Re: First Batch

24 lbs in 5 gallons of water and that gave an SG of 1.085. I think we may
have a problem here.

12 lbs is about 1 gallon of honey. If 12 lbs is dissolved in water to yield
5 gallons you should get about 1.085 to 1.095. If you are dissolving honey
in 5 gallons of water it should take about 15 lbs to yield the same. If you
put 24 lbs in 5 gallons you should have been way over 1.100 and way to high
for a normal mead. My guess is that you did not dissolve all the honey and
some of it is or was sitting on the bottom of the carboy. This happens and
you have to watch out for it. You really need to stir like crazy to get that
stuff dissolved properly.

If you have one of those devices to sample by letting the wine flow into it
and then holding your hand over the end to extract the sample, try holding
your hand over it and taking a sample from the bottom. You may be
surprised.

Ray

"Mike" <mik18@xxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:1134398228.708976.215780@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
> Thanks for the post.
>
> We ended up putting 24lbs of honey in about 5 gallons of water. That
> was heated to 165 F for 10 minutes. This was chilled to around 120 F
> and split between 2 carboys and each was topped off with cold water
> that was boiled the night before. This dropped the temp down to an
> acceptable pitching temp. Next we added the yeast and nutrients. We
> each took a carboy and shook away. Both were bubbling every 5-10
> seconds within 6 hours. The OG was 1.085.
>
> The plan is to take gravity readings monthly to track the fermenation
> process. Our first rack is scheduled for March unless someone has any
> suggestions on a time frame.
>
> Thanks for all the advice
>
> Mike
>


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