Mead ferment with flowers: QUESTION

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Mead ferment with flowers: QUESTION

Postby thatsummerfeeling on Mon Oct 19, 2020 1:47 pm

Hi, I'm a novice mead maker. I've made mead using wild fermentation probably a dozen times, but always drink it young. I've always made small batches, so it is quite simple. It's just one of my many ferments I do in my apartment.

But now I'm making a large 5 gallon batch with foraged linden flowers, it's to honor my son's birth — we named him Linden. I've got a primary fermentation going on in a wide bucket and it is very lively and smells lovely (photo 1), which is great! But my linden flowers keep floating above the bubbles, as you can see in photo two. Is this a problem? https://imgur.com/M2nXNoW

Second — When would you take out the linden flowers? At the same time the bubbles subside? Or before? The same day as it goes into a carboy or earlier — is basically what I'm wondering.

Third — If you strain and put into carboy the same day, would you strain into another five gallon bucket to remove the linden flowers? Someone else suggested putting muslin in front of the auto-siphon so I don't have to strain into another bucket? What's the best way?

Thank you!

- David (Day 5 or so of my wild linden mead ferment)
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Re: Mead ferment with flowers: QUESTION

Postby Christopher Weeks on Fri Oct 23, 2020 8:31 am

Hey, I'm only about as experienced as you, so not an expert. Hopefully someone who is will wander by and provide feedback, but I thought I'd think this through with you a little in the meantime.

My thinking is that if you're stirring it daily (or more), the floating probably isn't much of a problem. If not, I'd be worried about providing an anchorage for pathogens. I have put stuff like that in a cheesecloth sachet with a weight to prevent it accumulating at the top.

I don't have a principled answer on when to remove the flowers. My general approach is to make it up as I go along and hope for the best. I'd probably strain them off the top with a sieve, and then rack into a carboy and evaluate what to do from there based on how much solids end up in the glass.

Neat project!
Christopher Weeks
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