex aromas and flavors go into a kind of hibernation period immediately after primary fermentation, and they don't show back up until after months of aging. You may get something more interesting out of this batch even if you do nothing else to it - worth waiting to see.

[JimSar]

Posting an addendum because I don't want to leave the impression that I added champagne yeast, because I never got around to doing it. After raising the must temperature and adding yeast hulls, it started to burp some gas, so I thought fermentation got going again. Got busy and didn't push the issue, and today, 10 days after adding the yeast hulls, I checked SG and guess what ... still 1.022. However, a generous thieving convinced me to just leave at alone; it actually tasted pretty good for something so young. Maybe it's the beer side of its genes? I'll rack off the thick lees in a few days, let it stabilize for a week or so, then move it to my daughter's basement where it can age at mid to high 50s F.

[psolio]

I entered this into Mazer Cup, and just got my score sheets. I entered this in the Open Category, and found out that I could have sent it for Braggot, where it could have done much better - a fruit braggot one 1st there, where I thought only plain braggots could go. This one was judged by two, one was Michael Kiker (1) from Celestrial Meads and some other guy (2). Below is a summary:

Total score: 33/50 = Very Good (Within style, some minor flaws)

Marked descriptors:
2)Fruity
2)Tannic

Bouquet/Aroma:
1)Nice honey in nose w/ port-like qualities
2)Carmel & soy sauce, fruity nose.

Appearance:
1)Clarity excellent, no legs
2)Dark amber, slightly cloudy

Flavor:
1)nice honey flavour w/ some port flavors, bit of tannin is nice. Body a bit thin. Bit of fruit in mid-palete. Flavors disappear pretty quickly.
2)strong dark beer-like character. pretty well balanced, medium body, light acidity, slight bitterness in after taste.

Overall:
1)Very nice, more honey would help, mor alcohol could improve this.
2)easy drinking, medium sweetness, not too dry.

Technical Merit:
1) Flawless - - x - - Significant Flaws

Intangibles:
1) Wonderful - - - x - Lifeless