Taste, SO2, pH and SG Testing for everyone...

I bought a set of SO2 test titrets.  They are expensive!  $2 a pop in a pack of 10...

Here are the results and some commentary:

Tasty Tasty

Strawberry Banana Melomel
-pH = 3.7
-Free SO2 = 40ppm
-Molecular SO2 = 0.51
-Specific Graviyt = 1.008
The molecular SO2 is on the low side.  I would like to bump this up to 0.8ppm so I need to add 23ppm free SO2 (63ppm total).  I am going to assume that 20% of any added SO2 will get bound so that means a final addition of ~29ppm of SO2.  The batch size is ~19L so that means 551mg of SO2.  Since K-Meta is 52% so that means 1.059g of K-Meta all-in-all...

The taste of this batch is very nice.  In fact, I would say this was drinkable right now.  But age will do it better.  At this time the strawberry is not quite up front and lacks a lot of the berry flavor.  The banana is in the background at a very low level. But my wife, who hates bananas, says the banana is very strong and powerful. ???  Anyways, this one will be ready to bottle in a few months.  I plan on starting to sample a bottle here and there around Christmas.

You've got potential kid

Strawberry Melomel
-pH = 3.3
-Free SO2 = 50ppm
-Molecular SO2 = 1.57ppm
-Specific Gravity = 0.998
The molecular SO2 is a bit high for this dry mead.  It really doesn't need above 0.8ppm.  But, that's fine, I expect the level to drop over the aging period.  So I'll just take this as being protected for the long run.

Overall the taste of this one is BONE dry with a big acid bite.  Still showing some bitter/harsh flavors along with a harsh mouth feel.  However, the aroma is very nice strawberry and not a hint of the H2S I had before.  It looks like the copper/splash did the trick.  Overall, I would say this mead has a potential and should really shine in a year or so.  I think I will back sweeten this one to around 1.010-1.012 to offset that acid bite.

Wait and see

Pineapple Coconut Melomel
-pH = 3.9
-Free SO2 = 150ppm
-Molecular SO2 = 1.21ppm
-Specific Gravity - ????
Okay, first the pH... I guess that MOUNTAIN of coconut I added to this mead forced the pH upwards a good deal.  Last I checked this mead was in the 3.4 range.  And because of the higher pH I have missed my desired Molecular SO2 level of 1.8 by a good margin.  I wanted to get it to 1.8 to help keep down any nasty beasts that may have been riding on that dried coconut.  The big problem is that the test kits don't test above 150ppm of free SO2.  So I guess I'm stuck here.  I will go ahead and mix in some K-Sorbate to help stabilize this for the long haul.

The taste is quite unpleasant right now.  The mead is still way too young to event start taking a guess at what this will be like in the end.  I can say this: The Pineapple is present and bold.  The Coconut is already coming out big time.  The honey is lost but I think it may come back after some time.

Further observation is that the coconut oil has risen to the top of the carboy. There isn't a whole bunch of it but it is a very noticeable layer.  I'm going to leave it for now as it is a fully saturated oil and protect by an airlock from oxygen.  I hope this means it won't go rancid in the next few months while I age this on the coconut.

I didn't take a gravity reading because I haven't back sweetened it yet.  That will come after I rack this off of the coconut.

Poison?

Finally we have the Orange Zest Traditional:
-pH = 3.9
-Free SO2 = 28ppm
-Molecular SO2 = 0.23ppm
-Gravity = 1.006
The pH of this combined with the low SO2 is causing a very low Molecular SO2 level.  This isn't good.  I will have to do something about it.  At this pH I'll need almost 100ppm Free SO2 to get my desired Molecular level.  I just might have to add acid as well as SO2 to achieve my goal.  I'll think about it.

The taste of this batch has turned ugly.  It is slightly sweet and there is a lot of honey essence. With the qualities it is a nice mead, but there is this BRUTAL bitterness to it.  I don't think it is the orange zest, I was careful not to add the pith.  Whatever the cause of this flavor, I would only drink a glass if you paid me to.  Perhaps a bit of acid would help to balance the sweetness.  But the bitter flavor is the killer.  I'll add some acid here in the next few weeks and bottle it in a few months.  I don't have much hope but who knows.

