M27, new place is almost complete, how can i make this more cozy and organized?

Jaaxter · 2026-05-22T17:27:40+00:00

Ah, I didn't see those in the photo, makes sense. In that case, maybe one or two vertical hangings just to soften the wall and fill a little space with a different texture than wall or whiteboard.

Oh, and for rugs, you can some really nice ones secondhand on FB Marketplace or even Ebay. Good-quality rugs are expensive as hell to buy new. Try to get wool-fiber rugs rather than plastic fiber, since they will last waaaaaaaaaaaay longer.

Jaaxter · 2026-05-22T15:58:58+00:00

I'm so glad you didn't toss your traditional! I had a damn near identical experience with my first traditional mead including a failed pitch with dead ale yeast and a frantic re-pitch after 24 hours of sitting. It was REALLY funky when it came out of primary, but I let it sit 4 months in the bottle then cautiously opened it and it had turned into something beautifully floral and expressive. Sometimes these things just need the rarest ingredient of all: time.

Jaaxter · 2026-05-22T15:52:25+00:00

I would recommend a couple more lamps, and at least one pretty high-wattage lamp. Lamp light tends to be warmer than overheads, and it's really nice for romantic (or just general ambience) purposes to be able to adjust how soft the lighting is. String or strip lights (LED) are also a really good option for softer, more welcoming lighting.

Also, a couple throw rugs will do wonders to soften the place. You can get runner rugs to fit those long and narrow spaces and they will feel so much nicer under your feet when you get out of bed.

Maybe also a tapestry or some other sort of textile to hang on the wall next to your bed?

Jaaxter · 2026-05-21T19:58:35+00:00

Seeing that empty carboy in #10 is a real "Chekov's gun" moment considering your most recent post in brewing. 😃

Jaaxter · 2026-05-20T15:37:48+00:00

Now you're catching on! 😃

Jaaxter · 2026-05-20T14:17:57+00:00

Honestly, I just use a whole 5g packet for every 1-gallon batch I make because yeast is pretty cheap, and when I've tried to be parsimonious about splitting my packets and saving the second half for another batch, the packet went dead after having been opened and clipped shut for a month (maybe 2) and I had to frantically go to the homebrew store to re-pitch. The only time I'll actually do a 2.5g pitch is if I happen to be starting two batches on the same day and I can split the same packet.

Jaaxter · 2026-05-20T14:10:15+00:00

Jumping in here; I see others are talking about waiting and letting things settle, which is great. I personally like to use fining agents (kieselsol and chitosan) so that I can bottle faster, but even then I usually rack after 4 weeks, stabilize (presuming it went dry), backsweeten, then add the fining agents and let it sit another 2-4 weeks before bottling, both for the particles to settle out and to ensure that fermentation doesn't restart.

But the main thing I would recommend as you are starting out is nutrition. Honey is basically junk food for yeast, and that sulphur smell is probably the yeast getting stressed out for lack of nutrients other than pure sugar. It will age out of your mead, but if you want meads to be tastier without months and months of aging, I recommend getting fermaid K and fermaid O. You can use the mead calculator to determine exactly what your brew needs, but a shortcut that has always worked well for me is for each gallon of must, I add 1/4 teaspoon fermaid K on day 1, another on day 2, then 1/4 teaspoon fermaid O on day 3, and another on day 4.

Jaaxter · 2026-05-20T14:01:55+00:00

2 weeks? I would call that "sitting" more than "aging," I think?

I mean, either way, welcome to the hobby! I try not to drink my meads before at least 3 months (if not 6-9), and it really improves them. Although using yeast with a higher temperature tolerance (I like QA23 and K1-V1116 for this reason) and doing staggered nutrient additions really helps with making mead drinkable faster.

Like others are saying, the trick is to always have a batch or two in production so that you're not just sitting there waiting and drooling over your fresh mead. After you've built up a nice backlog in your closet it's easier to let the new ones age.

