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  • Back to the apricot vanilla mead! \⁣⠀ The mead was racked twice by now, to get rid of the sediment that ended up at the bottom by natural cause. And we did stabilize the mead. And it's for one week in the cellar by now. \⁣⠀ Time to start prepping the vanilla that will go in! We do use real beans with the highest possible quality we can get, Madagaskar Premium Bourbon. Not cheap, but worth it! Today I cut up one bean that ended up in some alcohol. To make a tincture. The alcohol (37,5%) helps with the extraction of the vanillin, the primary component of the vanilla bean. \⁣⠀ ⁣Cheers!⁣⠀ •⁣⠀ •⁣⠀ •⁣⠀ •⁣⠀ •⁣⠀ #mead #meadery #craftmead #honeywine #mjöd #oldways #fermentation #honey #meadmaker #wine #winery #beer #brew #brewery #brewing #headbrewer #fermenting #honeybee #craftbrewery #craftbeerporn #brewerylife #craftbeernerd #vanillabean #vanulla #oenologie
  • Correct measurements are important!⁣⠀ \⁣⠀⁣⠀ Before we start the bulk aging. I wanted to know the right data about the mead. Like gravity and pH. As you can see we dropped down to 3.58 pH and 1.002 SG.⁣⠀ \⁣⠀⁣⠀ The flavor already carried a lot of berries. But during secondary there will be even more blackberries. ⁣⠀ \⁣⠀⁣⠀ ⁣Cheers!⁣⠀⁣⠀ •⁣⠀⁣⠀ •⁣⠀⁣⠀ •⁣⠀⁣⠀ •⁣⠀⁣⠀ •⁣⠀⁣⠀ #mead #meadery #craftmead #honeywine #mjöd #oldways #fermentation #honey #meadmaker #wine #winery #beer #brew #brewery #brewing #headbrewer #fermenting #honeybee #meadporn #fermentationporn #fruitporn #craftbrewery #craftbeerporn #brewerylife #craftbeernerd #fruitcap #fermentationcap #blackberrymead #berrymead #melomel
  • Last degassing!⠀ \⁣⠀ Just did my last degassing for this mead. My fermentation is almost over. It took 3 days to ferment from 1.086 to 1.012. That may sound insane for my brewing followers. But my Anton Paar is not lying. \⁣⠀ I will leave the mead alone for a while now, just a week or so, so it can settle out a bit, naturally. Next week I'll rack it of the fruit and start with stabilizing. And I'm even thinking about doing some extra fruit after that. Looking forward to it! \⁣⠀ ⁣Cheers!⁣⠀ •⁣⠀ •⁣⠀ •⁣⠀ •⁣⠀ •⁣⠀ #mead #meadery #craftmead #honeywine #mjöd #oldways #fermentation #honey #meadmaker #wine #winery #beer #brew #brewery #brewing #headbrewer #fermenting #honeybee #meadporn #fermentationporn #fruitporn #craftbrewery #craftbeerporn #brewerylife #craftbeernerd #fruitcap #fermentationcap #degassing
  • Look at that cap!⁣⠀ \⁣⠀ In this mead I did use whole fruit instead of puree ⁣like I did with the previous batch. It has pros and cons. One of those downsides is that I will have a bigger loss because of all the pulp. During fermentation we create carbon dioxide. And the carbon dioxide causes the berry solids (skins, seeds, stems) to rise, forming a cap that floats on top of the mead.⁣⠀ \⁣⠀ During fermentation we have to manage that cap for a few reasons. Otherwise it could create problems in the mead. That's something we want to avoid at all costs. For example, with a floating cap there is little to no contact between the must and the berry solids, like the skins, which inhibits the extraction of flavor and color! The cap works like a insulation layer as well, and can trap risky levels of heat that can kill the yeast and halt fermentation. And last but not least, the cap is in contact with air, providing an environment for aerobic bacteria, like acetobacter, that can turn the must into vinegar. And that would be a complete waste of fruit, honey, time and money!⁣⠀ \⁣⠀ ⁣Cheers!⁣⠀ •⁣⠀ •⁣⠀ •⁣⠀ •⁣⠀ •⁣⠀ #mead #meadery #craftmead #honeywine #mjöd #oldways #fermentation #honey #meadmaker #wine #winery #beer #brew #brewery #brewing #headbrewer #fermenting #honeybee #meadporn #fermentationporn #fruitporn #craftbrewery #craftbeerporn #brewerylife #craftbeernerd #fruitcap #fermentationcap