Pineapple Coconut Melomel (Mead) - Let there be COCONUT!

Cool.  So that addition of Super-Kleer K.C. worked pretty well I would say.  The picture below doesn't really look it but once I shone a flashlight into it I could clearly see the compacted lees on the bottom.  Since most of the major crap fell out I decided to pull the trigger on racking and also add the coconut to the mix.

I found some bulk shredded died coconut at a local Smith's Grocery and bought 5 pounds of it.  It looked like a lot of Coconut in the bags, but in a 6 gallon carboy it looks like a LOT of coconut...

The racking went smooth.  My total volume of mead was just right.  As you can see in the photo below it came right up to the neck just as the racking cane started sucking air.  After this photo I ended up adding a touch of water to bring it up just a bit more...

Along with the mead itself I also added 6g of K-Meta (Potassium Metabisulfite) which works out to the addition of total SO2 = 150ppm.  Considering the rule of thumb that ~50% of added Sulfite gets bound immediately that results in 75ppm of Free SO2.  This mead's pH is 3.4 so that mean the molecular SO2 is 1.84ppm.  For normal bulk aging a molecular SO2 level of 0.8ppm is the target.  But since I put a bunch of very non-sanitized coconut into the mix I wanted to bump it up a good notch.  The nominal sensory threshold for Sulfites lies at a molecular SO2 level of 2ppm.  So my addition of 1.83ppm molecular SO2 should be just fine at this point.  Once I rack off of the coconut into a 5 gallon carboy I'll maintain a 0.8ppm Molecular SO2 level.

Here is what was left in the primary fermenter... YUMMY!

Well, that's it for the next few months.  I'll pop a few pictures here and there to show off its progress but at this point I'm going to be hands off...

Time to think of my next batch.


UPDATE: 5/21/12 12:30PM
After slapping the carboy around a bit along with some swirling and shaking I got most of the coconut to drop.  On further though I'll probably stick a racking cane down there and stir it up a bit once a week for 3-5 months....

Pineapple Coconut Melomel (Mead) - Fermentation is complete

I took a sample Wednesday night and subjected it to quantitative analysis.... I measured it.  At this point the gravity is down at right about 1.002.  But, that is a subject of some debate.  Here's the deal.  Hydrometers aren't exactly precision pieces of measurement equipment. I own three hydrometers and they are all off from each other by around two points.  I have been using the same hydrometer for every measurement for this batch.  That way the relative gravity readings are correct.

This becomes an issue however when trying to see if this is completely dry or not.  For this particular hydrometer, pure water measures at a gravity of about 1.004.  Based on that assumption I need to subtract 4 points from the measured value to get the real gravity.

By that logic, the mead is currently running at a gravity of 0.998.  Leading me to call this dry and finished.  The airlock is producing one blip every minute or so.  I am assuming this is just dissolved CO2 coming out and perhaps a final kicking of the yeast.

SG = 1.002 (Corrected to 0.998)

I also measured the pH @ 3.4.   With this pH it means I won't have to add too much total SO2 to protect this mead.

Update: 5/19/2012 5:00PM
I am trying something different.  I added some SuperKleer K.C. to promote a faster clarification of the mead before I rack onto the coconut.  I just don't want to carry over a lot of yeast and crap as I plan on leaving it on the coconut for a good while...  I didn't take a photo at the time I mixed it all in but here is one that I took about 4 hours after I mixed it up.  From my perspective this looks like it has already clear up quite a bit.  Let's see what happens.

Triple Mead Racking Day

I got off my lazy ass this last weekend and racked the three Meads that were needing it.  The Strawberry Banana Melomel,  Orange Zest Traditional Mead, and the straight Strawberry Melomel.

