A Word of Advice to the Newcomers

Wait a few days before you start to get in a panic about your mead not fermenting, or fermenting “right”.  Yes, that was me.  Captain impatient to the front lines checking the time between bubbles coming through my airlock every couple of hours.

When the fermentation was really getting started I was very excited because a bubble was coming through the airlock roughly every minute.  Next thing I know after about 36 hours it had slowed to a bubble every minute and a half or more! “Egads!  It couldn’t be!” I said to myself.  Meanwhile my wife, not understanding the doomsday scenario playing out in my head where honey bees come to claim those that misuse their sweet work, attempted to calm my nerves.

“Honey, “ (eh? eh? see what I did there?) “Honey, “ she said, “would you stop checking the bubble every 30 minutes.”

“But! But! What if it’s a stuck fermentation! I would have to do something about it! Pronto!” I would retort.  I considered throwing in some yeast nutrients or energizer, neither of which I have yet, but instead I decided to move the carboy from the kitchen counter into the kitchen closet and cross my fingers.  Lo-and-behold after about 24 hours in there my bubbles were coming at under 60 seconds per.  Tonight they are down around 28 seconds per bubble.

Wahoo! I say to myself.  There’s some amount of satisfaction that comes from watching this creation slowly unfold itself while it still maintains its mysteries of taste, and smell.  I very eagerly await the day that I can pop the stopper out, siphon into a secondary, and siphon a little off to have a little taste test.

On a little side note, I bought a bottle of Starrlight Mead’s Traditional Semi-Sweet Mead a few weekends ago at a local renaissance faire after trying it in a taste testing.  I was originally going to pop this bottle in celebration of my mom graduating from truck driving school this weekend and while I still plan on opening it in celebration it won’t be for another week or so now when my parents come back into town.  I will be sure to post a quick note on it once I open it.

ttfn and thanks for all the mead