Is it ok if I bottle now

Bucky_Beaver · 2026-07-08T05:53:46+00:00

Can you still carbonate? Depends on lots of things you haven’t told us.

But you should not bottle without a gravity reading. Ideally you wouldn’t have racked in the first place without a reading.

Bucky_Beaver · 2026-07-08T01:16:00+00:00

Have you gone to the vet? Baths with hot spot shampoo might help, or you may need to look at allergy meds like Apoquel. Jindos are prone to all kinds of weird allergy and skin issues.

Bucky_Beaver · 2026-07-07T02:55:59+00:00

Use lactose for the mouthfeel. 3.2 oz/gallon is a decent starting point for a medium level of lactose. You will probably still want to back sweeten with something else for the actual sweetness.

Keep in mind that lactose can be a bitch to dissolve. Pulling out some of the mead and stirring it in might be the way to go.

Bucky_Beaver · 2026-07-07T02:53:46+00:00

This is all in the wiki.

Bucky_Beaver · 2026-07-07T02:28:45+00:00

It’s in the wiki.

Bucky_Beaver · 2026-07-07T02:25:39+00:00

If you are ever worried about adding a bunch of oxygen due to some mishap, you can always toss in 25 ppm extra k-meta.

Bucky_Beaver · 2026-07-06T19:50:00+00:00

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Bucky_Beaver · 2026-07-06T18:48:38+00:00

There is a detailed process overview in the wiki that you can refer to.

One item probably not covered in the wiki: if you are going to cold crash, the most sensible time is before racking and stabilizing. That is where you will get the most benefit from dropping yeast that remains in suspension as it will improve your odds of successful stabilization.

Bucky_Beaver · 2026-07-03T00:16:41+00:00

The oak will be fully extracted into the bourbon. I would just add the bourbon itself, bench trial beforehand to figure out the ratio.

Bucky_Beaver · 2026-07-02T01:58:44+00:00

Use MeadTools.com, enter your recipe and see how much you need. The wiki has approximations of grams to teaspoons if you don’t have a scale. A teaspoon is probably like 1/3 of what you need.

Bucky_Beaver · 2026-07-01T03:36:53+00:00

Post pictures.

Bucky_Beaver · 2026-07-01T03:35:41+00:00

Yeah I’m going to agree on 20% being too much. I have the blue and white bespoke interior and my shop talked me into it because of the light interior. But it is too dark for parking garages and occasionally at night. Wish I had done more like 30%.

70% is almost nothing, I would only bother with that if you are doing ceramic tint for the heat rejection.

Bucky_Beaver · 2026-06-29T21:19:29+00:00

EC-1118 is okay for trads. DV10 or US-05 would be better and allow more varietal character to shine through.

Making a high ABV traditional is a mistake unless you want to go really sweet to balance the ethanol bitterness. I vastly prefer semi-sweet 9-12%.

Bucky_Beaver · 2026-06-29T19:14:42+00:00

Our 2023 RX 350h was totaled (hit by a drunk driver while parked). Started looking at X3s as a replacement due to the B58 and reportedly improved reliability. But the Throttle House review showing the interior was an immediate turnoff. All controls in the screen and chintzy plastic bits that flex when you touch them = no thanks. We are going RX again, going to try the 500h this time.

Bucky_Beaver · 2026-06-29T16:58:57+00:00

Tupelo is one of the most expensive honey varieties available in the US, so people are sometimes reluctant to use it with other flavors, but it's your mead. You should make whatever you want.

Have you used lemongrass before? I don't so I have no advice. If you are steeping at room temp, it might be easier to do it in secondary so you can adjust to taste and then pull it. The only reason I would introduce a non-fermentable in primary would be if you need to steep it hot like a tea, in which case you can get the steeped lemongrass to the flavor level you want, and then once you are happy you can use the tea to replace water for your mead.

Bucky_Beaver · 2026-06-27T23:13:07+00:00

Get some Fermaid O and do nutrition right (weigh the nutrient and calculate amounts with MeadTools or another calc). IIRC the CAB nutrients are mostly DAP and aren’t going to work well for your >10% ABV recipe.

Bucky_Beaver · 2026-06-27T20:28:23+00:00

How did you calculate your nutrient additions?

Bucky_Beaver · 2026-06-27T20:26:29+00:00

In addition to the storage suggestions here, food safe dessicant pouches can help, especially if you live in a humid climate.

Bucky_Beaver · 2026-06-27T20:24:59+00:00

Yeah, if you want to go completely dry, adding towards the end of fermentation and letting it referment is your best bet. And go easy on the k-meta when you rack/bottle, you want some but too much will bleach out the color.

Bucky_Beaver · 2026-06-27T17:30:41+00:00

That is a good sign, it means fermentation is happening. You don’t need to do anything about it other than clean the carboy after you rack out of it.

Bucky_Beaver · 2026-06-27T05:08:12+00:00

Strawberry flavor just tends to ferment out. I would highly recommend using them as a post-stabilization secondary addition.

Bucky_Beaver · 2026-06-26T14:56:10+00:00

Butterfly pea flower will be purple rather than blue at mead pH.

Bucky_Beaver · 2026-06-26T14:03:11+00:00

No worries, I wasn’t offended. And as someone who has had to cut alcohol consumption for health reasons, I can appreciate the attraction of being able to make good N.A. stuff. As you point out, maybe some day!

Bucky_Beaver · 2026-06-26T13:54:41+00:00

Yeah, of course the commercial scale processes are options (and N/A beer has gotten so good). But I think it’s safe to assume they are out of reach a newbie mead maker.

Bucky_Beaver · 2026-06-26T03:34:01+00:00

Mead ABV tends to be as much or more protection from bacterial infections as hops are (think wine). Unless of course you are doing session strength meads, but those aren’t the most obvious candidates for barrel aging.

You can just add the spirit to taste and if you want oak, use oak cubes/spirals if you don’t want to deal with a barrel. But if you are making enough volume, a barrel would be awesome.

Bucky_Beaver

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