A Journey in a Journal

[Deezil]

The Pineapple Mead is fermenting away, smelling amazing.

To start another, I grabbed the two 1-gallon ziplocks of blackberries from the freezer

And then they thawed out

So then I grabbed the cherries

Pitted and added those

Hit the berries and the cherries with a potato masher, and grabbed the honey

Got that dissolved, and added a little water

Added 1/4 tsp of K-meta, so it can sit over night. Will add pectic enzyme in the morning, then test the SG and pH later in the afternoon. Pitching the yeast tomorrow evening. Using the usual suspects as well - Go-Ferm, Fermaid-O, Booster Rouge, Opti-Red, FT Rouge Soft.

This'll be a good one, i think.

 

[Deezil]

Didnt get the camera out today, but the Blackberry-Cherry started fermenting overnight, all by itself. So no pectic enzyme. It's been going all day, smells fine so I'm letting it.

SG: 1.100
pH: 3.16

Added 2 quarts of water to the must; added 1 level tablespoon Calcium Carbonate to 1 cup of hot water, added it entirely. Added Opti-Red & FT Rouge Soft.

SG: 1.095
pH: 3.42

Getting ready to start the W15 with Go-Ferm, and pitch it. Will add the first dose of Fermaid-O late tonight / early tomorrow morning.

And the Pineapple Mead is still fermenting; havent checked anything, but did make a second addition of Fermaid-O.

 

[Deezil]

Just a visual update this time;

2015 Pineapple Mead

2015 Blackberry-Cherry Mead

 

[Deezil]

So it came time to take the fruit out of the Blackberry-Cherry, and rack it to secondary.

Scooped the fruit out with that little strainer you see there, and let it sit in the bowl. The fruit/cap I took out eventually gave up some mead, which I poured back through the strainer into the back, to keep the blackberry seeds out. Then it went from the bucket, back through the strainer again, into the 1-gallon jug.

It's so loaded with CO2, and still finishing up fermentation, so I wasn't concerned with any sort of oxidation. But I really didn't want to transfer over any blackberry seeds.

SG: 1.012

Color looks great, smells fantastic.
I ended up skipping the Booster product on both the Pineapple & Blackberry-Cherry. I planned to add it, but with life getting busy, I didnt having my timing right so I just skipped it instead. Most of my other wines have had both Opti and Booster products added, so this will give me a bit of a comparison.

I just realized that I never did check the SG on the Pineapple Mead, lol. It's clearing up wonderfully though, I wasn't so sure it was going to hold its color but it appears that it will.

Sorry my notes are so sketchy lol, these little batches dont worry me so much anymore. When you follow some proper procedures (cleanliness, pre-fermentation pH adjustment), use high quality nutrients, have some decent temperatures, and culture up a good yeast starter - it's almost bulletproof. I get a little more... particular? detailed?.. when there's more invested, lol.

 

[joeswine]

GREAT PICS DEEVIL....NEVER MADE A MEAD BUT IT LOOKS INTERRESTING...STAY THE COURSE..

 

[Deezil]

So some plums landed in my lap.. Not sure how many pounds, I didnt weigh them. I'm guesstimating it's enough for 3 gallons of mead. Pitted them, added 1 gallon of water and 1/4 tsp of K-Meta. Too tired to do any more.

3 quarts of honey, 1-2 more gallons of water, pectic enzyme to come in the morning.
Add the usual culprits and the 71B yeast I have on hand, tomorrow evening.
I have pictures of the progress, just no energy lol

Oh, I'll take pictures of the Blackberry-Cherry and Pineapple batches too; y'all will love me even more !