Pineapple Coconut Melomel (Mead) - Updates Day 7

I've been a bit busy but the mead is making progress on its own.  Yesterday I cam home at lunch and took a gravity and pH reading.  The gravity was at 1.010 and the pH was 3.4.  So, its coming along nicely.

Last Sunday I found some unsweetened finely shredded dried coconut so I bought 5 pounds of it in anticipation of the mead's first racking.

----------------------------------------

This morning I stopped by the bucket and observed the airlock was still moving.  Much more slowly than before.  About one bubble every 5 seconds or so. I'll take a gravity reading tomorrow.

Pineapple Coconut Melomel (Mead) - Maintenance Update Day 5

Fermentation seems to be chugging along at a good pace.  I stirred the must gently tonight and took a sample for Gravity and pH readings.

SG = 1.030

Pineapple coconut melomel (mead) - 1/2 Break is here! Day 4

Popped the fermenter tonight for the usual maintenance work.  Stir, Aerate, Measure, etc...  First the gravity...

SG = 1.052

This is awesome.  So I've reached the 1/2 way point.  (Not exactly but close enough!)  So that means its time for the final nutrient addition.  Cool.

Pineapple Coconut Melomel (Mead) - Added juice! Day 3.5

I've been worrying about the volume of the must.  I was at just a touch over 5 gallons.  That's not going to be enough to fill up a 6 gallon carboy even with the shredded coconut I plan on adding.

So today I bought 1 gallon of pineapple juice at lunch and brought it home.  I drank a glass and made up the volume with honey.  The pre-addition gravity of the must was 1.060.  The additional juice + honey came to a gravity of 1.077.  I mixed the juice/honey into the bucket and stirred it all up.  The must gravity measured at 1.062.  According to my math this all works out to make sense... and my total volume is now ~6 gallons.

Originally I used DOLE in a can, but this stuff should do...

I figure I'll loose about half a gallon or more as sludge after racking.  That should leave enough room in a 6 gallon carboy for the shredded coconut.  Can't wait...

Pineapple coconut mead - Houston...We have lift off. Day 3

Okay, so I started my usual mead maintenance tonight and aerated the must, skimmed a little more of the strange pineapple puke off the top.  But I noticed a very active and visible 'boiling' effect in the fermenting must.  I took a video.  Check it out...

Pineapple Coconut Melomel - Day 2.5

This morning was a bit rushed so I didn't get a chance to take and photos.  The big thing is I guess I hosed up pretty bad when I took my last gravity reading.  There was so much foam I couldn't really get a good read.  Today the foam was quite a bit less and I got a very clear hydrometer read @ 1.082

That make me a bit disappointed as the fermentation kinematics are less than I thought.  Oh well...

pH measured @ 3.4  So it is still dropping but within limits.


Update - 1:00PM I came home for lunch and decided to pull a Gravity reading.  1.080.  So, this is going a lot slower than my other mead's have.  Not a bad thing at all, just not what I normally get.

Pineapple Coconut Melomel (Mead) - Daily Maintenance Day 2

The fermentation is accelerating.  The airlock is starting to chug along now.  Let's see what the numbers will tell us.

First of all, I cracked the lid and saw this layer of pineapple vomit looking substance floating on top again.  In the end I'm going to be racking it off this crap so I've decided to skim it off.  Perhaps I've just ruined the whole thing... but I don't think so.

Doesn't that look appetizing

Pineapple Coconut Melomel (Mead) - Aeration Day 1.5

This morning the airlock on the pineapple mead was going along at a decent rate.  I guess the lag phase is now truly over.  Anyways, I got my aeration rig put together and started to aerate the must.  The degassing produced an impressive head of foam.  At one point it did overflow just a little bit.  Here's a video and some stills:

Pineapple Coconut Melomel (Mead) - First night aeration.

So tonight was the first aeration for this batch.  The fermentation is still yet to really take off as the airlock isn't moving very fast at all.  I cracked open the lid to start the aeration with my trusty high volume aquarium pump, sanitary inline filter, and bubble wand...

