Brewing update
Sunday I got the raspberry mead racked into a new carboy and prepared to bottle. I am trying the traditional wine method of stabilizing as the mead is a lovely red. Reds tend to oxidize into browns in storage without some help.
I got it bottled on Monday night so there are 18 more bottles in my cellar. I don't want to drink these for at least a year. The mead was drier than I usually make so it needs some time to age and get integrated.
Started 6 gallons of my Day at the Fair mead and it's going great.
The peach/plum that has the vinegar yeast in it is being problematic. I tried over pitching a strong wine yeast but it was clear by Tuesday that wasn't going to work. So I am trying sterilizing the mead completely with a fairly strong sulfite solution. I am going to let it sit and see how it does. It's pretty clear if there is anything still alive. If I have managed to kill the acetobacter, I'll try another pitch of an aggressive wine yeast again. Or I might just pour some vodka into it, bottle it and let it sit for a couple of years. It's not got enough alcohol to be stable as it is.
I am hoping to not have to toss it. It was a lot of fruit and honey.
I got it bottled on Monday night so there are 18 more bottles in my cellar. I don't want to drink these for at least a year. The mead was drier than I usually make so it needs some time to age and get integrated.
Started 6 gallons of my Day at the Fair mead and it's going great.
The peach/plum that has the vinegar yeast in it is being problematic. I tried over pitching a strong wine yeast but it was clear by Tuesday that wasn't going to work. So I am trying sterilizing the mead completely with a fairly strong sulfite solution. I am going to let it sit and see how it does. It's pretty clear if there is anything still alive. If I have managed to kill the acetobacter, I'll try another pitch of an aggressive wine yeast again. Or I might just pour some vodka into it, bottle it and let it sit for a couple of years. It's not got enough alcohol to be stable as it is.
I am hoping to not have to toss it. It was a lot of fruit and honey.
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