[brewinhard]

yeah thanks for the article post.

so add fruit like for beer-save for secondary and rack on top to get the most contribution?

I seem to remember 80# blueberries in a 20 gallon batch.

Jesus, that is a ton of blueberries (well, not quite at least)!!  .

[pete b]

yeah thanks for the article post.

so add fruit like for beer-save for secondary and rack on top to get the most contribution?

I seem to remember 80# blueberries in a 20 gallon batch.

Jesus, that is a ton of blueberries (well, not quite at least)!!  .

Its pretty though.I was inspired to have a glass of I believe 3 year old blueberry.

[Wort-H.O.G.]

Read optimal for yeast production if the PH of must is between 3.7 and 4.6 for mead/wine.

Since I'm adding fruit and nutrient, RO water with no additional minerals should be ok?

I use RO water in my cider with nutrient and wine yeast, and PH and fermentation works out pretty well.

[pete b]

Read optimal for yeast production if the PH of must is between 3.7 and 4.6 for mead/wine.

Since I'm adding fruit and nutrient, RO water with no additional minerals should be ok?

I use RO water in my cider with nutrient and wine yeast, and PH and fermentation works out pretty well.

I've never used RO water so I'm not sure. I use softened water with low levels of minerals without adding minerals. No hops bitterness or maltiness to enhance. The main players are sweetness and acidity.

[Wort-H.O.G.]

Read optimal for yeast production if the PH of must is between 3.7 and 4.6 for mead/wine.

Since I'm adding fruit and nutrient, RO water with no additional minerals should be ok?

I use RO water in my cider with nutrient and wine yeast, and PH and fermentation works out pretty well.

I've never used RO water so I'm not sure. I use softened water with low levels of minerals without adding minerals. No hops bitterness or maltiness to enhance. The main players are sweetness and acidity.

i think it should be ok and land me in the optimal PH range.

so Im reading that using goferm for the yeast rehydration, then using fermaid K during fermentation is all I need. fermaid K had DAP and says no additional DAP additions needed. this accurate?

[pete b]

Read optimal for yeast production if the PH of must is between 3.7 and 4.6 for mead/wine.

Since I'm adding fruit and nutrient, RO water with no additional minerals should be ok?

I use RO water in my cider with nutrient and wine yeast, and PH and fermentation works out pretty well.

I've never used RO water so I'm not sure. I use softened water with low levels of minerals without adding minerals. No hops bitterness or maltiness to enhance. The main players are sweetness and acidity.

i think it should be ok and land me in the optimal PH range.

so Im reading that using goferm for the yeast rehydration, then using fermaid K during fermentation is all I need. fermaid K had DAP and says no additional DAP additions needed. this accurate?

My personal opinion, without ever having used separate DAP to compare, is that its not needed. I think its especially true for melomels.

[Wort-H.O.G.]

Read optimal for yeast production if the PH of must is between 3.7 and 4.6 for mead/wine.

Since I'm adding fruit and nutrient, RO water with no additional minerals should be ok?

I use RO water in my cider with nutrient and wine yeast, and PH and fermentation works out pretty well.

I've never used RO water so I'm not sure. I use softened water with low levels of minerals without adding minerals. No hops bitterness or maltiness to enhance. The main players are sweetness and acidity.

i think it should be ok and land me in the optimal PH range.

so Im reading that using goferm for the yeast rehydration, then using fermaid K during fermentation is all I need. fermaid K had DAP and says no additional DAP additions needed. this accurate?

My personal opinion, without ever having used separate DAP to compare, is that its not needed. I think its especially true for melomels.

yeah makes sense I think. nutrient calc for 6.5 gal 1.11OG/26brix is:
 At 24hrs, 48hrs, and 72 hrs after you pitch your yeast, add 3.1g Fermaid K . then when the must reaches the 1/3 sugar break (1/3 of all available sugars are consumed, i.e. 1.11 starting gravity reaches 1.076 or 26 Brix reaches 18.4 Brix), but no later than 7 days after yeast pitch, add the last dose of 3g of Fermaid K.


edit: took your advice Pete and went larger batch size so I can have 1-gal jug separate for topping off during the process and long term aging in the main carboy.

