Subject: Mead Lover's Digest #1295, 28 December 2006 Date: Thu, 28 Dec 2006 23:36:14 -0700 (MST) Mead Lover's Digest #1295 28 December 2006 Forum for Discussion of Mead Making and Consuming Dick Dunn, Digest Janitor Contents: Fermentation Fridge died (Dick Adams) Specific Gravity Calculations (Vuarra) Subject: To splah or not to splash ("Jeff Tollefson") Re: To splah or not to splash (Drew Lawson) ?searchable archive? (dan`at`geer.org) ABW calculation (dan`at`geer.org) NOTE: Digest appears when there is enough material to send one. Send ONLY articles for the digest to mead`at`talisman.com. Use mead-request`at`talisman.com for [un]subscribe/admin requests. Digest archives and FAQ are available at www.talisman.com/mead A searchable archive is at www.gotmead.com/content/category/9/43/69/ ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Subject: Fermentation Fridge died From: rdadams`at`smart.net (Dick Adams) Date: Sun, 24 Dec 2006 15:00:22 -0500 (EST) My fermention fridge stopped cooling. The compressor kept running so I am hoping that it only needs a freon charge. I will have no problem taking it to the dump because it was a freebee and its replacement will be a freebee. My concerns are the yeast and the hops. The temperature was 48F (~9C) in the fridge where the yeast was stored and 14F (-10C) where the hops and the Maple Syrup was stored. I am estimating the fridge stopped three days before I caught it and it was at 77F (25C). The yeast went into the chest freezer where a controller keeps the temperature at 44F (6.7C). The hops went into the standup freezer at 0F (-17.8C). I threw out any grain because it was over 3 years old. Will this rise in temperature affect my yeast or my hops? Dick ------------------------------ Subject: Specific Gravity Calculations From: Vuarra Date: Sun, 24 Dec 2006 12:29:27 -0800 (PST) Dick: You came up with the correct gravity, but the way you did it is incorrect. The proper way of doing it would be to multiply the volume units by the specific gravities of each fluid, adding the volumes and (what is now weights), then dividing the weight by the volume. That is: 5 (gal) `at` 1.03 = 5.15 (weight of product - makes more sense in metric) 1 (gal) `at` 1.00 = 1.00 (water is defined as a sp. gr. of 1 for most purposes) 5.15+1.00 = 6.15 (weight of total product) 5+1=6 (total volume units) 6/6.15 = 1.025 sp. gr. I learned this dealing with petro-chemicals, but it's just as true for any fluids. You came up with the right answer, but if you were blending meads, you'd need the more detailed way of getting an alcohol content. Merry Christmas Vuarra Quid quid latine dictum sit altum videtur. (That which is said in Latin sounds profound.) ------------------------------ Subject: Subject: To splah or not to splash From: "Jeff Tollefson" Date: Mon, 25 Dec 2006 10:47:21 -0800 >Subject: To splah or not to splash >From: "Mitchell Omichinski" >Date: Sun, 24 Dec 2006 09:27:05 -0600 > >Hello > >I come to mead making from wine making, where the practice of splashing >the fermented must to the bottom of the carboy on first racking is a >common practice. The beneficial effects of aerating the forming wine in >this manner are accepted as common knowledge. However, this practice of >splashing on first racking seems to be taboo for mead, or is it? I came >across this link for a recipe of dry mead that splashed not once but >thrice in the process. =20 >http://www.makewine.com/makewine/drymead.html > >I would like to hear your comments on whether splashing would be >beneficial or not. > >Mitchell The Lalvin guys say that aerating (splashing) is a good thing for yeast for the first 2 days of fermentation, at which point the yeast enter their next phase and there is risk of oxidation. There is nothing to punch down with most meadmaking, anyway. As a side note, the info from those guys has really improved my mead making. The schedule they recommend for strong yeast is to add a complete type of nutrient at pitching, like Fermaid K, at the rate of 1/2 tsp per gallon. Then 2 days later, add 1/2 tsp of DAP per gallon and aerate very well (careful, it will foam up a bit!). Then attach airlock and leave it. This process works great for me, and my meads are usually done and clear in 2 weeks or less. By the way, the yeast really need DAP, but they say that it is actually bad for the yeast when they are first starting out (i.e. first pitch). Jeff ------------------------------ Subject: Re: To splah or not to splash From: Drew Lawson Date: Mon, 25 Dec 2006 19:00:23 -0500 According to mead-request`at`talisman.com: > From: "Mitchell Omichinski" > I come to mead making from wine making, where the practice of splashing > the fermented must to the bottom of the carboy on first racking is a > common practice. The beneficial effects of aerating the forming wine in > this manner are accepted as common knowledge. However, this practice of > splashing on first racking seems to be taboo for mead, or is it? Brief background: Mead writing tends to come from two different camps. One is wine makers and one is beer makers. Beer making almost always involves boiling and then cooling the liquor. Wine making (I am told) almost never does. If you are following a mead making practice that heats or boils the must, then it is important not to splash or otherwise aerate the must while it is still hot. I'm sure someone better than me can quote a transition temperature, but I recall it being around 100F. (I forget what the products of "hot side" aeration are.) I heat to 160F (may try no-heat soon), and then siphon after using an immersion chiller. So I can splash a little if I wish. I don't bother because I usually do a multi-day yeast starter (that is aerated as much as I can) and use that. As yeast mainly uses oxygen in reproduction, my thinking is that I don't need the major aeration in the actual batch. But I'm only about 2 years into making mead. I'm probably wrong about many things. - -- Drew Lawson | What you own is your own kingdom | What you do is your own glory drew`at`furrfu.com | What you love is your own power | What you live is your own story ------------------------------ Subject: ?searchable archive? From: dan`at`geer.org Date: Wed, 27 Dec 2006 11:29:53 -0500 the frontmatter of the digest posting says... > A searchable archive is available at www.gotmead.com/mead-research/mld but I get > Forbidden > > You don't have permission to access /mead-research/mld on this server. - --dan ------------------------------ Subject: ABW calculation From: dan`at`geer.org Date: Wed, 27 Dec 2006 12:12:13 -0500 Does the mead making community have an actual consensus on how to calculate ABV? I'd search archives, but every time I try I get "Forbidden." - --dan ===================================================================== http://www.realbeer.com/library/beerbreak/archives/beerbreak0301.php ABW = 76.08(OG-FG)/(1.775-OG) ABV = ABW (FG/.794) ===================================================================== http://www.realbeer.com/hops/kcalc_js.html Javascript source ogp = (-0.003829+Math.sqrt(Math.pow(0.003829,2)-4*0.00001572*(1-og)))/(2*0.00001572); fgp = (-0.003829+Math.sqrt(Math.pow(0.003829,2)-4*0.00001572*(1-fg)))/(2*0.00001572); rep = fgp*0.8192+ogp*0.1808; re = 1+0.003829*rep+0.00001572*Math.pow(rep, 2); etohwt = (ogp-rep)/(2.0665-0.010665*ogp); etohvol = etohwt*1.25; kcals = (6.9*etohwt+4*(rep-0.1))*3.55*fg; ===================================================================== the guy I learned from ABV = 1.29*(OG-FG) ===================================================================== http://www.apple.com/downloads/dashboard/calculate_convert/alcoholcalculator.html as with all Apple gear, "You don't need to know how it works." ===================================================================== ------------------------------ End of Mead Lover's Digest #1295 *******************************