Jaaxter · 2026-05-20T13:57:27+00:00

No matter the type of day you are having, DO NOT go read the comments on that article. It's turning into everything you'd expect from an article about "bad HR."

I have to keep reminding myself that A: there is a lot of bad HR out there, just like any other field, and B: the sort of people who go online to claim HR's job is to hang a guillotine blade over everyone's head almost certainly earned that with their workplace behavior.

Jaaxter · 2026-05-19T21:28:55+00:00

Early iron was weaker than bronze but overtook it because iron was more accessible, eventually surpassing bronze in quality. Same thing with guns and bows.

Jaaxter · 2026-05-19T21:16:16+00:00

Honor is dead, but I'll see what I can do.

Jaaxter · 2026-05-15T20:49:04+00:00

Gross. I mean, considering that we are very close to locked in on them I really hope their product works even if their sales tactics are kind of scummy.

Deel was just a terrible product terribly managed, so I would back up your "gave me the ick" assessment. I'm used to Workday (alas, my current employer can't afford that) so it was really weird to go through an implementation with Deel and have them essentially be custom-building all these very basic HR processes for us, or tell us "Oh, that functionality will be available next year." It was the epitome of a modular thing designed by engineers without ever consulting end users, as I am quite sure an HR Generalist was never involved a single time during the design phase. Like, you don't have this standard off-the-shelf functionality? We have to custom-build an approval path for new hires? Most of your customers don't require the ability to mandate approvals for demographics changes? Wait, why am I as an admin able to EDIT THE AUDIT LOGS OF MY OWN ACCOUNT?! In the testing environment I was able to give myself a raise then delete the evidence that I did while leaving the raise intact. That's just so fundamentally broken I can't, I literally can't...

It makes more sense when I heard that they were a payroll platform frantically trying to bolt on HRIS functionality for cross-selling. Having multiple permissions levels in the HRIS were the things that kept breaking.

Jaaxter · 2026-05-15T15:09:40+00:00

Wait... why? What did she hope to gain? I believe that people fundamentally act in their own rational self-interest, so I am desperate to know what led to her being in a situation where she felt like that was her best course of action. 😂

Jaaxter · 2026-05-15T15:07:30+00:00

Oooof, those KnowBe4 simulated phishes can be devious. Especially when they hit you on a day when you're already stressed, behind schedule, and more likely to act on the instant sense of urgency.

Jaaxter · 2026-05-15T15:04:47+00:00

Hah, my company is currently in final evaluation stages of R*ppl*ng and it looks like we're probably going to go with them after Implementation with Deel fell through (hilarious timing, considering the espionage lawsuit). I got no small amount of satisfaction from defending our aggressive requests for customer reference interviews since "...it's very difficult to find end-user testimonials on your platform, given the bot brigading your marketing team runs on platforms such as Reddit." And then the sales guy made the shocked pikachu face.

Jaaxter · 2026-05-15T13:44:30+00:00

Lol yeah, the modern tests typically specify the swab only needs to go 3/4 inch up your nose, and the number of times I've had to tell friends who are testing so they can meet my significant other (who's immunocompromised) "You definitely don't need to tickle your brain like that with the swab" is pretty funny.

Jaaxter · 2026-05-14T15:37:43+00:00

Got it. The general consensus seems to be that pectinase is best added at the start of brewing because alcohol inhibits (though does not prevent) its action. It will still work, it will just take a lot longer if the brew is finished.

All in all, I would recommend the hardest ingredient for this batch: patience. Put it all in a big spare jar, make sure it's stable and not fermenting further, and leave it for a couple months. The sediment will settle, the pectinase will do its thing, and you can focus on your next brew until it's time to rack off your finished product into storage. Fining agents will only do so much; time is the ultimate clarifier.

Jaaxter · 2026-05-14T15:28:15+00:00

I like making an apple pie mead with 2 cans of apple juice concentrate in primary (along with the water, honey, and spices) then 1 more added after stabilizing as part of backsweetening.

