Mead Glue??
Posted: Tue Jul 26, 2016 1:27 amTL,DR: Has anyone ever had a superglue like substance form on top of mead?
.....
I started a batch of lilac mead back in May. Its been about 2 months that it has been fermenting. Lacking a properly sized carboy, I put most of it in a gallon maple syrup bottle topped with a rubber stopper and airlock. There was about 1.5 L remaining that I put in one of those giant grolsch bottles. But, the rubber stopper didn't fit the grolsch bottle mouth. I tried to improvise by cutting one down but it wasn't working...so I improvised. I put a bit of honey on the mouth and rested the plastic airlock on top.
The mead in the maple syrup jug seems to be fermenting beautifully. There is very little sediment and nearly no scum on top. I noticed that the ferment in the bottle seemed to be cloudy and there was a lot of scum on top. Tonight I decided to check it out to see what was going on. It was quite delicious tasting but definitely making some vinegar.
But here's the strange thing. When I poured a glass, there was some scum from the top that came out. I figured it was just dead yeast cells and fished it out. It was like superglue! My fingers were stuck together, but i could get them apart while it was still wet. I tried hot water and it didn't get it off. I used soap and that didn't help either. It was like strong pine tree sap, only stickier. I could only write this message after lots of scrubbing with several soapy washes. It smells very resinous and 'meady' with a hint of the lilac.
I thought this was pretty cool! Anyone??
.....
I started a batch of lilac mead back in May. Its been about 2 months that it has been fermenting. Lacking a properly sized carboy, I put most of it in a gallon maple syrup bottle topped with a rubber stopper and airlock. There was about 1.5 L remaining that I put in one of those giant grolsch bottles. But, the rubber stopper didn't fit the grolsch bottle mouth. I tried to improvise by cutting one down but it wasn't working...so I improvised. I put a bit of honey on the mouth and rested the plastic airlock on top.
The mead in the maple syrup jug seems to be fermenting beautifully. There is very little sediment and nearly no scum on top. I noticed that the ferment in the bottle seemed to be cloudy and there was a lot of scum on top. Tonight I decided to check it out to see what was going on. It was quite delicious tasting but definitely making some vinegar.
But here's the strange thing. When I poured a glass, there was some scum from the top that came out. I figured it was just dead yeast cells and fished it out. It was like superglue! My fingers were stuck together, but i could get them apart while it was still wet. I tried hot water and it didn't get it off. I used soap and that didn't help either. It was like strong pine tree sap, only stickier. I could only write this message after lots of scrubbing with several soapy washes. It smells very resinous and 'meady' with a hint of the lilac.
I thought this was pretty cool! Anyone??