Pineapple Coconut Melomel (Mead) - Lag phase is over

Today at lunch I came home and saw the air lock giving me a bubble every 10 seconds or so.  From my perspective that means its ready for some junk food!

I added 4g of Fermaid-K and 2g of DAP both mixed into some water then poured into the must.  Gave it a good stir and closed everything back up.  Time to get back to work!

Pineapple Coconut Melomel (Mead) - Brew day Pictures and Process!

First, some research:

• Here is a link to the GotMead site where one of the resident gurus of mead discusses pineapple mead:  http://www.gotmead.com/forum/showthread.php?t=8306
• And another...  http://www.gotmead.com/forum/showthread.php?t=12045
• One more...  http://www.gotmead.com/forum/showthread.php?t=9398

What did "I" learn from this.  My three gallons of juice in 5 gallons of mead may result in too little pineapple. Then again I plan to help counteract that by doing the fermentation under low temps (58F) and using a neutral yeast (EC-1118).  Overall I'm still full ahead go!

This is how the brew day went down:

I popped my honey into the microwave!  Oh god no!  I know a lot of sources say to gently warm the honey in a water bath and not to use a microwave.  I don't understand why not.  I've always used to microwave and had zero problems.  You mileage may vary.  Anyways, 10 lbs of honey for 4 minutes at high power did the trick and just warmed the honey enough to get it nice and thin.

Here is a shot of the honey water mixture with the stick blender in there whipping the shit out of it.

On to the next! Pineapple Coconut Melomel (Mead)

Alrighty then!

Since my primary fermentation vessel is free I decided to start something.  And what I've chosen is a pineapple coconut melomel.  Yummy! I was inspired by this video.  I don't have their recipe but I'll wing it on my own...

 This is something that my wife is going to enjoy.

Strawberry Melomel #2 - Racked...

Its been a while so here's what when down...

5/3 8:00AM - Started to smell really bad again.  A lot of H2S is being produced.  The big problem is that I don't have time to add any nutrients.

5/3 2:00PM - The smell started to dissipate on its own.  I'm just going to let it go and splash rack/ copper it when its finished...

5/5 9:00PM - The SG measures @ 1.002, pH @ 3.5.  Its dry now so I'm going to rack it off the gross lees.

As it turns out this shit smells... like shit.  That H2S is strong.  So I racked it through 10 feet of 3/8" copper tubing and splashed it into a 6 gallon Better Bottle.  The total yield was low. This didn't even come close to filling the carboy.  A good 5-6" of sludge was left in the bottom of the bucket.

I used a hose clamp to slow the flow through the copper pipe that should have given it enough time to react with the nasty.  I hope it did.

Added 1.5g of K-Meta and 2.5 tsp of Bentonite.  I also added 1/3 gallon of spring water to help make up for the loss...

I'll rack it in one month on 6/5.

Strawberry Mead #2

The smell is still gone.  Awesome!

Punched the fruit cap tonight at around 6:00PM.  Measured the SG @ 1.018, pH @ 3.5, Temperature @ 63F.

The taste is rough and young.  There is a bit of an off medicinal flavor... hopefully this will drop out with the yeast when they go dormant.  At this rate the bulk of the fermentation should be over in the next 3-4 days.  Then I'll let it clear out for a week or two and rack it off the bulk lees.

Strawberry mead #2

Measured SG @ 1.029  pH @ 3.4 Temperature @ 63F.
Taste is better than last time.  Less bitter.  Fruitier...

Strawberry Melomel #2 - The Stink Returns...

This AM the smell was back...  I'm at a loss here.  But since the last couple of time the smell was reduced significantly with a little nutrient addition, I'm going to do it again.  Added 2g of Fermaid-K and 2g of DAP.  Punched the cap and took a sample.

SG=1.042
pH=3.4
Temperature=63F

Sensory:  The taste is becoming noticeably bitter.  I assume this is because of the stressed yeast...  I hope this clears up after some aging.