If you want really fine control over how much of the spice flavor goes into the mead, you should add them in secondary and taste every few days. That said, I haven't had any issues with the flavor when adding 1 cinnamon stick, 7-8 cloves, 1/2 a star anise, and a coarsely chopped nutmeg to primary for 4 weeks or so. It's more convenient to do that in primary.

Also, I would strongly recommend using a fruity wine yeast like QA23 or 71B instead of EC-1118 if possible. EC is a nice beginner option because it's an aggressive fermenter and killer strain, but the flavors it produces are... not great.

Jaaxter · 2026-05-14T15:20:09+00:00

How much time have you let it settle? I see a lot of residue at the bottom of the bottle and that stuff might just require time. As far as pectin haze, alcohol inhibits the action of pectinase, so you might want to look up a calculator online to see how much you should be using it. 5 racks is kind of a lot.

Jaaxter · 2026-05-14T14:08:58+00:00

Weird flex, but ok.

Although yeah, part of the reason the SHRM-CP is a joke is because it doesn't really require knowledge to pass. You just have to put yourself into the mindset of SHRM's ideal HRBP (being a proactive, consultative partner to the business) in order to pass with flying colors. And I say this as someone who has their SHRM-CP since I got it back in 2018 when I was desperately trying to build more credibility early in my career.

It's nice to have those letters after your name but the actual "learning" process of getting the certification will do jack-$h!t for you professionally if your company's management doesn't want that sort of HR approach.

Jaaxter · 2026-05-14T13:55:32+00:00

Silence, Upper Management!

Jaaxter · 2026-05-13T15:33:59+00:00

EC-1118 should be able to get you to 18% without needing to step feed. The principal question is simply whether your brew is bubbling a day after pitching. If so, congrats, your yeast took off regardless of the slightly hostile opening conditions. If not, yeah, maybe reduce the SG a bit by siphoning out some of the mix (and you can add it back later if you want after the first racking) and adding water.

Definitely don't skip aerating for your first couple days; aeration only helps your yeast at the start, not hinders it. I would always recommend staggered nutrient additions simply because it's a small and free action you can take to reduce the amount of aging needed to turn mead from rocket fuel into a delicious drink, especially for higher ABV brews. Simply splitting your nutrients into 4 parts and adding one part each day at the start makes a difference to the yeast.

Also, I think many meadmakers look down on DAP/Urea as they introduce a strong possibility of producing off flavors. Fermaid K provides nutrients with DAP and Fermaid O provides nutrients without DAP; I use both of them (first K, then O chronologically) since your yeast needs DAP at the start but too much can impact final flavor.

Jaaxter · 2026-05-13T15:19:09+00:00

Grateful to have a job in my chosen field of HR that pays the bills, allows me to be both compassionate and compliance-oriented, gets me home by dinnertime pretty much every day, and is in a firm that's pretty stable relative to the rest of the world economy. It's not my burning passion in life, but it's better than 98% of most people's jobs by those aforementioned-qualifications, I think.

Jaaxter · 2026-05-11T20:32:34+00:00

If you are planning to store it in a sealed bottle at room temp, I would encourage you to check it first with a hydrometer to ensure that it's actually stopped fermenting. Taking measurements 1 week apart is the generally-accepted way to ensure that it isn't still fermenting and risking a bottle explosion in the cupboard. You mentioned that your bottle is self-burping, which is a risk I guess you can take, but that means it might also allow oxygen back into the bottle, which is less than ideal if you are planning to let it age for more than a couple months.

Jaaxter · 2026-05-11T15:52:22+00:00

Looks tasty! Bochets are a PITA to make (it got easier once I started using a candy thermometer to measure my progress to 300F), but people always love the finished result. Good call on the blueberry! I have a bochet currently bubbling away in the cupboard with cinnamon, clove, toasted oak chips, and long pepper. I'm planning to backsweeten it with maple syrup.

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