mooslacker

Updated for Alkosh tip for tanks.

True, will keep that in mind. From now on when CR is going to happen officially, it will only be +3. I'd also like to remind everyone to change their votes if they don't need anything from a certain trial any more. This way we can stay up to date. I see some of you have done that

Wayrest Mead You will need: A 30 liter barrel A 5liter pot Airlock 20 liters of spring water 7 kilograms of mixed or clover/dandelion honey 2 kilograms of buckwheat honey 20 grams of Mangrove Jack's Mead Yeast (m05) Nutrients for the yeast * 1 tablespoon of tulsi 1 tablespoon of verveine either one cut vanilla bean, or two tonka beans cut in fourths. 1 large handful of medium roasted oak chips * You can use raisins and orange peels without pith to feed the yeast with needed nutrients. I, however, managed to bargain a local witch for some very potent concotion called Nutrivit. If you choose the same route, use 10 grams in the beginning and 5 grams on each of the next four days. Brewing Clean all of your equipment thoroughly. This cannot be stressed enough. You want them to be sanitized. Either heat bottles of honey in hot water, pour 15 liters of spring water in the barrel at room temperature, bring the rest 5 to boil and add most of it to the barrel. Then pour in the honey and mix well. Or heat 30 liters of water up to 60 degrees C while dumping all honey in it and stir well for about another 10 minutes while keeping the same temperature. Do not go over that temperature. Either way you want to end with a must between 25 and 30 degrees C. Soak the oak chips in some water for about 20 minutes. Whichever you choose, now is the time to pitch yeast. Get some water at 40 degrees C in a cup, ad a dash of sugar and mix well. Pour your yeast in there and mix some more. Leave it be for a few minutes. Now add a bit of your must from the barrel (using a sanitized vessel!) at a time, 2 or 3 times over the next 10 minutes. Once the cup looks like something is trying to crawl out of there in a storm of foam and possibly larger bubbles, pour it into the barrel and mix well. Now is the time to stir the Coulharbour out of it! Get your stirring spoon and make sure you mix everything well while properly aerating the must. It better look happy! If you possess the magic of hydrometry, take the reading now and write it down. This is your base value. Add oak chips, half a tablespoon of tulsi and half a tablespoon of verveine and vanilla bean or tonka beans to a mashing bag and dunk it into the barrel. Either cover with a cheese cloth to keep it aerated or close with an airlock right away. The next 5 days Over the next five days stir the must well once a day and add nutrients if you did not go by the all natural route. Remove the mashing bag after 2-3 days, empty and clean it. More waiting.. Once you see that bubbling in the airlock has reduced to about 1 bubble in every 30 seconds, take a reading. Using the formulas of hydrometry, make sure you have managed to turn 30% of the honey into alcohol, siphon most of the mead into a new, clean barrel. If 30% of sugar has not been converted to alcochol yet, take a reading until it has. Do not disturb the sediment in the bottom by the slightest. Do not splash the water, let it run straight under the level in the new barrel. You must not aerate the mead any more, or it will start to taste bad. Fill the new barrel as much as possible and if you wish to get more alcochol content, add more honey. Also replace some of the lost water content with new spring water. Take a new base hydrometry reading. You know how much alcochol there is already, so the difference between this and the next reading added to what there already is, is going to be the next alcochol content reading. Aaaand more waiting.. About a month after this, rack the mead to another barrel once more and add the mashing bag with half a tablespoon of tulsi and verveine. If you wish more sweetness and vanilla taste, add the same amount of those too. Always taste some of the mead while racking to know which direction to push it in. At this point the most important thing is patience! Do not disturb the vessel, it will manage on its own! Did I mention waiting.. After the mead starts to become clear (it might take up to a few months or be much quicker, depending on temperature and nutrients used), it is time to bottle it. Again, without aerating it any more. If you can bargain a witch for some ingredients to make the fermentation stop entirely, it can be a safe option. Otherwise just bottle, as at that point there should be no more fermentation going on.