  • I learned a ton after my previous mead. Thanks to a few people that are eager and passionate enough to get me started. \ Today I started a mead with blackberries. The goal is to make a mead with a intense color as you can see. And a very berry forward flavor and aroma. Also focussing on mouthfeel and body with this batch. Fermenting with a Red-wine strain. \ Yeast will go in tomorrow, so pectinase has some time to do it's job. It's all about efficiency and maximum yield. \ Cheers!⠀ • • • • • #fermentation #knowledge #mixedfermentation #brewing #meadfermentation #liquidfermentation #flavordevelopment #dutchbrewery #brewerylife #blackberry #blackberrymead #blackberries #fermenting #craftbeerporn #independentbeer #drinklocal #beerstagram #saccharomyces #headbrewer #meadstagram #meadery #mead #honey #honeybee #pectinase #enzymes #germentationknowledge
  • Started today on the yeast starter for Saturday. Working with enough yeast cells and a active yeast is such a pleasure! \ We are using WLP500 Monastery Ale Yeast by @whitelabsyeast. Let's see how it will work with the spices we will use. \ Cheers! •⠀ •⠀ •⠀ •⠀ • #fermentation #knowledge #brewing #beerfermentation #liquidfermentation #flavordevelopment #dutchbrewery #dutchbeer #brewerylife #craftbeerporn #independentbeer #drinklocal #beerstagram #saccharomyces #experimentalbrewing #tastingbeer #beerknowledge #belgianbeer #dubbel #spicedbrew #yeaststarter #healthyyeast #activeyeast #yeastcells #yeastknowledge #microbiology
  • ⁣Fermentation has almost finished. In the first few days I did measure the gravity daily because of the TOSNA2.0 schedule. Also I did degas it every time before I took a sample. After my last addition of Fermaid O I decided to measure it once every 48h to stay on track of the fermentation. It's realy important to collect data during your fermentation!⁣⠀ \⁣⠀ The last gravity reading showed 1.013. We went a long way, starting from 1.124. Fermentation is almost done. After that we can stabilize and let it age for a while. Patience we say.⁣⠀ \⁣⠀ Cheers!⠀⁣⠀ •⁣⠀ •⁣⠀ •⁣⠀ •⁣⠀ •⁣⠀ #mead #meadery #craftmead #honeywine #mjöd #oldways #fermentation #honey #meadmaker #wine #winery #beer #brew #brewery #brewing #headbrewer #yeast #fermenting #honeybee #meadporn #fermentationporn #craftbrewery #craftnotcrapbeer #drinklocal #craftbeerporn #brewerylife #craftbeernerd #funkybeer⁣⠀
  • Today I put in my last nutrient addition according to the TOSNA2.0 schedule. I did add it with some extra fruit puree. At this point there is 3kg in primary. I will add even more during secondary. Fermentation still goes very strong. And I did hit my 1/3 sugar break. For now we don’t degas it anymore and let it ferment completely till the activity drops down. Really looking forward to the end result but that will take some extra time. \ Fermentation is something beautiful. How you can change the appearance, aroma, flavor or it’s whole function. This transformation of food is done by microorganisms. Learning about fermentation and expanding my knowledge. The beauty of nature. \⠀ Cheers!⠀ • • • • • #fermentation #knowledge #mixedfermentation #brewing #meadfermentation #farmhouse #liquidfermentation #flavordevelopment #dutchbrewery #brewerylife #fermenting #craftbeerporn #independentbeer #drinklocal #beerstagram #saccharomyces #headbrewer #meadstagram #meadery #mead #honey #honeybee #TOSNA