[blatz]

RO would be best for this mead.

[jeffy]

I was not at home when I made this batch, so it was well water from the Florida Auqifer near Dade City if that's posted anywhere.  Wait, I found a report from a friend's well who lives within a few miles of the site:
pH 7.52
Alkalinity  170 mg/L
Conductivey     427 microsemins
TDS Total Disolved Solids    271 mg/L
Total Hardness  204 mg/L
Calcium Hardness  184 mg/L
Turbidity  1.06  ntu
 
Fluoride 0.128 mg/L
Chloride 15.9 mg/L
Nitrite  0.012 mg/L
Nitrate  1.795 mg/L
Sulfate  1.45 mg/L
 
Fe Iron: 0.140 mg/L
MN Manganese: 0.004 mg/L

Sodium 6.83 ppm
Calcium 68.9 ppm
Magnesium 1.65 ppm
Potassium  <1.0 ppm (not detected)

[tschmidlin]

That water's got quite a bit more buffering capacity than mine, so I'll have to add something because of our super low mineral content water.  I'll figure something out.

[blatz]

like I said above, our friend Joe uses RO when he makes this mead and just adds a bit of chalk to get enough calcium for yeast health.

I wouldn't worry about matching the water jeffy used if you already have low mineral content water.

[bluesman]

like I said above, our friend Joe uses RO when he makes this mead and just adds a bit of chalk to get enough calcium for yeast health.

I wouldn't worry about matching the water jeffy used if you already have low mineral content water.

+1

..and maybe some yeast nutrient.

[tschmidlin]

like I said above, our friend Joe uses RO when he makes this mead and just adds a bit of chalk to get enough calcium for yeast health.

I wouldn't worry about matching the water jeffy used if you already have low mineral content water.

Yeah, I wasn't trying to match it just see how much that water would buffer the pH.  I was thinking a little chalk added to the water would be my best bet.  Although I guess the mineral content isn't "super low" (who said that?).

pH 7.9
Total Dissolved Solids (TDS) Est 97
Electrical Conductivity, mmho/cm 0.16
Cations / Anions, me/L 1.7 / 1.8
ppm
Sodium, Na 8
Potassium, K 1
Calcium, Ca 15
Magnesium, Mg 7
Total Hardness, CaCO3 67
Nitrate, NO3-N 0.3 (SAFE)
Sulfate, SO4-S 5
Chloride, Cl 3
Carbonate, CO3 < 1
Bicarbonate, HCO3 83
Total Alkalinity, CaCO3 68

[punatic]

That water's got quite a bit more buffering capacity than mine, so I'll have to add something because of our super low mineral content water.  I'll figure something out.

A couple of drops of 8N KOH occasionally, works wonders. (often used for calcium hardness titration)  Maintain pH > 3.5

[punatic]

Ron Raike is brewing small batches on a 20 gallon BrewSculpture at the newly opened Shipyard Emporium up in Winter Park, Florida.  That would be worth driving to Orlando for.  Plus they feature guest brews from just about all Florida micros, and I hear the food there is great too.

[jeffy]

Ron Raike is brewing small batches on a 20 gallon BrewSculpture at the newly opened Shipyard Emporium up in Winter Park, Florida.  That would be worth driving to Orlando for.  Plus they feature guest brews from just about all Florida micros, and I hear the food there is great too.

He's going to be making my Poblano Wit soon.  Hopefully I'll get a chance to try it out.

[punatic]

Poblano wit... that sounds even worse than being called a nit-wit!

[tschmidlin]

Damn . . . zested and juiced 58 key limes tonight.  The 15.5 oz of juice is in the freezer just in case I don't get around to making the mead tomorrow.

The zest went straight into some vodka as I was grating it, and there was a LOT.  I put it all in a mason jar and topped it up to a quart, then let it sit.  I was going to let it sit overnight before I tired it, but my curiosity got the best of me.  It tastes like kamikaze, but not as sweet.  Really good already, after just a few hours.  I guess that many limes will do that.  I ran it through a fine mesh strainer a couple of times, topped the jar back up to a quart and stuck it in the cabinet.  I won't need all of that for bumping up the flavor in the mead, so I'm going to have to come up with some drinks to make with it.  Worst case it makes an excellent cleaner, as I accidentally discovered when spilling a bit during the straining.

My hands still smell like limes, and I think I wore off a couple of layers of skin, possibly my fingerprints. .

<edit>By the way, 58 limes is just over 2.5 lbs.  I didn't weigh them, but the three 1-lb bags I got had 23, 24, and 22 limes in them.  And the test I did that got me 8 mls of juice per lime seems to be about right, I got about 459 mls of juice, 464 mls expected.  The measuring container could easily be +/- that much, probably more.

[jeffy]

My limes must have been bigger than yours.  I got about 16 ounces of juice out of a dozen or so fresh key limes.

[Hokerer]

My limes must have been bigger than yours.  I got about 16 ounces of juice out of a dozen or so fresh key limes.

No kidding, 8 mls per lime sounds like he was using dried ones.

Tom, they're supposed to be green and round not all shriveled up

[gordonstrong]

Maybe that's what they're like when they've traveled 3000 miles.  Which is why I asked about the bottled juice.

[tschmidlin]

It sure sounds like your limes were bigger Jeff.  If I had any left I'd measure them, but yours sound more like Persian limes in size.  I estimate mine were about 1.5" in diameter.  They were very juicy, just small.

Maybe the little ones get shipped way up here and the good ones are used locally.  Because what the hell do people in Seattle know about key limes . . .