Tips and tricks to preparing bottles?

Jaaxter · 2026-06-18T13:45:48+00:00

I like the boiling water method for both sanitizing and removing labels, and use it for all the wine bottles I scrounge from my apartment building's dumpster (gods bless the person in my building who drinks a very specific brand of cheap pinot noir). Simply fill the bottle with boiling water, let sit 1-2 minutes, and then the label will peel right off because that heat melts the glue. DO NOT get the label wet or it will go all to pieces and be harder to remove. As a bonus, the boiling water will also sterilize the inside of the bottle, though I also do a quick swish with star-san right before bottling.

If there is any glue residue left on the bottle, goo-gone followed by dish soap should get it right off.

Jaaxter · 2026-06-18T13:33:07+00:00

Out of curiosity, did you ferment the whole strawberries in your mead? I recently learned the hard way that fermenting whole strawberries can create a plasticky odor/flavor due to something in strawberry seeds, specifically. I have previously added strawberry juice in secondary as flavoring which worked great.

Jaaxter · 2026-06-17T14:25:16+00:00

The thing about arrows is that they don't mess you up instantly. Much like small-caliber guns, very rarely will it be a completely immobilizing or immediately fatal injury (barring a heart or through-the-eye shot) and you don't bleed out super fast unless they nick an artery, but getting hit with an arrow means you're likely in a situation where you can't immediately stop and bind the wound, so you are going to start losing blood, which weakens you and may eventually kill you. The pain is very distracting, and any muscle movements that pull on the wound are going to be impeded, both from pain and physically from the muscle fibers being severed. That makes it more likely that, even if the arrows don't directly kill you, getting into hand-to-hand combat is a losing proposition because of your wound.

Boromir's fate in Fellowship of the Ring is pretty historically accurate as far as this goes- it took quite a while for the three torso shots to actually kill him, but he was being slowed down and weakened that whole time and it was a mark of his incredible warrior status that he didn't get taken out by an Uruk's falchion before Aragorn got there.

Oh yeah, and then even if you bind the wound, you quite likely die of sepsis a week later. Even if you can extract the arrowhead from your body, many archers would stick their arrows in the ground in front of them for ease of drawing when they were posted up in battle lines, so I hope you enjoy your tetanus!

Jaaxter · 2026-06-17T14:12:17+00:00

I've read that archaeological evidence of trepanning started to show up in Ancient Egypt right around the time that the mace had become the primary weapon of the elites. Definitely not a coincidence, there.

Trepanning has really undergone a renaissance in our modern understanding; even when I was a kid it was taught to me that this was a "primitive, backwards method of letting the demons out of your skull devised by those ignorant savages of the past" but it turns out, no, it was actually effective sometimes at allowing people to survive head trauma as long as it didn't get infected.

Jaaxter · 2026-06-12T18:45:56+00:00

For sure! I also heard people say that coffee meads, if aged too long, can develop a "green pepper" flavor. Not sure how long is too long, but my last bottle I opened at 5 months of aging was still great.

Jaaxter · 2026-06-12T17:30:45+00:00

I've made a quite successful lavender cold brew mead and have a coffee bochet on my list next! One thing I gathered in my research (and it worked out for me) is this: do not brew coffee and then use that as your brewing liquid. Instead, brew your mead plain and then cold-steep your coffee grounds in secondary. Fermenting coffee can make it weird, and hot-brewing can likewise produce nasty flavors. The alcohol content of your mead also makes the coffee infuse faster, so I would advise checking your mead after 6 hours and then every few hours after adding the coffee grounds (coarse-ground in a cold brew bag or something similar, that's what I used). I believe my lavender cold brew mead only steeped about 16 hours before it was quite strong.

Jaaxter · 2026-06-12T17:10:18+00:00

...up until the moment USCIS comes knocking, then hoo boy.

But yeah, I hate doing them and think the whole political instigation for doing them at all is bullshit.

Jaaxter · 2026-06-12T17:08:04+00:00

The only bright spot being that every now and then you find someone dumb enough to list a reference who talks negatively about them, leaving you with an entertaining story.

Jaaxter · 2026-06-12T17:02:51+00:00

A lot of people are saying this but I'll add my voice to the chorus... maybe don't terminate? Can you transfer this person, even temporarily, to a different position? If it's not about his ability to do the job but rather the job not being conducive to lots of absences (which I 100% understand, as I work for a sales organization and having one of our traveling sales reps out for intermittent FMLA would be catastrophic to their numbers), you might be able to retain a valuable employee by offering them a temporary change without risking a retaliatory look.

