When to dilute?

Mead, wine, beer, and any other form of alcoholic beverages, as well as vinegar.

Moderator: Christopher Weeks

When to dilute?

Postby Tencent on Wed May 11, 2016 12:22 am

As I am making a simple mead I was wondering if and when it can be diluted with drinking water? I was planning to dilute it a bit before bottling it, would that be feasible?
Tencent
 
Posts: 7
Joined: Tue May 10, 2016 1:24 am

Re: When to dilute?

Postby Christopher Weeks on Wed May 11, 2016 8:09 am

I'm curious, what's your goal? Since getting honey to ferment can be tricky, one of the approaches people take is diluting it at the front end, but I've never heard of doing so after fermentation.
Christopher Weeks
Nuka Ninja
 
Posts: 2602
Joined: Tue Oct 12, 2010 3:59 pm
Location: Carlton County, MN

Re: When to dilute?

Postby Tencent on Wed May 11, 2016 9:52 am

Ah, okay. The issue I am facing is that I lost some of my batch while shaking and stirring (...) so I hoped I could dilute it to still fill two bottles. But I guess it would interfere with the second fermentation?
Tencent
 
Posts: 7
Joined: Tue May 10, 2016 1:24 am

Re: When to dilute?

Postby Christopher Weeks on Wed May 11, 2016 11:00 am

I don't think it'll hurt fermentation, but I'm no expert. My worry is that it'll just be watery and weak.
Christopher Weeks
Nuka Ninja
 
Posts: 2602
Joined: Tue Oct 12, 2010 3:59 pm
Location: Carlton County, MN

Re: When to dilute?

Postby khoomeizhi on Wed May 11, 2016 8:54 pm

^ yup, i'd expect the same. whenever i top off i use honey-water to the same ratio as the original must. it does tend to restart fermentation, add a little sediment, etc, but the final product is better. i see you're assuming some continuing fermentation anyway in secondary, so might as well...

i've seen people use sanitized marbles to get the level higher and reduce surface area for bulk aging, but nothing like that for bottling-time.
khoomeizhi
 
Posts: 86
Joined: Thu Dec 13, 2012 10:15 pm
Location: wnc

Re: When to dilute?

Postby Tencent on Wed May 11, 2016 9:42 pm

Yeah, I also re-read what Sandor Katz wrote and he suggests adding a little bit to fill the bottle. However in my case it would be weak if I would just add water like you said. I'll just make more for my next batch. Thanks for your input!
Tencent
 
Posts: 7
Joined: Tue May 10, 2016 1:24 am


Return to Alcohol Ferments

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 1 guest