[erockrph]

i think it should be ok and land me in the optimal PH range.

so Im reading that using goferm for the yeast rehydration, then using fermaid K during fermentation is all I need. fermaid K had DAP and says no additional DAP additions needed. this accurate?

I follow Curt Stock's recommendation for SNA with melomels. He uses a ratio of 1 part Fermaid K to 2 parts DAP. While Fermaid K contains DAP, I believe it is designed for wine musts that have a significant amount more FAN than mead musts.

I plan to move to Fermaid O soon - it's an organic nutrient made from autolyzed yeast and contains a large proportion of nitrogen, and therefore doesn't require additional DAP.

[pete b]

i think it should be ok and land me in the optimal PH range.

so Im reading that using goferm for the yeast rehydration, then using fermaid K during fermentation is all I need. fermaid K had DAP and says no additional DAP additions needed. this accurate?

I follow Curt Stock's recommendation for SNA with melomels. He uses a ratio of 1 part Fermaid K to 2 parts DAP. While Fermaid K contains DAP, I believe it is designed for wine musts that have a significant amount more FAN than mead musts.

I plan to move to Fermaid O soon - it's an organic nutrient made from autolyzed yeast and contains a large proportion of nitrogen, and therefore doesn't require additional DAP.

I've been using fermaid O for awhile, but didn't have any problems with not using DAP with other nutrient blends. I have actually made quite a few meads without nutrients (except in traditional meads) and the only problems I had was some hotness at bottling with lighter colored melomels like cysers and peach meads that lessened with aging. Berry melomels did fine with no nutrients but now I use them anyway.
I think a blueberry mead must with lots of whole fruit would be closer to a wine must in that regard.

[mchrispen]

I use RO water in my cider with nutrient and wine yeast, and PH and fermentation works out pretty well.

You will find that honey is far more acidic initially. Like you mention, try to get the must up into the 4.6-4.8 range for pitching. I use potassium bicarbonate for this, and will add small amounts to keep above 4.4 during ferment if it doesn't seem to attenuate.


My last mead using TOSNA (Fermaid O, no DAP) went crazy and took 71B to a 22% mead (cyser).


Take Pete's advice to heart - he shares some incredible meads with me in the fall share!

[Wort-H.O.G.]

fermaid O is kind of pricey huh. using it in my 6.5 gals calls for total of about 43g for the schedule. 120g of fermaid O is $13

[pete b]

Fermaid O is pricey. Are you sure you need 43 g though?

[Wort-H.O.G.]

Fermaid O is pricey. Are you sure you need 43 g though?

Got me Pete if its right or not.

42.3gr according of fermaid O (TONSA) and this calculator:   http://www.meadmakr.com/batch-buildr/

heres what it says on the calc: "The total amount of Fermaid O that will be added to your must is 42.3g. The nutrients will be divided into 4 staggered nutrient additions. To avoid mead eruption accidents, degas must and dissolve yeast nutrient doses in 1 cup must prior to adding to the fermenter.

At 24, 48, and 72 hours after you pitch your yeast, add 10.6g of Fermaid O to your must.

When the must reaches the 1/3 sugar break (1/3 of all available sugars are consumed, i.e. 1.120 starting gravity reaches 1.080 or 21 Brix reaches 14 Brix), but no later than 7 days after yeast pitch, add the last dose of 10.5g of Fermaid O. "

[pete b]

I'm sure its right Ken and I suppose I do use about a third of a jar for a gal batch.

[erockrph]

42.3gr according of fermaid O (TONSA) and this calculator:   http://www.meadmakr.com/batch-buildr/

I've never seen that calculator before, but it is awesome! Insta-bookmark.