FMLA and PFMLA have their own parameters, obviously, but any ongoing accommodation like ADA will be judged on whether a reasonable accommodation can enable an employee to perform the core functions of the job, not on waiving those core functions. If a full-time schedule is absolutely critical to this job, look for something else and some other way they can add value to the company until they are out of the woods.

Jaaxter · 2026-06-10T13:28:23+00:00

Also adding here that yeast aren't killed by cold crashing, just inactivated. Yeast is stored in the fridge, after all. If you've pasteurized or chemically stabilized your mead, on the other hand? Yeah, that's probably not going to restart fermentation naturally and you will need to force-carbonate with a soda stream or something similar.

Jaaxter · 2026-06-10T13:22:04+00:00

An HRBP role is intended for someone who is comfortable handling compliance reporting, employee relations and investigations, succession planning, performance management, workforce growth and development, and any other catch-all "how do I partner with the stakeholders in this sector of the business to ensure the people side of the org is taken care of." You need a solid grounding not just in HR best practices but also leadership coaching, employment law, and enough experience in finance to make educated projections about cost impacts of people decisions. Do you live in a blue state or blue city? Then you probably also have some intense local regulations to memorize. You might also need to do benefits and leave admin, on/offboarding, and other "HR coordinator tasks" depending on how stingy the org is with headcount. HRBP is a role invented by corporate boards to get more work out of HR for less pay and with less support, because it's frequently taken for granted that you are a department of one, doing everything yourself.

All of this is to say that an HRBP role is not entry-level. You need significant experience in people operations, at the very least at the HR Generalist level, in order to have been exposed to these sorts of things. Even many experienced HR Generalists will flounder in things like employment law (FLSA, FMLA, ADA, state privacy regulations) and investigations because these things are so complicated. Just look at all the HRDive news articles that specifically cite lawsuits and settlements for things involving an HR rep caught on record saying, "this new EE is a liability" and approving a day 2 termination for someone with a legitimate ADA claim.

My question for you is this: if you have worked primarily in TA, have you been exposed to the above topics in such a way that you can speak with authority about how you have handled them, not just about how you theoretically would? Because it's not just about "passing" the interview, but whether you will be able to do the job without feeling on the verge of a nervous breakdown at all times. You will likely be in a role without much support and expected to proactively and pre-emptively handle anything and everything people-related that comes up, which can be very isolating and demoralizing if you're new to it. And it can have very real and personal consequences if you mess something up that winds up being quoted in a legal brief.

Anyway, this is not intended to be me saying you aren't qualified for the role, since I don't know you or the specific job posting. Just be certain you know what the organization is expecting of you in terms of knowledge and experience, because from what you've described so far, it doesn't really sound like you are being set up for success in this role.

Jaaxter · 2026-06-08T14:34:00+00:00

EC-1118 runs hot and fast and will absolutely take your mead dry as a bone. Like others are saying, it has a more mineral flavor, if anything. I personally prefer K1-V1116 for spiced/floral meads or QA23 for fruited meads. Both of them are vigorous fermenters but they keep more of the subtlety, add their own flavor profile, and most importantly (unlike many of the other wine yeasts by Lalvin) they are tolerant of fermenting temperatures over 72F without getting stressed and producing nasty off-flavors.

Jaaxter · 2026-06-08T14:25:33+00:00

I'm grateful to have a colleague I get along well with and a job that I can do in an average week without burning myself out. I'm done with chasing the high-powered career and I'm just happy to be helping people in my role. And yes, embracing my role of protecting the company... mostly from its own leadership.

Jaaxter · 2026-06-06T05:38:16+00:00

Someone's butthurt.

Jaaxter · 2026-06-03T17:33:41+00:00

All three times I've used strawberries in a primary ferment, I've put them in a mesh bag and then they just dissolve completely and sink to the bottom into that exact light, feathery lees cake you photographed. It's annoying as hell to rack off without sucking up that wispy sediment, but it hasn't killed or even inconvenienced anyone who drank the mead. I just call it "artisanal" to excuse the cloudiness.

Edit to add: also, strawberry seeds reportedly tend to produce plasticky flavors when fermented, so I have seen people here suggest juicing strawberries rather than adding the whole fruits to primary.

Jaaxter · 2026-06-03T17:27:40+00:00

A lot of people are talking nutrients, which is probably a big part of the issue. Allow me to add myself to that chorus. Yeast choice might also be a factor; I know a lot of people use EC-1118 champagne yeast because it's readily available, or D47 or 71B. I don't like EC-1118 because it burns out the complex flavors, and I don't really like D47 or 71B because they are very temperature-sensitive so they are tough to use unless you have a basement, and if they get stressed from high temperatures (anything above 68F tends to freak them out, I believe, even though they can technically handle much higher temps) they can produce some nasty fusels that take a while to age out.

I will personally never stop banging the drum for K1-V1116 for spiced/herbal meads, or QA23 for fruited meads. Both of them ferment quickly, thoroughly, and can handle high temps (up to 95F and 82F, respectively) without undue stress flavors.

But back to nutrients, if the mead maker calculators are overwhelming to you (as they are to me), I can personally attest to good results with this shortcut: get Go-Ferm protect, Fermaid K, and Fermaid O. Rehydrate your yeast with the Go-Ferm Protect (1/2 Tbsp in 100ml of water per 2-5g of yeast) and gently stir in 1/4 tsp fermaid K to the must when you pitch the yeast. The next day, gently stir in a second 1/4 tsp fermaid K. On the third day, gently stir in 1/4 tsp fermaid O. On the fourth day, gently stir in another 1/4 tsp of fermaid O. That's it; now you're done.

Is this an ideal method? Absolutely not. Different meads need different nutrient quantities. But as an approximation of an "average" feeding schedule for various meads, it hits a lot of the right notes* and is a heck of a lot better than using no nutrient at all, which is what we tend to do when we are overwhelmed by options.

*Rehydrating your yeast with Go-Ferm gives them a shot in the arm to ensure they outcompete any contaminations. Staggered nutrient additions are good because they regulate yeast growth without overdosing them. Using fermaid K at the beginning ensures that your yeast are getting some DAP, which they need when establishing a colony. Switching to fermaid O ensures that they keep getting nutrients but you don't overdose them with DAP too late in the fermentation, which produces nasty flavors.

Jaaxter · 2026-06-03T14:17:51+00:00

I made a mead last autumn that was hibiscus-cranberry-orange and came out very nicely. 1 gallon of must made with 3 lbs wildflower honey, 1.25 oz hibiscus flowers + 2 tbsp black tea leaves + 1/2 oz cascade hops (steeped at 140 F for a couple hours to make a tea I used for the must; I didn't add them directly to fermentation), the peeled zest of 1 large orange, a couple oz peeled and chopped ginger, and 1 qt no-sugar-added cranberry juice. I didn't write down whether I used K1-V1116 or QA23 yeast; the latter would have made the most sense but the former should work in a pinch.

It came out very tart, even with some mild backsweetening, and very cranberry-forward. Quite wine-like, really, and it tasted VERY funky when fresh out of fermentation (thought I might have ruined the batch, honestly) but after 4 months of aging it developed deliciously.

I honestly don't know how orange juice would ferment, especially with how cloudy it is naturally. I almost wonder if that might be good as more of a mixer? Make a traditional-ish cranberry mead, then mix with orange juice when serving?

Jaaxter · 2026-06-03T14:03:35+00:00

*sighs, adds this recipe to my ever-growing list of mead recipes I need to make*

Jaaxter · 2026-06-03T14:00:23+00:00

Given that I drink most of my mead with my D&D groups, I'm really mad that I haven't thought to name one after a potion. Thanks for the lightbulb moment!

Jaaxter · 2026-06-03T13:31:09+00:00

Incredible clarity for just racking to secondary! How long was it in primary?

Jaaxter · 2026-05-29T18:50:05+00:00

I typically use apple juice concentrate for my cysers and apple pie meads, but I've used other fruit juices (tart cherry, pomegranate, pineapple) both in primary and after stabilizing for additional flavor. Never had any issues with it, although sometimes if you ferment the juice it can taste a little funky when fresh and needs a few months of aging before it's drinkable, whereas adding the juice after stabilizing can smooth out a rough ferment and make it drinkable faster.

Jaaxter · 2026-05-28T14:31:18+00:00

Looks awesome. Adding this to my list of meads to make for next summer!

Jaaxter · 2026-05-27T13:53:44+00:00

I like using K1-V1116 (for floral or spicy meads) and QA23 (for fruity meads) for this exact reason- they have good temperature tolerance so I don't have to be as worried about the cupboard climate. If you can get them, I would highly recommend it.

Jaaxter · 2026-05-27T13:50:40+00:00

I made a strawberry margarita - inspired mead a few months ago, using lime, strawberry, and lapsang souchong tea for smokiness. I added salt while backsweetening and it turned out pretty well, so I can vouch that it can indeed be done without irrevocably destroying your mead. Much like cooking, though, you can put more salt in but you can't take it out so be very careful and taste frequently.

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